Can guacamole be heated in the microwave? - It is safe?

Guacamole, made from the delicious avocado, is used in many different dishes. From burritos to stuffed chicken breasts to nachos, guacamole is a great addition to many meals.

As the popularity of the avocado continues to grow, more and more people are finding new ways to incorporate it into their meals, usually in the form of guacamole.

With the increased use of guacamole in meals, you may find yourself with some delicious leftovers in the fridge with some smashed avocado that you want to heat up.

But can guacamole be heated in the microwave? Yes, you can microwave guacamole, even if it’s already included in a meal. Guacamole will not brown or go bad when microwaved, but it may have a softer, mushy texture, and have a slight change in flavor. However, this is hardly noticeable when the avocado is mixed with other ingredients.

How to heat guacamole in the microwave

If you have a dish that needs to be reheated that contains guacamole, the best way to reheat it would be in the microwave.

Baking would expose the guacamole to heat longer and possibly further ruin its flavor. Microwaving allows you to heat the dish and guacamole in short bursts, and you can better control the power level and heat.

Heating up a dish with guacamole, like a burrito bowl or nachos, is pretty easy. To heat the dish, make sure it’s in a microwave-safe container.

Put the dish in the microwave for one minute, take it out, stir it and heat it up for another minute.  Test the heat of the dish, and if it needs to get hotter, you can heat it for another 30 seconds.

hot guacamole

To many people, hot guacamole may seem a bit strange, but when made and eaten correctly, it can be quite delicious. This isn’t about fully heating up last night’s nachos, but about creating dishes from scratch that involve heating up the guacamole.

Added to certain dishes, hot guacamole can add a whole new level of flavor and is a great way to get good fat into your diet.  It can also add some creaminess to a dish.

Among the dishes that taste great with hot guacamole are sandwiches , stuffed chicken breasts, warmed up on a cheeseburger or warmed up on a bagel.

Included in these dishes, the guacamole is fine to heat up in the microwave, oven, or even in the skillet.

How to enjoy guacamole with the microwave

In order to make the perfect guacamole, you will need a ripe avocado. However, avocados can be quite tricky at times, and take quite a while to ripen.

If you can’t wait for your avocado to soften, there is a trick you can use which is to microwave the avocado to ripen faster. In this way, you will use the microwave to help you prepare a delicious guacamole.

To ripen an avocado in two minutes, all you need is the avocado, a microwave, and plastic wrap.

• Cut the avocado vertically into two pieces and remove the bone.
• Next, you’ll need to wrap each avocado half in microwave-safe plastic wrap.
• Place the avocado skin side down in the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute.
• Take out the avocado and check its firmness; if it’s not soft enough, you can put it back in the microwave and reheat it for another minute.

The reason this works is that avocados produce ethylene gas, which is what allows them to ripen . When the avocado is wrapped, the ethylene is more concentrated around the avocado, which helps speed up the ripening process.

If you have an especially stubborn avocado, you can wrap it in aluminum foil and pop it in the oven for up to an hour, but microwaving is the fastest and most efficient way.

Should guacamole be heated in the microwave?

It is quite common for guacamole to be served hot, especially in more traditional recipes.  Guacamole should be served warm, or at room temperature, and can be microwaved if needed.  If served at a cold temperature, the guacamole could have a dull palate.

It’s also nicer to eat hot guacamole with a hot meal, rather than the contrast of cold guacamole and hot rice or tortillas, so microwaving the guacamole can make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Another factor that should encourage people to heat guacamole is that avocado dishes, like guacamole, can carry foodborne illness. Heating the guacamole helps kill off any bad bacteria, making it safer to eat.

The same is true when storing guacamole.  It should keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be kept cooler and less brown by adding a little lemon juice.

If you are going to reheat the guacamole, you should discard the remains. The risk of guacamole going bad after reheating and storing it a second time is high and creates a breeding ground for bacteria. Try to plan your meals with guacamole to ensure that you only need to reheat it twice maximum.

Tips for a good guacamole

Before you start heating the guacamole in the microwave, you will have to prepare a good guacamole. There are a few important things to keep in mind about guacamole, which serve to make it as delicious as possible.

choose the avocado

If you’re not sure how to pick your avocado at the store, and you’re not sure which ones are brown on the inside or which aren’t ripe, you can tear off the stem and take a look at the flesh inside.

If it’s brown, don’t buy it, but if it’s a light green, then the avocado is ready to be made into guacamole.

pick two

The best way to ensure that you have a good avocado to use is to buy an extra one. Often parts of the avocado have gone bad, so it’s good to have a spare avocado to fill in for the bad parts.

avocado ripening

There are a few tricks to ripening avocados. As we have already said, you can try to mature it in the microwave.

If you have a few days to spare, you can place a banana next to the avocado in a brown paper bag . This speeds up the ripening of the avocado, so it’s ready to use when you need it.

Too ripe

On the other hand, if your avocados are too ripe before you need them to make guacamole, you can place them in the fridge.

Refrigeration prevents the ripening process from happening too quickly and will keep your avocado at the perfect ripe point for a while.

If you have half an avocado that you need to put in the fridge, you can use this fresh avocado keeper from Amazon.

How to preserve homemade guacamole

You can make the guacamole ahead of time and keep it from turning brown until you need to use it. A good way to do this is to place a thin layer of water over the guacamole when you store it in the fridge.

When you’re ready to use the guacamole, you can pour off the water from the top. The water helps stop the oxidation process, and will not make the avocado soggy or slimy.

Related questions

Can avocado be heated in the microwave?

Now you know that microwaving guacamole is a valid option, but what about a whole avocado?

Can avocado be heated in the microwave? Although you shouldn’t microwave a whole avocado, you can microwave avocado halves to ripen faster. To do this, you will need to wrap the avocado halves in microwave-safe plastic wrap and microwave in 30-second intervals until the avocado is soft. This method works if you plan to use the avocado to make guacamole. If you want to eat the avocado plain or slice it to use in a sandwich or salad, we recommend that you let the avocado ripen naturally.

Can you reheat a burrito with guacamole?

You can heat up a burrito with guacamole and still enjoy its great taste.

To do this, you must microwave the burrito for 1 minute, and then let it sit in the microwave for 45 seconds, which will allow the heat to spread evenly throughout the burrito.

Then reheat the burrito for 1 minute and let it rest for another 30 seconds. Heating and then letting the burrito rest allows the heat to spread evenly throughout the burrito, without letting it heat too long.

You can do the same with tacos , only using less time, since tacos are usually smaller than burritos.

Can sour cream be heated in the microwave?

Sour cream is a common accompaniment to guacamole in many dishes, so you may need to heat both the guacamole and the sour cream.

You do this by heating the dish in short intervals in the microwave , to prevent the food from getting too hot, but to allow the heat to travel throughout the food for a more even temperature.

It’s a good idea to let the sour cream come to room temperature before heating it.

Heat the guacamole in the microwave

There’s no reason you can’t heat up your dinner leftovers with some guacamole. Guacamole maintains most of its texture and flavor when microwaved, only becoming slightly mushier.

Be sure to heat it in short intervals so you don’t overheat the guacamole, and to make sure you don’t have some burning bites in between colder ones.

Actually, the flavor of guacamole can improve when heated, so why not heat the guacamole for your next round of tortillas?