Festive Pomegranate Guacamole
Homemade guacamole with fresh pomegranate makes a beautiful holiday appetizer! It’s a vegetarian, gluten-free snack that everyone will enjoy. This guacamole goes great with tortilla chips and prepared raw vegetables, like carrots and broccoli. Recipe yields about 3 cups of guacamole (enough for a small gathering) and could easily be halved.
Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe avocados, pitted and diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ medium red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, mostly leaves, chopped
- 1 to 2 small jalapeños (or 1 serrano pepper), seeded and chopped
- 1 medium pomegranate, deseeded (about 1 cup worth of pomegranate arils)
- Optional: ½ cup crumbled feta
Instructions
- With a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, garlic and salt. Mash the ingredients together with a large fork or potato masher until the avocado is nice and creamy.
- To ensure that the onion flavor doesn’t overpower the guacamole, rinse the chopped onion under running water (I used a fine mesh colander). Pat the onion dry with a paper towel.
- Add the onion, chopped cilantro and jalapeño to the bowl and mix well. Gently stir in ½ of the pomegranate arils.
- For extra presentation points, transfer the guacamole to an appropriately sized serving bowl now. Sprinkle remaining pomegranate arils over guacamole, along with some additional chopped cilantro and optional feta, if you’d like. Serve immediately. If you have leftover guacamole, cover the top with plastic wrap, pressing it against the surface to minimize oxidation. Guacamole is best fresh but will keep in the refrigerator for up to two days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Don’t add feta.
Make it gluten free: This dip is gluten free. Choose your accompaniments wisely.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.