Cilantro Lime Sauce {Mega Popular} | Kitchen At Hoskins (2024)

This Cilantro Lime Sauce is unbelievably addicting! Made in under 5 minutes it is creamy, spicy, tangy with a subtle bite from garlic, full of flavor and elevates any Mexican dish!

A 5 minute cilantro lime sauce that has become the essential sauce of this blog. Loaded with cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, lime juice, sour cream, mayo and salt, it might be my favorite sauce, dressing, dip -> you name it.

It is compatible with almost everything from tacos, salads, burrito bowls, grilled chicken, steak or a dipping sauce for your veggies.

We loved this cilantro lime sauce on chickpea tacos and then repurposed into chickpea lettuce wraps, but its also amazing drizzled into the Mexican shrimp tacos. So awesome!

Is it sauce or dressing? A dressing is a type of sauce used mainly for salads, typically made with oil and vinegar mixed together with herbs or other flavorings. Whereas a sauce is a thick liquid served usually with savory dishes to add moistness and flavor like this greek yogurt sauce. This recipe can be served as both a salad dressing and a sauce.

If you are familiar with zhoug, a type of cilantro sauce originating in Yemen and has gained popularity across Middle East, does not contain any dairy or mayonnaise, so it's missing the creamy factor.

Also known as zhug or skhug, it is made using cilantro, chili peppers, garlic, olive oil and spices. Trader Joe's carries this in the refrigerate section and it has been one of our favorite Trader Joe's products.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.

1. Cilantro - Wash fresh cilantro and pat dry with a clean kitchen towel so there is no additional water that might thin down the cilantro lime sauce.
2. Jalapeño - I'll let you be the judge here! We used 1 whole large jalapeño pepper. Go ahead and scrape out the seeds if you want to tone down the heat.
3. Sour cream - We went all in with full fat sour cream for the ultimate creaminess. Few readers use plain greek yogurt and find it just as delicious.
4. Mayonnaise - For subtle sweet flavor and bring home the thick creamy amazingness.
5. Garlic - No you won't taste the raw garlic.
6. Lime juice - Use freshly squeezed and not from a bottle.

Substitution & Variations

• Make into a cilantro dip - Chop cilantro, garlic and jalapeños very fine using a food processor or by hand and then transfer to a bowl. Mix in mayo, sour cream, lime juice and salt with a spoon.
• Make it vegan - Use vegan free mayo like Just Mayo orSir Kensington’s Vegan Mayo and plant based sour cream.
• Like it healthier? Use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
• Add some ripe avocado for added color and flavor.

Love Cilantro? Check out more cilantro recipes like instant pot cilantro lime rice or Mexican chickpeas.

How to make?

You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.

Tip: Don't blend very smooth! You want to see green specks of cilantro running through the cilantro lime sauce.

Helpful tips

• Spiciness - We used whole jalapeño pepper (along with the seeds and ribs) but, you can remove the seeds for a less spicy dressing.
• Cilantro - Use coriander with stems. It adds nutrition and texture!
• Garlic - It compliments by adding a bite. However, too much garlic will overpower the taste. So, we recommend using not more than 1 or 2 large cloves.
• Lime juice - Use fresh lime juice and not bottled ones.

Recipe FAQs

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