We Tried 10 Tubs of Guacamole — And the Surprising Winner Could Totally Pass for Homemade

Tortilla chips and guacamole are one of the best chip-and-dip combos of all time. According to recipe developer Marissa Gencarelli (who developed our guacamole recipe!), guacamole is rooted in Mexican history and was originally created by the Aztecs, “who enjoyed it over tortillas much like we do today.” Hundreds of years later, it’s still a party must-have. 

While it’s hard to compete with the freshness of homemade guacamole, there are still plenty of great pre-made tubs out there. How can we be so sure? Well, we spent weeks researching and an entire afternoon dipping our way through 10 different brands to find the absolute best one. 

For the purposes of this test, we focused on guacamole brands that were advertised as just guacamole — free of extra spices, add-ins, or flavorings. We narrowed down the brands based on availability, popularity, and affordability. They ranged in price from $3 all the way up to $8, although most were around $5 at the time of this tasting. We also requested input from our editorial team to round out the list of 10 competitors.

We grabbed a group of testers, a big bowl of chips, and 10 bowls of chilled guacamole (everyone was psyched!). After a long-yet-delicious hour of dipping, one guacamole stood out for its chunky texture and “super-flavorful” taste. 

When all the tallies were in, Herdez Guacamole earned the honors of the best store-bought guacamole of the bunch. Herdez is a Mexican-owned-and-operated brand that has an incredibly popular salsa verde, so it was not too big of a shocker that its guacamole is also top-notch. “The flavor is definitely big on this one,” raved Ola, our culinary associate. “I can see myself hosting a party with this being the star of the spread.” 

She wasn’t the only one. Susan, our associate director of brand innovation and strategy, summed it up perfectly: “It’s really chunky, and I LOVE it.” The ingredient list is short, and contains just avocados, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, salt, lime juice, and serrano peppers. Ola also praised its “slight heat” and “fresh flavor” that Ali, our associate groceries editor, echoed: “This guacamole checks all of my boxes.”

• “Fresh flavor” with a slight heat
• “Really chunky”

We were a bit surprised to see Sabra Guacamole clinch runner-up status — mainly because we usually associate the brand with its delicious hummus. Turns out, it makes really great guac, too. In fact, the number-one thing that Ali looks for in a good guacamole is acid, and Sabra’s had a “strong, lime-forward flavor” that kept her dipping. 

Susan also raved about its lime flavor, “bright-green color,” and “creamy, savory texture and taste.” This guacamole’s strong citrus flavor, largely due to the combination of lime juice concentrate and ascorbic acid, was a bit overpowering for some, like Kayla, our senior special projects manager. But if lime is your thing, then you’ll love this one. 

• Strong lime flavor
• Budget buy

• For some, too lime-forward

“Zesty, balanced, and very fresh,” are the five words Ola used to describe this store-brand guacamole. The diced red onions and tomatoes added to its “colorful appearance.” I could “get on with this one,” she wrote. 

Brian, our executive director of people operations, was also a big fan: “It has a nice spice and lime flavor that tastes like it was freshly made.” This was the only guacamole to come in smaller, 2.5-ounce cups, which we like for easy snacking and packing. 

So how come this guacamole didn’t rank higher in our tests? Well, others, like Ali, found the “really strong garlic flavor” a bit overwhelming (although it would make an excellent avocado toast).

• Fresh, zesty, and colorful

• Strong garlic flavor
• Comes in 2.5-ounce cups
• Bulk buy

If you like your guacamole on the extra-chunky side, then Good Foods Chunky Traditional Guacamole is the one for you. This aptly named guacamole has the “chunkiest texture” out of the bunch and a nice savory flavor, according to Lisa, our marketing and research director. Susan was also #TeamChunky guacamole and praised its “good flavor and texture.”

Ali (who, again, is a big lime fan) says that she’d “add more lime” to make this one “perfect.”

• Extra chunky

• For some, needs more lime
• $$$

Several testers noted the “wonderfully smooth,” “very smooth,” and even “too smooth” texture of this creamy guacamole. We’d compare it to more of a purée. The feels were all over the place, but the tasters who liked this guacamole really liked it, while a few others weren’t in love with the texture. Lisa was one of the biggest fans of its “very flavorful” and “strong” avocado flavor. 

It also comes in the largest tub and at the cheapest price. 

• Smooth
• Strong avocado flavor

• For some, too smooth

We recruited seven staff members to randomly taste 10 different store-bought guacamole brands. Ahead of the tasting Vicky, our studio director, transferred each guacamole to its own plain white ceramic bowl. She assigned each one a letter — A through J — to conceal the brands’ identities. We also had tortilla chips and water (as a palate cleanser) on hand during the tasting.

Tasters were encouraged to sample the guacamole brands in random order (to avoid giving any particular brand an advantage) before writing down their thoughts. Our team then rated each one on a scale of one to five (1 = No, thanks; 2 = Meh; 3 = Pretty good; 4 = Really like; 5 = Yes, Please!) across four criteria — look, smell, texture, and flavor — and included any specific observations, tasting notes, and general opinions worth mentioning. They were also asked to answer, arguably, the most important question of all: Would you buy this guacamole?

To decide which guacamole is worth buying, we recruited seven volunteer testers who work at Apartment Therapy Media (our parent company) to evaluate 10 different brands based on texture, look, smell, desire to repurchase, and, of course, flavor. 

Tasters were unaware of the brands involved and sampled each one randomly. Each taster independently filled out a score sheet, scoring and ranking each one without larger discussion or influence from the group throughout the entirety of the test. It was only after all evaluations were completed that we tallied the scores to determine the winners.

Did your favorite guacamole brand make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.