Creamy Purple Tomatillo Guacamole Recipe. I know everyone has a guacamole recipe, this one is mine. And I have my trick to keeping leftover guacamole green in the fridge for days and days.
I love guacamole, definitely something I could eat daily and never get sick of it. Usually when I make it I am lazy and just do avocados, lime and salt. That's it and it is still really good with those three, simple ingredients.
This his time I decided to share my loaded guacamole recipe to show off some of the gorgeous purple tomatillos we grew in our garden this year.
Aren't these stunning? Purple tomatillos are smaller and sweeter than the typical green tomatillos you see in stores and farmer's markets. They have a very unique tomatillo flavor and we absolutely love them. This bowl was one of many harvests this year.
I made a quick bowl of guacamole one evening, snapped a few pics because hey why not and then decided to make again for a this blog post.
This one seen below is just avocados, lime, salt, cilantro and the homegrown purple tomatillos. We devoured this bowl in a few minutes. So good.
I make GOOD guacamole. I think it's because I was born and raised in Southern California. As a Californian, it is in our genes to make good guac.
We had avocado trees at our house growing up but we also had access to some of the most amazing avocados grown in the area, from farms like Rincon Tropics. Just look at these beauties!
What ingredients do you use for guacamole?
Besides avocados, the sky is the limit for what you want to add in. I know some people are purists and don't add in too much, others like to go wild and add in all kinds of different ingredients such as corn, mango, pineapple, etc. For mine I use:
Avocados - I like big avocados, ripe but not too ripe. You want them to have a little give when you gently squeeze them so when you cut in half the seed can easily be removed.
Limes - I think lime juice is a must. I use the trick of rolling the whole lime between my hand and counter to release as much juice as possible before cutting and squeezing into the bowl of mashed avocado. Regular limes work here, if you want to use smaller limes such as key limes, you can, but you will need more than two.
Red Onion - I like fresh red onion in my guacamole but not so much that it is overpowering. I dice it and measure out about a half a cup, you can start with less and add more to your liking.
Cilantro - another must have for me, I add chopped fresh cilantro to the guacamole as well as add a few stems with leaves as a garnish.
Tomatillos - I love raw tomatillos. If you cannot find purple you can use the green instead. They are more tart than purple.
Spices - salt, pepper, garlic, cumin. Sometimes I add in onion powder if I don't use diced onion and other times I will add in a little heat from cayenne or ancho, a little smoke from smoked salt or smoked paprika.
Get all your ingredients out and ready to go. You can use a bowl and fork to mash the avocado, a large molcajete would also work. I still need to get one of those one of these days. They are awesome for grinding whole spices too.
I start with mashing up the avocado, but leave some chunks, I don't like it completely smooth. Also because I continue to mix it as I add in the rest of the ingredients.
Mashed avocados, add in the juice of two limes, then I add in my spices. I stir and taste at this point to see if I want any more salt or lime juice or whatnot.
Next I add in the onion, tomatillo and cilantro and mix. When ready to serve I will garnish with more diced tomatillo, lime slices, and some sprigs of cilantro.
Serve with salty chips. I love serving with both blue and yellow corn tortilla chips.
How do you keep guacamole from turning brown? Why do avocados turn brown?
You make an amazing bowl of guacamole but there is some leftover. Leftover guacamole is rare, I know. Similar to leftover wine, right? But when you do have leftover you don't want it turning brown.
You want to save it for leftover but you know that whatever container you put it in, it will turn brown the next day. Avocados turn brown because of oxidation. Oxygen has a chemical reaction with the food items and turns them brown. You can also see oxidation happen with many other foods such as cut apples or peeled bananas.
What doesn't work to keep avocados or guacamole from turning brown:
- Wrapping bowl with plastic wrap.
- Pressing the plastic wrap against the guacamole
- Keeping an avocado pit in the bowl
- Covering the bowl with foil
- Squeezing extra lime or lemon juice over the top ( this also doesn't work with keeping a half an avocado from turning brown)
- Adding oil to the the top then pouring off. Olive oil is commonly used, doesn't work!
None of these work because you don't have the correct storage container yet! There is nothing wrong with the brown, you just stir or even scrape off the brown layer. But if you have the right container you don't have to worry about this at all anymore. I sound like an infomercial now I know, but I am telling you all this is it for keeping the green.
I SWEAR by these deli containers. Leftover avocado and guacamole never ever turns brown when I store leftovers or even a leftover half an avocado in them.
These are commercial or restaurant style food storage containers. Also known as a deli container. I get them in bulk, and use them for everything from dry snacks in our pantry, to saving guacamole to keep it from turning brown, to other sauces, soups etc.
They are leak proof as well as air tight. I use the larger containers when I make ice cream, for chilling the base and freezing the churned ice cream. They never get freezer burn.
I am not endorsed by these containers, the links to them are an Amazon affiliate link but you don't have to use it at all to purchase them. I swear by these containers and am telling you all you will never ever have guacamole oxidize and turn brown ever again if you use them for storage.
You can also find them at places such as Web Restaurant Store ( not an affiliate link) or search "16 ounce deli container" and find similar items.
You don't even have to fill the container all the way to the top to keep the guacamole green. There doesn't need to be anything pressing against the top of it, no need to cover with plastic wrap then the lid.
The lid is air and water tight. A simple little container that keeps guacamole fresh and green forever. That is if you even have leftover guacamole. We often don't.
A few more notes about this Creamy Purple Tomatillo Guacamole recipe first:
- I used purple tomatillos that we grew in our garden. We got the seeds from Baker Creek Seeds ( rareseeds.com) and there are many seed companies that sell them
- You can use either green tomatillos or purple, if you find tomatillos at a grocery store or specialty market labeled "Tomatillos de milpa" or "Milpero tomatillos" they are the smaller, sweeter variety that turns purple like the ones we grew and I used for this recipe.
- If you don't care for any of the ingredients feel free to sub or leave out. Don't like onion? leave it out. Not a fan of garlic? fine to omit. Really the base recipe is avocado, lime and salt - anything else is up to you. I think you all should try this version though, the fresh tomatillos are so good.
- And again, get these containers for keeping your leftover guacamole, I promise it will stay green and fresh. Like any food, it is perishable and will eventually spoil, but these containers extend that green color and freshness for a lot longer.
- I don't have a set serving size or recipe yield since I didn't measure to the cup. I used 6 large avocados, each avocado is around one cup mashed. But it will depend on the size avocados you end up using.
Creamy Purple Tomatillo Guacamole Recipe
Ingredients
- 5-6 large Avocados
- 3 limes 2 for juice, one cut into 6 wedges
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup red onion diced
- 1 cup purple tomatillos husks removed and chopped, plus a few tablespoons for garnish
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro plus more for garnish
Instructions
- Grab a large bowl and fork. Cut the avocados in half, remove the pits and scoop out into the bowl. Mash but still leave some smaller chunks of avocado.
- Roll two of the limes between your hand and table to release the juice then cut and squeeze the juice over the mashed avocado. Stir well. I switch to a wooden spoon for the rest of the stirring instead of using the fork.
- Add in the spices then stir again then add the diced red onion, chopped tomatillos and cilantro. Stir well
- Garnish with a few tablespoons of chopped tomatillo, a few sprigs of cilantro and slice the remaining lime into wedges and place around the sides. Serve with chips of choice
- To save remaining leftovers - scoop into the container as seen in the blog post. Add a cut lime wedge and cover with the lid. Keep chilled. If you use these specific containers your guacamole will not turn brown.
Notes
A few more awesome avocado recipes:
Roasted Hatch Chile Salsa with Avocado
Tropical Pineapple Avocado Smoothie
Savory California Hash Brown Waffles with Avocado
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