Nobody fights about dips the way Americans fight about guacamole. Every batch comes with unspoken rules, and somebody always breaks one. On Sept. 16, National Guacamole Day, the disagreements are only getting louder.
Mexican avocados were banned from U.S. import for most of the 20th century, and guacamole barely registered in American kitchens until that changed. NAFTA changed the equation in 1994, and by 2007 Mexican Hass avocados had full nationwide access year-round. Food writer Gustavo Arellano, author of “Taco USA,” noted that there was a period when more Americans recognized guacamole than knew what an avocado was.
The Numbers Behind the Dip
U.S. per-capita consumption of fresh Hass avocados has risen 260% since 2002. More avocados means more guacamole, and more guacamole means more people with very strong opinions about what belongs in it.
The Pea That Started a National Argument
In July 2015, the New York Times posted a guacamole recipe featuring green peas and told readers to trust the process. The internet did not comply. President Obama paused a healthcare Q&A to say he was keeping his guac traditional: onions, garlic, hot peppers. Jeb Bush agreed. The Texas Republican Party weighed in. For one news cycle, peas were a bipartisan crisis.
The outrage was about someone suggesting that a dish people already considered finished needed improving. Guacamole is simple enough that everyone feels entitled to define it, and that’s exactly what makes it such a reliable flashpoint.
What People Are Actually Adding Now
Fruit has genuine culinary precedent. Diana Kennedy documented a family recipe from Guanajuato made with peaches, grapes, and pomegranate seeds. Barrio Cafe in Phoenix built its signature guacamole around pomegranate seeds. Mango followed. A 2026 flavor trend report identifies tropical fruit paired with jalapeño and habanero as a growing area of consumer demand, so this one isn’t going away.
Bacon entered the bowl because it tastes good. Chef Rick Bayless, a seven-time James Beard Award winner, has a published bacon guacamole recipe that layers chipotle, tomato, and crumbled bacon together. Crispy bacon against smooth avocado solves a contrast problem the dish otherwise doesn’t have. Whether it belongs there is a different argument entirely.
Chili crisp, the Chinese condiment built around fried chiles in oil, has become one of the more recent additions. Used as a drizzle, it adds heat, crunch, and deep savory depth without turning the bowl red. WHOLLY Guacamole launched a Tajín Chile Lime variety in June 2025, citing demand for bolder, spicier flavors, proof that what once felt like a home-kitchen experiment has moved fully into the mainstream aisle.
The Bowl Is Yours
The list of what goes into guacamole keeps growing. The debate about what should go in it never resolves, and that’s the point. Guacamole doesn’t require a credential to have a strong opinion about. Make yours however you want on Sept. 16, and expect pushback.