Pomegranate Gives Your Guacamole Little Bursts Of Sweet, Tangy Flavor

Fresh guacamole is certainly worth the effort it takes to find perfectly ripe avocados to make it at home — and the extra cash it costs to get a dollop on top of your burrito bowl at restaurants. The delicious Mexican dip is usually spruced up with cilantro, fresh lime juice, jalapeno, and red onion with a bit of salt to bring out the flavors. Sometimes, you might find an elevated version with crab meat or diced tomatoes — but have you added pomegranate seeds to your homemade guacamole? The vibrant red fruit will add bursts of sweet and tangy flavors and extra color to brighten the dish.

It might sound like a strange combination, but it's an ideal pairing as the sharp yet sweet flavor of the pomegranate balances the mellow avocado and bright acidity of the lime, while also counteracting any spice. Guacamole is commonly served chunky or creamy, and the pomegranate will add bits of crunch for a contrasting texture. Not to mention, the fruit is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients.

You can follow our recipe for colorful pomegranate guacamole created by Tasting Table recipe developer Miriam Hahn. It uses red onion, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, and pomegranate seeds, of course. Hahn suggests serving this cheerful guacamole with tortilla chips or vegetable sticks like carrots and celery. You can also serve it on tacos, sandwiches, or as a dip with nachos.

When it comes to buying pomegranate seeds for this guacamole, you have two options. You can either buy a whole fruit and remove the pomegranate seeds yourself or you can buy ready-to-eat pomegranate seeds, or arils as some packages are labeled. According to our recipe, you'll need ¾ cup of pomegranate seeds.

For the avocados, our recipe calls for three ripe avocados, but you can easily add more if you want the dip to go further. Hahn suggests using avocados "that give a little when squeezed, but ones that are not overly ripe." You can also use very ripe avocados in guacamole if you need to use them before they go bad. If you're picking some up from the store, look for avocados that are dark green and almost black in color and are soft to the touch but not mushy.

The rest of the process of making this colorful guacamole is simple if you follow our recipe. To customize the dip, you could swap out the jalapeno with serrano peppers for more spice, add a dash of cumin for a more earthy flavor, sprinkle in cayenne pepper for a fiercer heat or smoked paprika for smokiness, or garnish with crumbled feta cheese for a tangy salty finish. The beauty of fresh guacamole is that it's open to different additions according to your taste.