The Only Way To Keep Guacamole From Turning Brown, According to a Food Editor

While I can’t lay any special claim to guacamole, I will say this: whenever I serve it, people always ask me how I make it, and then they ask me to make it again. And again.

I’m a guacamole purist, so I keep things pretty simple. Avocados, serrano pepper, cilantro, garlic, a little cumin, salt, and lime juice are all I use to make my guacamole. I skip the onions and tomatoes because I want the flavor of the avocado itself to be the star.

Normally, there are no leftovers. Every last bit gets scooped up and devoured. On one occasion, though, I needed to use up an abundance of very ripe avocados that wouldn’t even last the night, so I made a large batch and ended up with extra.

Out of sheer laziness, I simply spooned the leftover guac into a storage container and threw it in the fridge. I know all the tricks for keeping leftover guac green—pressing plastic wrap directly on the surface, sprinkling lime juice on top, covering the top with a thin layer of oil—but I couldn’t be bothered. I planned to finish the guacamole the next day, and I decided I didn’t care if it turned a little brown.

To my amazement, not only was the guacamole still green the next day, it looked just as vibrant as it did the day before.

How I Keep My Guacamole Green

I was confused at first. Guacamole turning brown is such an issue that endless articles have been written about it. Why didn’t I experience the same problem?

I make my guacamole by taste, meaning I do not use a recipe. However, I made a test batch and measured my ingredients to try to figure out why mine wasn’t developing the dreaded muddy color that seems to plague other recipes.

I learned that I add more lime juice than most recipes, to the tune of about one small lime (two tablespoons lime juice) per large avocado. Not only does the extra acidity give a little more vim and vigor to the rich avocado, but it also keeps the guacamole bright green even after it has been sitting out for hours at a party. Even after the party leftovers have been in the fridge overnight.

Tips for Making the Tastiest (and Greenest) Guac

• Add plenty of lime juice: For every large avocado, use one whole small lime. This measures out to about two tablespoons of lime juice.
• Balance the lime juice with salt: Adding enough salt is just as important as adding enough lime juice. In fact, salt balances the acidity perfectly, resulting in guac that’s plenty zingy but not overwhelmingly sour.
• Add cilantro stems and leaves: Just like I do for my house salsa recipe, I mince cilantro stems in addition to the leaves and stir them into my guac. They add a pleasant crunch and a deep cilantro flavor that I love.
• Use a Microplane: Rather than mincing the garlic and serrano pepper for my guacamole, I use a rasp grater, such as a Microplane, to grate both ingredients into a paste. This helps distribute their flavor and saves me some knife work.