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Guacamole gold for Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka. The celebrity couple won a guacamole-off with Ina Garten’s guacamole recipe. Not only that but it’s also a “household staple” for them and why Harris credits their relationship to the Food Network star. 

Ina Garten guacamole is a ‘household staple’ for the couple

Many celebrities are fans of Garten’s recipes including Harris and Burtka. In 2019, when the cookbook author guest-edited Bon Appetit magazine, the pair shared just how much they love her guacamole.  

Before running an exclusive magic club, the How I Met Your Mother alum grew up in New Mexico where chips and salsa, guacamole, and nachos were his “comfort food.” “I have strong opinions about it,” Harris said in the article about how he and Burtka “built their relationship” on Garten’s guacamole.

“So once David and I started dating, he quickly realized that it needed to be a household staple,” Harris continued. “We tried all kinds of guacamole recipes, and the one we took a shine to was Ina Garten’s.”

He went on to call it a seemingly “abnormal” choice because Garten’s guacamole “didn’t seem like it fit based on where she’s from.” Garten grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and now lives in East Hampton. 

“But her appreciation of the simplicity of it, I think, makes it a really terrific recipe,” Harris explained, adding they’ve “had really good luck with it.”

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka won a guacamole-off at Jeff Probst’s house with the Barefoot Contessa recipe

David Burtka, Neil Patrick Harris, who won a guacamole-of at Jeff Probst's house with Ina Garten's guacamole recipe, sit with Jeff Probst and a woman
David Burtka, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jeff Probst | Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Cirque du Soleil

Patrick wasn’t kidding when he said Garten’s guacamole has been a success for him and Burtka. They won a guacamole-off using the Barefoot Contessa recipe.

“One night, we went to Jeff Probst’s house — of Survivor fame — and he was having a proper game night,” Harris said. “One of the games was a guacamole-off, and everyone brought their different versions of guac. We won with Ina’s recipe. Everyone wanted to know what our secret was!”

So what’s the key to Garten’s guacamole? According to Burtka, “the one thing that sets it apart from others, and makes it the real winner, is that she uses lemon and not lime.”

“It gives it that zip,” he explained. “There’s something about the sour mixed with the fat and the salt that just makes it a home run. It’s just kind of a perfect recipe.” 

Burtka also pointed out Garten doesn’t use the “polarizing” ingredient of cilantro. In fact, the Modern Comfort Food author refuses to eat the stuff. Therefore, according to Burtka, Garten’s cilantro-free version can serve as a “good base” to “make sure everyone is happy.” 

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka moved to Ina Garten’s guacamole after a failed attempt to ‘impress’ with chile con queso

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Had Harris not “tried to impress” his now-husband of eight years with chile con queso at a Super Bowl party, they may have never ended up making Garten’s guacamole so often. Harris, 49, detailed how he made chile con queso for a Super Bowl party. 

“I think David was offended that I thought that was an actual recipe, and that’s when he said, ‘Why don’t we move towards [sic] guacamole, where you actually have some work to do?’ he recalled. “And then we found Ina’s recipe. So we owe our relationship to her. Thanks, Ina.”

These days, per Burtka, they “make the guacamole recipe more than any other.”

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