The best guacamole recipe you need, Iowa style guacamole with bacon, because guacamole and bacon just go together.
Wait, bacon tends to go with everything, right?!? Here’s the deal with guacamole, it is incredibly healthy, filling and satisfying. Plus my entire family loves it, including my kids. Who actually would prefer to eat guac with a spoon. Yes, my family considers guacamole a main dish. With this in mind, I wanted to spice it up and add some additions that would make it even more filling and nutritious.
Not to mention, if you’re struggling with quick meal ideas, lunch box ideas for your kids or even you, guacamole is a good go-to. It is versatile, can be made quickly or prepped ahead {we’ll talk in a bit about storing it to prevent browning} and put on nearly everything.
Even more important it is loaded with nutrients. Here are some health facts about avocados. Yes, I’m trying to entice you into eating them more, in unlimited quantities, because they really are that healthy for you!
- Avocado’s are loaded with fiber including both soluble {makes you feel full} and insoluble fiber {helps your food to pass}. One medium-sized avocado has roughly 10 grams of fiber.
- They are the only fruits that contain monounsaturated fat. Monounsaturated fats are the good for you fat helping to reduce inflammation and bad cholesterol.
- Surprise, they are also allergen friendly. That means they’re gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and vegetarian! In fact, if you are vegan and vegetarian, or are dairy-free they provide a nice creamy alternative to many cheeses.
Have I sold you yet? If not there are tons of other benefits we won’t go into now but I promise you’ll want to find ways to add these to your diet even if you don’t love them.
Did I mention this recipe contains bacon?
I guess that is one way to love them right?
how to prevent browning
Like I mentioned guacamole is a great food to prep ahead of time to scoop on your salad, add to your child’s lunch box or just grab and go. The only problem is avocados tend to brown and quickly at that. I’ve done a lot of reading on how to keep guacamole fresh and there seems to be three common ways that work.
- Add water to the top of the guacamole to cover and drain before using. This prevents the air from hitting the guac, which is what actually causes the browning or oxidation.
- Squeeze with a layer of lemon juice or lime juice, again to prevent the air from touching it.
- Add the pit of the avocado to the middle of the bowl of guacamole.
There is a lot of controversy that third tip actually works, so you may want to stick with the top two. Honestly, the top layer is the only portion that will brown so even if you don’t try to prevent it, just stir it up before serving and it’s good to go. However, if you’ve tried the pit thing and it works, leave a comment because I’d love to know!
Regardless, the guacamole trend is one I hope you catch on to.
Iowa-Style Guacamole
This Iowa style guacamole features some of Iowa’s best “farm” products including; vine-ripe cherry tomatoes, red onions, grilled sweet corn, fresh cilantro and of course crispy bacon.
I would love to tell you personally how amazing this was, but my kids and husband took it upon themselves to clean up the bowl in minutes. So I’d say from their perspective it was incredibly delicious, so much so they ate it right out of the bowl with spoons.
Actually since then, I’ve made it just for myself. Because a mom has to eat someway or another, right? I have to tell you this may be my favorite version of guacamole yet with this coming in as a close second. I put it on some toast, which elevates that avocado toast 10 times! I promise you won’t go wrong and even if you don’t have all the ingredients, whatever you have will do!
Enjoy!
- 4 ripe avocados
- 2-3 tablespoon red onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 5 slices bacon, crumbled
- 1 ear sweet corn, cut from the cob
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
- fresh cilantro
- salt, to taste
- Remove the green fruit from the avocado. Mash with a fork.
- Add in red onion, garlic, and lime juice and salt. Taste to make sure it is to your liking.
- Add in remaining ingredients; crumbled bacon, sweet corn, chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh cilantro.
- Stir gently and enjoy!
