This creamy guacamole salsa, also known as guacatillo, is the ultimate taco topping! Made with avocados, tomatillos, and green chilies, it’s smooth, tangy, and just the right amount of spicy. Ready in minutes and way better than store-bought!
Now, a quick distinction: regular guacamole is thicker, spreadable, and sometimes has tomatoes. Guacamole salsa, on the other hand, is thinner because of the tomatillos, making it perfect for drizzling over tacos, quesadillas, or tostadas.
In Mexico, this salsa is also known as guacatillo because it’s basically a mash-up of aguacate (avocado) and tomatillo. Makes sense, right?
No matter the name, it’s a taquería staple and you’ll find it at just about every taco stand for good reason. So, let me show you how to make it at home!
Ingredients Needed
- Avocados: Two small, ripe ones.
- Tomatillos: Optional! Use fresh (boiled) or canned.
- Green chiles: Serrano, jalapeño, or whatever you’ve got.
- Onion: White or yellow works best. Red will change the color of the sauce.
- Cilantro: A good bunch, stems and all.
- Lime: Just half is enough.
- Garlic: One small clove (or a teaspoon of jarred garlic), so it doesn’t overpower the avocado.
- Salt: Any kind you like.
How To Make Guacamole Salsa or Guacatillo
If you’re using fresh tomatillos, give them a rinse (those little papery husks leave behind a sticky residue). Toss them in a saucepan, cover with water, and let them simmer for about 5 minutes until they soften up.
Drain and let them cool. If you’re using canned tomatillos, congrats, you just skipped a whole step.
Now, let’s start with the ingredients that need a little extra blending love.
In a food processor or blender, throw in the chilies, onion, garlic, salt, a handful of cilantro, and about ¼ cup of water.
Blitz for about a minute to really break down the garlic and onion.
This step is technically optional, but trust me, it makes the garlic blend in smoothly so you don’t end up with surprise garlic chunks.
Time to add the stars of the show! Scoop in your ripe avocados, add the cooled tomatillos, the rest of the cilantro, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Now, how smooth do you like your guacamole salsa? If you’re into a chunky, rustic texture, just pulse a few times.
Want it silky smooth? Let it blend on high for about 30 seconds. Either way, you can’t mess this up.
Pour it into a bowl or jar and give it a taste. Need more salt? A bit more lime? Adjust as needed.
Then drizzle it over your tacos, dip your tortilla chips, or just stand there with a spoon. No one’s watching.
And there you have it. Easy, homemade guacamole salsa that’s way better than anything store-bought. Hope you love it as much as I do!
Notes And Tips
- Let the tomatillos cool. Blending them hot speeds up browning, and no one wants a sad-looking salsa.
- Go easy on the lime. Unlike guacamole, you won’t really taste it, but it helps keep the color vibrant. A little goes a long way!
- I don’t like to feel chunks of garlic or onions in my guacatillo sauce, so I always blend them first.
- Spice it your way. Add more chilies for a kick, or remove the seeds and membranes if you just want the flavor without the fire.
- No tomatillos? No problem. The salsa will be extra creamy without them. Just add half an extra avocado and a splash more water to get the right consistency.
Ways To Enjoy It
This guacamole salsa is so good, you’ll want to put it on everything! Here are some of my favorite ways to use it:
Storing
Guacamole salsa lasts up to 3 days in the fridge stored in an airtight container with a bit of lemon juice or water on top. Here’s how:
Place leftovers in a jar and top with a thin layer of lime juice or water. Close the lid and store. When ready to eat, discard the liquid on top, stir the salsa and enjoy!
You can also freeze guacatillo salsa for up to 3 months. Just transfer to a resealable bag and vacuum the air as much as possible.
When you are ready to eat, thaw in the refrigerator, transfer to a bowl, give it a stir and enjoy.
More Salsa Recipes
Guacamole Salsa (guacatillo)
Ingredients
- 2 small ripe avocados
- ½ lb tomatillos (or 1 -13oz can)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- jalapeño or serrano chiles (as many as you want)
- 1 small onion (cut into chunks)
- lime juice (to taste)
- 1 garlic clove (peleed)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Remove the husks from tomatillos, wash them and boil them until soft.
- Drain tomatillos and allow them to cool down. If using canned tomatillos, drain them too.
- Add a few chilies, garlic, onion, salt, and some cilantro to a blender or food processor.
- Add ¼ cup of water and blend for 1 minute.
- Add tomatillos, avocado flesh, remaining cilantro, more chilies if you want, and lime juice.
- Blend until your desired consistency (read notes).
- Transfer the sauce to a bowl or jar and adjust the salt and lime juice to taste.
- Serve or store for later.
Notes
- The salsa texture will depend on how long you blend it.
- Adjust lime juice at the end. Unlike guacamole, you can’t really feel the tangy taste here, just a subtle flavor.
- I don’t like to feel chunks of garlic in my sauce, so I always blend it first with 1-2 chilies and onion.
- Adjust spicy to taste by adding fewer or more chilies.
- You can also remove seeds and membranes from chilies.
- Tomatillos are not easily available worldwide, so you can leave them out.
- If you don’t add tomatillos, add 1/2 extra avocado and more water to blend the ingredients.
Nutrition Information
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Me encantó
Hi Mari,
I served this with Tacos al pastor at my mother in law’s last night. It went down a storm!
The only green chillies that I could get hold of were ‘Serenade’. I used two. 1 had no heat, the other a nice kick but my mother in law appreciated the soured cream on the side.
Thanks again for another great recipe!
Paul:-)
Hello! I just made this Guacamole Salsa and it is DELICIOUS! Question: Can I freeze part of my batch so it keeps longer? I doubled the recipe because I didn’t know how much it would make and now I have A LOT of this scrumptious salsa I don’t want to waste!
Hi Jenny, yes you can freeze this salsa for up to 2-3 months. I recommend using a bag and vacuum as much air as possible. When you wan to eat it, thaw it overnight in the fridge, give it a stir and enjoy.
Delicious! Thank you!
omg that is too good its perfect thank you
Your photo shows what look like the dried out chilis? Does it matter if they are fresh or dried?
Hi Deseree. The ones in the photo are thai fresh green chilies. You can use jalapeno, thai, serrano, any green hot peppers you can find.
Dried chilies are usually red and if you use those it can change a bit the color of the salsa but the taste will still be great.
One of my favorite sauces
Guacamole sauce is a awesome sauce .it look so tastes ..
Loved the consistency of the sauce, I was a bit afraid to use the chillies and endded up being too hot for the kids or the family, but was actually okay for them, very mild. Thank you for the recipe, would love to use more avocado in my cooking!