You’ll want to pour this creamy cilantro sauce over everything. It takes just minutes to prepare and pairs perfectly with fajitas, tacos, and more!
Inspired by the cilantro lime crema on my black bean tacos, this creamy cilantro sauce is made without avocado, heavy cream, or sour cream. It has a creamy texture you’ll love and will keep well in the fridge, so you can use it as part of your meal prep routine.
Drizzle this cilantro cream sauce over burrito bowls, nachos, chicken tacos, and more.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Fresh cilantro is key to this recipe, along with fresh lime juice and garlic. Using hemp hearts will add plant-based protein and keep it dairy-free.
If you prefer to use plain Greek yogurt, check out the FAQ section below for another variation.
Crushed red pepper flakes add spice to this sauce, but you can cut this amount in half or omit them entirely. Add a few jarred jalapeño slices if you prefer a more mild spice.
How to Make Creamy Cilantro Sauce
In a high-speed blender, combine the hemp hearts, water, cilantro leaves, lime juice, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Secure the lid and blend until smooth. Taste the mixture and adjust the flavor, if needed.
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.
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!
Frequently Asked Questions & Variations
You can use cashews as a swap to keep this sauce vegan and dairy-free. Or try this Greek yogurt variation: Replace the hemp hearts and water with 1 cup of plain full-fat Greek yogurt. In this case, use only 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to help thicken the sauce. You may want to add more salt, to taste.
Looking for more cilantro ideas? Try my Cilantro Lime Dressing recipe, Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro Slaw, Ulitmate Detox Soup, or Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing.
Creamy Cilantro Sauce (Dairy-free!)
Ingredients
- 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
If you try this Creamy Cilantro Sauce recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!
I made this for your Vegan Fajitas, and holy cow. I could drink this straight from the blender! I love finding new ways to get protein into my day, so I love how you use hemp hearts here. Putting this in our weekly rotation!
Glad you love it, too! We could pour this sauce on practically anything. 🙂