If I’m not burying my face into a bowl of spaghetti, or forcing myself to drink my daily green drink (of the spinach and fruit variety, not the tequila lime kind, unfortunately), it is more than likely you will find me having a Mexican fiesta. I am all about food based around avocados, cheese and delicious sauces.

A fun, and super easy way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with friends, is by hosting a guacamole bar (with lots of margaritas, of course!). Have the guacamole base ready to go and then provide a variety of mix-ins to allow each guest to make their own one-of-a-kind dip.

First things first, don’t buy tortilla chips. Make your own. It will take you all of 5 minutes, but you’ll be thanking me for much longer than that. After all, there is nothing worse than digging into your freshly made guacamole than with a stale and greasy chip.

To make the chips, you will need 1 package of corn tortillas, olive oil, and seasonings (I used 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of chili powder in the ones pictured above, but you could use ranch seasoning, taco seasoning, cumin, paprika, or Italian seasoning). Simply cut the tortillas into 8 triangles. The easiest way to do this is stacking them and cutting two at a time with a pair of food scissors. Lay them out onto a foil lined baking sheet in a single layer. Drizzle generously with olive oil, then sprinkle evenly with the seasonings. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Make sure to keep a close eye on them as they can quickly go from being perfectly crisp to not-so-perfectly burnt. Let cool before serving.

The (obvious) main star-a bowl of freshly made guacamole base. I like to mash the avocados with lime juice, salt, pepper and a little Greek yogurt or mayonnaise (I know this last ingredient isn’t traditional, but I have made it this way for as long as I can remember and I love the extra creaminess that the yogurt or mayo adds, but feel free to omit this).

For the rest of my bar, I had-sautéed onions, charred peppers, and charred chipotle corn (toss the corn in a skillet, without oil, brown for a few minutes and add in a spoon of chipotle paste). I also included chopped tomatoes and fresh mango puree. Some other ideas that would make tasty additions-chopped and cooked bacon, cooked chorizo crumbles, lobster or crab pieces, grated cheddar or pepper-jack cheese, blue cheese crumbles, sliced black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, chopped jalapenos, pineapple pieces, pomegranate seeds, and blackberries.

Provide festive mini bowls (I used ramekins similar to these) and spoons (these would work well) for guests to mix up their own bowls of guacamole. One of my favorite combos- mango puree, charred peppers, and sauteed onions.

Don’t forget to mix up some thirst-quenching margaritas, like these!

What’s your favorite guacamole? Do you like traditional or something with add-ins?