These Guacamole Tacos are so simple, delicious, vegan, and full of rich, velvety avocado and sweet corn that I just had to share with all the Offbeat Homies! Plus they can be made with just five ingredients — or you can top them with as many things as you’d like!
This recipe will serve about four people around 2-3 tacos each…
Ingredients:
- 4 avocados
- 2 ears of corn
- Corn tortillas
- Lime
- Salt and pepper
- Cilantro
- Red onion
- Chopped jalapenos
- Whatever taco toppings you like!
Recipe:
Shuck the corn and place the bare ears directly on the burners of your gas range. If your corn has one of those natural stalk handles, leave it on — that’s a handle! (If you don’t have a gas range, check out this simple recipe on oven roasting corn.) Turn heat to medium-high so the flames are licking the corn — turn them every minute or so, as they crackle and pop and bits of them turn black. Lightly and unevenly blackened is what you’re going for here — think fire roasted.
Peel and cube the avocados however you like. This is what I do: slice the avocados in half with a large knife and remove pits. To do this I thwack my large knife pretty hard into the avocado pit, so it sticks into it, then I twist it lightly and lift to remove the pit, which can be removed from the knife by running it along the edge of your sink, so the pit falls into the sink. [Editor’s note: This can be dangerous so be careful!] Then I peel and roughly chop the avocado halves.
To remove the corn from the ear, stand the corn up on the narrower side, holding the wider base, or the stalk if the corn has one, then using a large sharp knife, cut the corn away from the ear straight down from the top to the bottom. If you don’t cut it down to the bottom of the kernels, you can take a second pass. You won’t really be able to cut off much of the ear beyond the kernels because it’ll feel distinctly firmer and harder to cut. Remove kernels from both ears of corn and add to the bowl with the avocados.
Cut the lime in half and add the juice of one half to the avocado-corn mixture. Add a dash of salt and a healthy grinding of black pepper. Using a large spoon, mix and occasionally mash the avocados-corn mixture until it resembles half-mashed guacamole, or until it reaches the consistency you desire. I like mine to be very chunky, but held together with mashed avocado.
Megan-simple recipe: Guacamole + baked chips
Here's an easy chips and guacamole recipe so simple even cooking-challenge editor Megan can do it. Eat and be amazed at its simple-deliciousness.
Now you can either spoon this directly into the corn tortillas, or you can lightly toast the tortillas, by placing them on your stove burner on medium-high for a few seconds on each side, then add the filling.
Squeeze the other half the lime over top of your prepared tacos and add any additional toppings you may want. We like to do cilantro and red onion!
If you’re feeling more adventurous, here’s a slightly more complicated version of this recipe — it involves some simple, light pickling of red onions.
Easier way to remove the avocado pit from your knife: Use a kitchen towel to protect your hand and simply pull the pit off the knife. The recipe looks super yummy and a great way to use up the couple stray ears of corn I have kicking around from my CSA!
My boyfriend prefers a method pit-from-knife removal where he pinches the part of the avocado that the knife is thwacked into from behind- this works for him every time, but I apparently lack the hand strength or coordination or something, the pit stays firmly attached when I try!
If you’re not going for picture-perfect avocado slices (e.g., when making guacamole like this), you can also squeeze the avocado half in your hand until the pit loosens and then pull it away.
These look great!
If you are like me and don’t have a gas stove but do have a grill, you can also grill the corn. Soak the corn, husks and all, submerged in water for 20 minutes. Corn cobs like to float, so weigh it down with something. Place on grill. Grill until right before there’s fire. Shuck (carefully) and eat!
How do you pick out a good avocado from the store?
For a Hass avocado (the type I used in this recipe- although Florida avocados would totally work) you want an avocado with a dark skin, and when you gently squeeze the neck area (try to squeeze with your hand instead of using fingertip pressure, to avoid bruising) it should have some give but still be fairly firm, if you squeeze the neck (the tapering part) and it feels hollow or collapse-y then it’s overripe. If the neck is totally hard then it isn’t ripe yet.
Living in an apartment in a very urban setting, I totally forgot about grilling corn! Ah, what I wouldn’t give for a grill and a place to put it.
I *want* to like avocados, I really do. Especially when I see decent veg meals. But I just can’t do the texture. Or the taste. Or smell. Basically, I would like them if they weren’t avocados.
That’s how I feel about mushrooms. They’re healthy and in so many things I want to like them, but something about them just displeases my mouth so much.
I get the avocado seed out by lightly squeezing the sides of the avocado– it usually pops out. I’ve tried the knife trick and I always fear I’m going to chop off a finger!
I’m going to try these tacos later this week!
Also, @justanotherscience nerd, the best way to pick out a ripe avocado: the skin should be dark, not bright green, it should feel firm but slightly squishy and when you remove the stem from the top, the skin under should be yellow, not brown. 🙂
I will have to try the squeezing method for removing pits! Sounds so simple, I can’t wait to try it out.
I squeeze as well, and I find that the easier the pit can be popped out by squeezing the more likely the avocado is ready to eat. For firmer avocados and unmovable pits I just set the bowl of unchopped avocado aside for a day, in the fridge, and then make guac the next night. But then, avocados might be like bananas and we all have different ideas of “ready.”
OH MY GOSH this combines my major loves in lif: corn and avocado. I am making this tonight!
Yay! Hope it turns out delicious!
Looks like sour cream is on the ingredients but not in the actual recipe. FYI, for anyone making this for a vegan house-guest, sour cream is not vegan!
True. I just took the sour cream out of the ingredients since it’s never used in the actual recipe.
Made this tonight, along with homemade seitan. Absolutely delicious – thanks for sharing!
How long do you leave the onions in the fridge to get pickled?