Cilantro Lime Sauce

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Say hello to the most flavor-packed creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce, complete with cilantro, garlic, and lime juice! This zippy sauce has so many applications and uses that it's rare we don't have a batch made up in our fridge. Simple to prepare and ready in under 10 minutes!

Course sauce, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Vegetarian

Keyword Cilantro Lime Sauce, cilantro lime sauce recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1-1/3 cup sauce

Calories 97kcal

Author Chelsea Lords

Cost $3.12

Equipment

Blender or food processor

Ingredients

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (plus 1 teaspoon lime zest from 2-3 limes)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño (Note 1)
1/2 cup regular full-fat mayonnaise (Note 2)
1/2 cup sour cream (Note 3)
Fine sea salt & pepper

US - Metric

Instructions

PREP: Zest and juice limes to get 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) juice and 1 teaspoon zest.
FIRST BLEND: Add the juice and zest to a powerful blender or mini food processor along with the minced garlic, cilantro, seeded coarsely chopped jalapeño, and mayo. Add salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper, but add to personal preference). Blend until smooth.
SECOND BLEND: Add in the sour cream and blend once more to combine. Taste sauce and adjust to personal preference as needed. The sauce is quite thick and is thinned when added to dishes, but if you'd like it thinner, add water to desired preference.
STORAGE: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days and give it a good stir before using again. Make sure the dressing is tightly covered or it will absorb the odors of the fridge.
We don’t recommend freezing dairy-based dressings, since the texture will change significantly after freezing. It won’t be smooth and can even curdle or become lumpy as it thaws. Instead, we recommend cutting the recipe in half if it won’t be used within 4-6 days.

Video

Notes

Note 1: Jalapeño: When preparing the jalapeño, you may want to do this with gloves on as it can burn your fingers/under fingernails. Wash your hands immediately after preparing/touching. Cut jalapeño in half and remove seeds. Coarsely chop to measure. Add more of the jalapeño for a spicier sauce; add slowly if you're worried about the heat. Wrinkly jalapeños are going to be spicier than smooth jalapeños.

Note 2: Mayo: The better the mayo, the yummier the sauce! We love and recommend Hellman's/Best Foods mayo.

Note 3: Sour cream: We've tested this cilantro and lime sauce with full-fat, low-fat, and lite sour cream and couldn't tell much of a difference with all the other flavors going on. If you're watching calories/fat, try lite sour cream instead!

Nutrition