You know guacamole. You love guacamole. But have you ever tried Italian Guacamole? With just a few simple ingredient swaps, our Italian guacamole is a fun twist on a Mexican classic.
Don’t get us wrong. Classic Mexican guacamole is impossible to improve upon. It is pure perfection. But here’s the thing: our Italian guacamole is AS good! We got the idea for this recipe from a local Italian restaurant. We swapped lime juice for lemon juice and cilantro for basil. These simple switches completely changed the flavor profile and had our taste buds singing That’s Amore!
In the mood for more light bites and appetizers to jazz up your next game day spread? Check out our Persian Salad Shirazi, Vegan Peruvian Ceviche, or Air Fried Sweet Plantains.
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🥑 WHAT IS GUACAMOLE?
Dating back to at least the 1500s, guacamole is a Mesoamerican dip, spread, or salad primarily consisting of mashed avocados. Guacamole was invented by the Aztecs and became wildly popular due to its high nutritional content. Avocados are loaded in good fats and contain a decent amount of protein—both of which were deficient in the Aztec diet.
Guacamole is derived from the Nahuati word āhuacamolli which literally translates to “avocado sauce”. The earliest known written recipe for guacamole can be found in the 1697 book, A New Voyage Round the World, by English pirate William Dampier. Dampier visited Central America during one of his circumnavigation campaigns, and noted that guacamole was made by “grinding together avocados, sugar, and lime juice.”
As more Europeans landed on the shores of Central America, additional ingredients were added to the recipe. Today, most guacamole recipes consist of avocados, lime juice, salt, onions, cilantro, garlic, cumin, and tomatoes.
INSPIRATION FOR OUR ITALIAN GUACAMOLE
We first sampled Italian guacamole at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Piola. Sipping on happy hour cocktails at the bar, we were pleasantly surprised when the bartender placed a small bowl of guacamole and sliced focaccia in front of us.
“That’s this?” we asked.
“Italian guac. Give it a try,” he said. **(One of the great things about Piola is that they offer complimentary appetizers during happy hour).
One taste and our minds were blown 🤯. You see, we here at Plant-Based Passport believe that Mexico and Italy are two of the greatest culinary capitals in the world. This dish was the perfect marriage of the two cuisines. It was rich, creamy, and familiar, yet differently different. We knew we had to come up with our own recipe. And we did.
📝 INGREDIENTS
- 🥑 Avocados: You can’t make guacamole without the star of the show.
- 🍋 Lemon juice: An acidic element that brightens and wakes up the flavors of this guacamole. Used in place of lime in a traditional Mexican-style guacamole.
- 🧅 Red onion: A fragrant aromatic. We like to use red onion in this recipe, because of its crispy texture, assertiveness and vibrant color.
- 🧄 Garlic: Another fragrant aromatic that adds a touch of spicy pungency.
- 🍅 Roma tomatoes: Add tartness, color and juiciness.
- 🌿 Basil: Basil is a mainstay in Italian cuisine that adds freshness to every dish. Used in place of cilantro in a traditional Mexican-style guacamole.
- 🧂 Salt and freshly cracked black pepper: To enhance the flavors of our guacamole.
🌿 HOW TO CHIFFONADE
For this recipe, you’ll need to cut the basil leaves into a chiffonade. A chiffonade is basically a fancy French term for herbs or leafy green vegetables sliced into long, thin strips. Here’s how:
- Stack the basil leaves and roll them up lengthwise into a cigar shape.
- Then slice the rolled basil into ribbons.
🔪 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Squeeze Lemon Juice Over Avocados. Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocados in a mixing bowl to prevent the avocados from oxidizing.
- Mash The Avocados. With a potato masher or fork, mash the avocados, leaving it chunky in consistency for texture.
- Mix In The Remaining Ingredients. Mix in shallots, garlic, tomato, basil, salt and pepper.
- Serve. Serve with sliced focaccia, ciabatta, or any other crusty rustic bread.
❤️ WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- Light and nutrient dense
- Perfect charcuterie or game day appetizer
- Easy to make
💡RECIPE TIPS
- Prevent Oxidation. Have all of your ingredients chopped and ready to go, before peeling the avocados. This way you minimize the amount of time the peeled avocados spend exposed to oxygen. This will keep them green longer. Also, hitting your peeled avocados with a splash of lemon juice will prevent them from turning brown.
- No bread? No problem. If you don’t have any bread on hand, you can always serve this guacamole with tortilla chips. Duh!
- Storage. Store your leftover guacamole in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
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DID YOU MAKE OUR ITALIAN GUACAMOLE?
Did you make this recipe? We’d love to hear about it! Please comment and leave a 5-star🌟 rating below. Share your dish with us on Instagram and tag us @plantbased.passport. We would love to seeing your delicious creations! Still hungry? Follow us on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest for more global vegan recipes and travel tips!🍴✈️
👩🏽🍳 RECIPE
ITALIAN GUACAMOLE
Ingredients
- 4 avocados peeled and pitted
- 1 lemon juiced
- ½ cup red onion minced
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 2 Roma tomatoes diced
- ½ cup fresh basil sliced into a chiffonade
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Pour lemon juice over avocados in a mixing bowl. Mash avocado with a potato masher or fork, leaving it chunky in consistency for texture. Mix in shallots, garlic, tomato, basil, salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Notes
- Prevent Oxidation. Have all of your ingredients chopped and ready to go, before peeling the avocados. This way you minimize the amount of time the peeled avocados spend exposed to oxygen. This will keep them green longer. Also, hitting your peeled avocados with a splash of lemon juice will prevent them from turning brown.
- No bread? No problem. If you don’t have any bread on hand, you can always serve this guacamole with tortilla chips. Duh!
- Storage. Store your leftover guacamole in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
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