This Guacamole Has a Protein-Packed Secret Ingredient

 by Jess Barron

Our guacamole recipe is more nutritious, just as tasty and contains more protein to keep you fuller longer because it contains a secret ingredient.

Cinco de Mayo isn't complete without a big bowl of creamy guacamole. But our avocado love is not just reserved for special occasions — we celebrate guac year-round.

Latin American sauce guacamole and avocado sandwiches on dark background.

According to the researchers at National Today, one quarter of people surveyed say they eat guacamole at least once a week! Also, guac is something we readily open our wallets to pay for — 38 percent of Americans say that guacamole is always worth the extra money.

Guacamole has grown in popularity over the years in the U.S. In 2014, Americans consumed 7 pounds of guacamole each on average, while just 20 years earlier, we had only been eating 1 pound per year on average each. (True, that one pound is actually quite a lot of guacamole!)

According to the California Avocado Association, Cinco de Mayo is also one of the largest avocado consumption days of the year. If you can believe it, 87 million pounds of avocados and 349 million servings of guacamole are consumed in one day.

Is your mind blown yet? Just wait...

Wanna Punch Up the Protein in Your Guac With a Secret Ingredient?

Our LIVESTRONG.COM guac recipe is more nutritious, just as tasty and contains more protein to keep you fuller longer because it contains a secret ingredient.

Shhhh! Don't tell anyone: It's green peas!

Yes, it's true. You can easily enhance your guacamole by "hiding" a nutritious veggie inside.

Adding a half cup of fresh green peas to your guacamole will add in vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and nine grams of protein while cutting the fat and keeping the creamy texture and delicious flavor.

Here's our video showing how easy it is to make:

Recipe for LIVESTRONG's 'Easy Peas-y' Guac

Calories: 108

Fat: 8 grams

Carbs: 9 grams

Protein: 2 grams

(See the full nutritional information.)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves: 8-10 people

Yield: Approximately 3 cups

Serving Size: 4-5 tablespoons

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup fresh green peas (shelled)
  • 3 avocados, pitted and peeled
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 diced red onion
  • 2 serrano or jalapeño peppers, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. In a blender or food processor, purée peas.

2. Combine the peas, lime juice, spices and avocado in the blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

3. Add red onion, serrano peppers, tomato and cilantro and blend together.

4. Remove from the mixer and put in a bowl to chill in the fridge. Serve cold, and enjoy with baby carrots, celery and broccoli. And OK, maybe some (organic) corn chips. (Choose organic chips if you want to avoid GMO corn – 88 percent of the corn grown in the U.S. is GMO.

5. Enjoy!

About the Author

JESS BARRON is Editor-in-Chief and GM for LIVESTRONG.COM, a leading healthy lifestyle website with more than 32 million unique monthly viewers. In addition to LIVESTRONG, her writing has appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune and MyDomaine. She has been interviewed about her advice for female entrepreneurs by Inc., HuffingtonPost and FabFitFun. Jess has appeared on MSNBC, CNN and ABC News and has been a keynote speaker at Health Further and a panelist at SXSW, Create & Cultivate and Digital Hollywood. Follow Jess on Instagram and Twitter at @jessbeegood!

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