Cilantro Lime Sauce
This little sauce shows up pretty frequently in my menu posts, and when it does, someone almost always asks for the recipe.
However...this is something I generally just eyeball, which is why I haven't shared a recipe. A blended sauce is honestly very forgiving; even though I never measure a thing, it's always perfectly tasty.
No need to overthink it.
But I'm gonna do my best to give some guidelines here, and this way I'll have a place to link you all to when I mention the sauce!
This is really great on burrito bowls, and it also makes a fantastic dressing for a taco salad.
It would be great as a sauce on tacos too!
Here's what you'll need:
Except, just kidding, I forgot to include the lime. Here's the lime, for illustrative purposes:
I use sour cream and mayo in about a 2:1 proportion, so probably a cup of sour cream to a half cup of mayo.
Then I add in a healthy amount of fresh ground pepper, a good shake of garlic powder, the juice of a lime, and a big bunch of cilantro.
Include the stems! Cilantro is one of those herbs that has tasty stems, so there is no reason to exclude them.
Also, if you want, you can add some jalapeno pepper. Amount: totally up to you.
WE ARE EYEBALLING, remember?? Follow your heart. 🙂
Then just blend the whole mess up until it's a sauce.
Pour into a jar, and store in the fridge.
It's pretty thin when you first make it, but it will get a little thicker as it sits in the fridge.
Last time I made this, I portioned it out into containers to pack with my burrito bowls as work lunches.
So good, seriously! If you like cilantro, you should try making this.
(If you think cilantro tastes like soap, I don't know why you are still even reading this post. Ha.)
Cilantro Lime Sauce
This quick sauce is great on tacos, burrito bowls, or as a taco salad dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayo
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- juice of one lime
- 1 cup cilantro, leaves and stems
- jalapeno pepper, optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blender. Blend until smooth.
Notes
You could add some salt if you want, but I usually think the mayo adds enough saltiness. Your mileage may vary. Do what you want!
I'm sure you could use vegan versions of sour cream and mayo, but full disclosure, I have not tried that. 😉
I do think cilantro tastes like soap, but I still read to the end!
Haha, I love it!
Same for me. It sounds good in theory😉
I bet you could sub parsley and maybe dill for the cilantro and it would be a tasty lime-garlic-herb sauce!
Sauces like this are what dreams are made of, and avocado would be a wonderful addition or sub for the creamy ingredients.
If people are concerned about the fat content of mayo, I bet plain yogurt (Greek/ traditional, even 0% fat) would sub nicely
Gosh, I haven't made this kind of sauce in forever. I usually do a riff on Hidden Valley Ranch and zusch it up with lime and cilantro, adding in a jalapeno depending on how spicy I want it. Must add to my menus this week!
I love cilantro and Mexican food. This would be good on so many things. Even just on chicken by itself.
Love this, thank you! I have one of those little sauce containers like yours! So useful!
I'm just going to swap the cilantro for parsley 😉 Thanks for the recipe!
Sadly, I’m married to someone in the “cilantro tastes like soap” camp. Meanwhile, I hate mayo and garlic powder/salt. Your post is still a useful reminder that I should experiment with blended sauces! 😉
I made this sauce just yesterday! I had some cashews I needed to use up, so I threw them in instead of mayo and sour cream, but now that I have your recipe, I will probably just follow it in the future. Thank you.
I always have trouble using up cilantro, so this "recipe" is going into the rotation. I used quotes because I'm already mentally tweaking it. I think I'll try making it with plain yogurt, avocado, and fresh garlic, because that's what I have on hand. What could possibly go wrong?
How long would you say this is good for in the fridge? I am about to warm up a leftover lunch (taco bowl) for which this would be the perfect addition!
This is such a great sauce. I usually sub Skyr for sour cream, add bits and bobs of cotija cheese. When we have family night I usually double the sauce to a quart of yogurt, 1 c mayonesa, one jar (1/2 pint) of Chipotles in adobo sauce.
I make something very similar, but as a hater of cilantro use parsley instead and it is still quite delicious.
Looks delicious! Thanks for putting it on paper, so to speak.
Thank you so much! I’ll be enjoying this with my dinner tomorrow night.
Just the other day, I made the chicken with this dipping sauce that I originally got from your website! I don’t like mayonnaise, so I always leave it out and it’s still delicious. It’s a great dip for veggies too. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yum, thanks for the inspiration!
I'm in the cilantro lovers camp, so this sauce looks delicious. We often make an avocado crema for Mexican dishes. No exact measurements, just toss together what we have. Your sauce is going in the rotation!
I'm in. Cilantro, lettuce, and cabbage are on sale this week.
Thank you!
It was sooo yummy! As the only cilantro lover in my family I appreciate a way to use up a bunch! Now I can buy it without fear of it getting slimy before I can get through it all:)