Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce

I could eat this cilantro lime sauce every single day of the week. It hits all of the flavors you crave, with a tangy, creamy, and mildly spicy kick, but it’s also insanely easy to make. All you need is 5 minutes and a handful of ingredients to blend it together.

It’s especially helpful if you’re dairy-free or trying to hit your protein goals, like I am. For just 100 calories (a 1/4 cup of sauce!) you’ll get 6 grams of protein and loads of flavor.

I like to drizzle this over tacos, dunk fajitas into it, and generally just pour it over everything. It would even work well on a high-protein breakfast scramble! I can’t wait for you to try it.

Cilantro Lime Sauce Ingredients

• Fresh Cilantro. This is crucial, since we’re making a cilantro sauce. Duh. But the measurement can be flexible. I use about a lightly-packed cup, but you can also just use a really big handful. Stems are okay here!
• Lime Juice. Fresh lime juice tastes 100% better than bottled juice. Shop for limes that feel squishy at the store, so you’ll get plenty of juice from them. I usually get 1 tablespoon per lime half when they are juicy.
• Hemp Hearts. If you’re not familiar with these, they are simply hulled hemp seeds, which are loaded with plant-based protein. I love to sprinkle these over salads and oatmeal for a protein boost, but they also make an amazingly creamy sauce without relying on nuts or dairy.
• Garlic. One garlic clove helps boost the overall flavor. If you don’t have fresh on hand, swap this for a 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder.
• Spices. Salt and red pepper flakes finish off the flavor, so don’t skip them! (The red pepper flakes only make this mildly spicy. My husband would prefer that I double this.)

Note: I’ve also tested this recipe with Greek yogurt instead of hemp hearts. Check out the recipe notes if you’d prefer that modification.

How to Make Creamy Cilantro Sauce

Step 1:

In a high-speed blender, combine the 1/2 cup hemp hearts, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup of fresh cilantro, 3 tablespoons lime juice, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.

Secure the lid and blend until smooth, which should take about 60 seconds. 

Step 2:

Taste the mixture and adjust the flavor, if needed. I almost always add another 1/4 teaspoon of salt to boost the flavor, but in case you’re using a different salt than I am, I don’t want you to start things off too salty. (I use Redmond’s fine pink salt, if you’re curious.)

Pour the creamy cilantro lime sauce into a storage jar with a lid. You can serve this right away as a dip, or as a sauce to drizzle over tacos and fajitas. 

Storage & Serving Tips

This sauce will thicken when chilled, so you can store it tightly sealed in the fridge for up to 5 days. If it thickens too much, let it come to room temperature again, or stir in a splash of water to immediately thin it out again. 

Use this sauce as a swap for Mexican crema, or anywhere you’d use salsa or guacamole. It will add flavor to everything! 

Cilantro Lime Sauce (Dairy-free & High-Protein)

5 from 1 vote

Chipotle recently released their cilantro lime sauce, but if you can't do dairy, I think you'll love my version just as much. This creamy cilantro sauce is made with hemp hearts(!) for creaminess, but they also happen to add 6 grams of protein per serving. There's no added oil required, so this may be the healthiest topping you've ever tried. But it's also insanely delicious and comes together in 5 minutes.

prep5 mins cook0 mins total5 mins

Servings:6

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Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 cup fresh cilantro , large stems removed
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt , plus more to taste
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ cup hemp hearts (hulled hemp seeds)
• ½ cup water

Instructions

• In a high-speed blender, combine the cilantro leaves, lime juice, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, hemp hearts, and water. Secure the lid and blend until smooth. Stop and scrape down the blender to make sure everything is blended.
• Taste the mixture and adjust the flavoring, as needed. I like to add an extra ¼ teaspoon of salt and red pepper flakes, for a spicy sauce. Omit the extra red pepper flakes if you prefer a mild flavor.
• Pour the sauce into an airtight container with a lid. Use this sauce right away or store it in the fridge until ready to use. It will thicken slightly when chilled. This sauce will keep well for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly a 1/4 cup of sauce, assuming you get 1 1/2 cups total from this recipe. This information is automatically calculated and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.

Greek Yogurt Variation: If you prefer to skip the hemp hearts, replace them (and the water) with 1 cup of plain, full-fat Greek yogurt. In this case, you won’t need as much tangy flavor so reduce the lime juice to only 1 tablespoon. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to help thicken the sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 198mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 295IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 2mg

Author: Megan Gilmore

Course: sauce

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: creamy cilantro sauce

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If you try this Creamy Cilantro Sauce recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!