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Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce)
Ripe avocado blended with onion, green pepper, garlic, cilantro, parsley, vinegar and oil into a pourable green sauce for grilled meat, roast chicken, arepas and empanadas.
Venezuelan · easy · serves 8
prep 15 min · cook 0 min
~195 cal · 1g protein · 6g carbs · 19g fat · 3g fiber · 1g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Guasacaca is the green sauce of Venezuela. It is often called Venezuelan guacamole, but it is thinner and sharper: avocado blended with onion, green bell pepper, garlic, cilantro and parsley, loosened with oil and vinegar until it pours. It belongs above all to the parrilla, the Venezuelan grill, and to pollo a la brasa, the spit-roasted chicken, and it also goes with arepas, empanadas, tequeños, fried and fried .
Recipes differ from family to family and region to region. Some add a little hot sauce or chili, some a spoonful of mayonnaise to soften it, and the oldest versions are said to have had no avocado at all. Today avocado is what gives it its body and colour.
Make it shortly before serving and keep it covered in the fridge, so it stays green.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 8
- 2 large ripe avocados
- 1 medium onion, in chunks
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup vegetable or mild olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- a pinch black pepper
- a few drops hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- 1Halve the avocados, remove the stones and scoop the flesh into a blender or food processor.
- 2Add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, parsley, vinegar, salt and pepper and blend until smooth.
- 3With the motor running, pour in the oil in a thin stream until the sauce is creamy and pourable. Add hot sauce if you like and adjust the salt and vinegar.
- 4Cover the surface closely and chill until serving. Serve alongside parrilla meats, pollo a la brasa, arepas or empanadas.✎ Chef’s notePressing plastic wrap onto the surface keeps the sauce from darkening.
Venezuelan grill tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Caracas. Christmas here is not only hallacas. Pan de jamon, a soft loaf rolled around ham with olives and raisins, was made at the Ramella bakery in central Caracas in 1905 as a way of using up leftover ham, and it now turns up on tables across the country every December.
🗺️
Venezuela. The arepa is claimed by both Venezuela and Colombia and predates both as a border, so the arguing is really about thickness, filling and which corn. What is distinctly Venezuelan is the range of named fillings, and the pabellon criollo plate of shredded beef, black beans, rice and fried sweet plantain that reads as the national dinner.
🌍
South America. South America's cooking follows its dramatic geography, potatoes and quinoa in the high Andes, cassava and river fish in the Amazon basin, and grass-fed beef on the pampas. Indigenous ingredients like maize, ají peppers, and cacao meet Spanish, Portuguese, African, Italian, and Japanese influences brought by five centuries of migration. Ceviche, feijoada, arepas, and the smoke of the asado are its most beloved icons.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Venezuela
Cachapas con QuesoSweet fresh-corn pancakes griddled golden and folded over melting salty cheese, roadside Venezuela at its best.
Arepas con PericoGriddled corn arepas split and filled with perico, soft scrambled eggs cooked down with tomato, onion, and pepper.
Pabellón CriolloShredded beef, black beans, white rice, and fried sweet plantain on one plate, Venezuela's national dish.
Browse all Venezuela recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Blender, Food processor.
Storing it: Uncooked parcels freeze well and cook from frozen. Cooked ones keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated and steam or pan-warm to serve.
Make it a Venezuela meal
Papelón con LimónDrink
QuesilloDessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce)?
Ripe avocado blended with onion, green pepper, garlic, cilantro, parsley, vinegar and oil into a pourable green sauce for grilled meat, roast chicken, arepas and empanadas.
Where does Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) come from?
Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) is a Venezuelan dish from Caracas, Venezuela.
Can Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Guasacaca (Venezuelan Avocado and Herb Sauce) take to make?
About 15 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 0 minutes cooking), serving 8.
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