Smoked Guacamole Recipe

This Smoked Guacamole recipe combines creamy ripe avocados with mesquite-smoked tomatoes and Serrano chilies, plus fresh cilantro, red onion, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. Featured on License to Grill with Rob Rainford, this easy dip adds deep barbecue flavour to a classic guacamole-style preparation while keeping the texture fresh and chunky.

The Inspiration

Guacamole is loved for its simplicity: ripe avocado, fresh aromatics, acidity, seasoning, and just enough texture to make every bite interesting. This version takes that familiar combination and gives it the unmistakable personality of License to Grill. With Rob Rainford at the grill, even a chilled appetizer can become part of the barbecue experience.

The defining feature of this mesquite smoked guacamole is the treatment of the tomatoes and Serrano chilies. Instead of adding them raw, they are smoked over a homemade mesquite wood-chip package until their flesh begins to char. The process softens the vegetables, concentrates their natural flavors, and introduces an earthy smokiness that works beautifully with creamy avocado.

That balance between creamy avocado and chunky smoked vegetables is what gives this recipe its character. It is rustic rather than perfectly smooth, smoky without becoming overpowering, and fresh enough to complement everything from grilled meats to tortilla chips.

Ingredients

6 large tomatoes
4 smoked Serrano chilies
½ of a small finely chopped red onion
½ cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro – (125ml)
1 teaspoon of salt – (5ml)
½ teaspoon of black pepper – (2.5ml)
½ of a lemon
2 large ripe California avocados
2 cups dry Mesquite wood chips
1 cup Mesquite wood chips, soaked for 30 minutes

Method

Remove grill from barbecue and preheat to a medium heat.
Prepare a smoke package. Squeeze the excess water from the soaking wood chips and place in the center of a large piece of tin foil. Add the dry chips to the wet and mix them together. Fold the foil around the chips to create a well sealed package. Using a fork, poke holes on both sides of the smoke package. Set aside.
Half and remove the seeds from the tomatoes and hot peppers. This will remove the bitter taste from the tomatoes and some of the heat from the hot peppers.
Place the woodchip package directly on top of the flame where the grill grid has been removed. Turn the other burners off. Place the tomato and hot pepper halves on the grid over the burners that are off.
Close barbecue lid. Smoke the peppers and tomatoes for approximately 10 minutes, or until the flesh of the tomatoes and peppers are charred.
The skin of the tomatoes and the peppers can know be easily removed. Once skin has been removed from tomatoes and pepper, chop up coarsely and add to a bowl. Add onions, cilantro, salt, pepper, juice of ½ a lemon. Combine mixture well.
Pit and peels avocados. Add to mixture and mash until incorporated but still chunky.
Cover and chill until ready to use, but return to room temperature when ready to serve.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this smoked guacamole recipe as a barbecue appetizer with tortilla chips, warm grilled flatbread, crackers, or crisp vegetables for dipping. It also makes an excellent accompaniment to grilled chicken, steak, burgers, sausages, fish, or shrimp, where its smoky mesquite notes naturally complement foods cooked over an open flame.

For a casual summer gathering, place a generous bowl of guacamole at the centre of an appetizer spread alongside salsa and other fresh dips, or spoon it over tacos, grilled sandwiches, nachos, or barbecue-inspired bowls. Because the guacamole is chilled after preparation but brought back toward room temperature before serving, it can be prepared before guests arrive and brought out when the barbecue is ready.

The creamy avocado balances spicy and heavily seasoned dishes particularly well, while the lemon, cilantro, and onion keep each bite fresh. Whether served during an outdoor cookout, weekend barbecue, game-day gathering, or relaxed family dinner, this smoky guacamole is an easy way to bring genuine barbecue flavor to the appetizer table.

Final Thoughts

This smoked guacamole recipe proves that a familiar appetizer can become something completely different with one clever barbecue technique. Smoking the tomatoes and Serrano chilies over mesquite gives the dip a deep, fire-kissed flavor while fresh cilantro, red onion, lemon, and ripe avocado keep it vibrant and refreshing.

Find more recipes from License to Grill here!