Cook's Illustrated

Lighter Guacamole

Published April 2, 2007.

Full-fat guacamole is addictively delicious, but it's anything but light. Could we keep it full-flavored while reducing the fat?

The Problem

Most low-fat versions of guacamole replace the avocado with vegetables like green peas, asparagus, zucchini—but we just couldn't let go of the avocado.

The Goal

We wanted a lighter, velvety dip made chunky by bits of buttery avocado in every bite.

The Solution

To keep the avocado flavor high, but the calorie quotient low, we developed three key steps. We replaced 2 (out of 3) avocados with 1 cup of cooked, pureed, and peeled lima beans. We added reduced-fat mayonnaise to the lima bean puree to make it smoother and creamier. Finally, we extended the dip by folding in 1 chopped tomato, which also gave the dip some necessary acidity to balance the flavors.

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