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Lighter Guacamole

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on August 22, 2007

Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 2 cups)

Lighter Guacamole

Ingredients

1 medium tomato (about 5 ounces), cored, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 cup)1 cup frozen lima beans (about 5 ounces)1 ripe but still firm avocado, preferably pebbly-skinned Hass (about 7 ounces)3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise ½ teaspoon Table salt ¼ cup minced fresh cilantro 1 medium jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced1 tablespoon minced red onion or shallot1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)½ teaspoon ground cumin

Before You Begin

We prefer to use mature lima beans rather than baby lima beans because their skins are easier to remove after cooking, resulting in a smoother dip. If using baby limas, you can opt to leave the skins on after cooking because they are more delicate and more time consuming to remove. (The puree will be slightly less smooth.) If you like your guacamole with more heat, include the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño. This recipe was published in The Best Light Recipe.

Instructions

  1. Place the tomato in a small colander set inside a bowl, and set aside to drain while preparing the rest of the guacamole.
  2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the frozen lima beans and cook until tender and creamy, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry with paper towels then remove the skins by pinching the beans so the skins slide off.
  3. Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out a quarter of the flesh. Puree a quarter of the avocado, skinned lima beans, lime juice, mayonnaise, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
  4. Cube the remaining three quarters of the avocado into 1/2-inch pieces and scrape into a medium bowl. Add the pureed lima mixture, drained tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and cumin; stir gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the guacamole to a serving bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the flavors meld, about 1 hour. (The guacamole, covered with plastic wrap pressed flush against the surface of the dip, can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature and season with additional lime juice, salt, and pepper as needed before serving.)
Lighter Guacamole

Lighter Guacamole

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Yield

Serves 8 (Makes 2 cups)

Ingredients

1 medium tomato (about 5 ounces), cored, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen lima beans (about 5 ounces)
1 ripe but still firm avocado, preferably pebbly-skinned Hass (about 7 ounces)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Table salt
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
1 medium jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 tablespoon minced red onion or shallot
1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 medium tomato (about 5 ounces), cored, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen lima beans (about 5 ounces)
1 ripe but still firm avocado, preferably pebbly-skinned Hass (about 7 ounces)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Table salt
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
1 medium jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 tablespoon minced red onion or shallot
1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Ingredients

1 medium tomato (about 5 ounces), cored, seeded, and chopped fine (about 1 cup)
1 cup frozen lima beans (about 5 ounces)
1 ripe but still firm avocado, preferably pebbly-skinned Hass (about 7 ounces)
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)
2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise
½ teaspoon Table salt
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro
1 medium jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 tablespoon minced red onion or shallot
1 medium clove garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 teaspoon)
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Test Kitchen Techniques

Why This Recipe Works

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

Before You Begin

We prefer to use mature lima beans rather than baby lima beans because their skins are easier to remove after cooking, resulting in a smoother dip. If using baby limas, you can opt to leave the skins on after cooking because they are more delicate and more time consuming to remove. (The puree will be slightly less smooth.) If you like your guacamole with more heat, include the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño. This recipe was published in The Best Light Recipe.

Instructions

  1. Place the tomato in a small colander set inside a bowl, and set aside to drain while preparing the rest of the guacamole.
  2. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan over high heat. Add the frozen lima beans and cook until tender and creamy, about 5 minutes. Drain the beans and rinse under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry with paper towels then remove the skins by pinching the beans so the skins slide off.
  3. Halve the avocado, remove the pit, and scoop out a quarter of the flesh. Puree a quarter of the avocado, skinned lima beans, lime juice, mayonnaise, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor until smooth, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed with a rubber spatula.
  4. Cube the remaining three quarters of the avocado into 1/2-inch pieces and scrape into a medium bowl. Add the pureed lima mixture, drained tomato, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, garlic, and cumin; stir gently to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer the guacamole to a serving bowl; cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until the flavors meld, about 1 hour. (The guacamole, covered with plastic wrap pressed flush against the surface of the dip, can be refrigerated for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature and season with additional lime juice, salt, and pepper as needed before serving.)

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