Cilantro Lime Crema

This cilantro lime crema is creamy, tangy and easy to make with sour cream, cilantro, lime and garlic. This zesty sauce adds bright flavor to tacos, burritos or drizzle it on salad!

Cilantro Lime Crema Sauce

You’re going to love adding this cilantro lime crema recipe to your list of easy homemade condiments to keep on hand. It’s just as refreshing and vibrant as my cilantro lime dressing but is a thicker sauce that is creamy, tangy, and zesty!

It can be used as an alternative to sour cream and the combination of cilantro and lime are the perfect finishing touch on any Taco Tuesday topping, especially these skirt steak tacos and tilapia fish tacos.

Cilantro and Lime Crema Ingredients

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

• Sour cream: This is the base of the lime crema sauce. It is thick and creamy.
• Cilantro: With it’s lemon and peppery taste fresh cilantro adds kick and flavor.
• Lime: A zesty lime flavor adds just the right amount of tart and sweet balance.
• Garlic clove: Balances out the flavors.
• Salt and pepper: Just a pinch to taste!

How to Make Cilantro Lime Crema Recipe

1. Blend. Combine the sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, and lime zest, as well as the garlic in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
2. Add in. Add salt and pepper to taste. I use about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add more cilantro and lime to taste if needed.
3. Serve. Place in a bowl and cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tips and Variations

• Greek yogurt. Substitute plain Greek yogurt for sour cream, or you could do half and half if you’d like.
• For a spicy kick. Add in some chopped jalapeno.
• More tang: Replace some of the sour cream with mayonnaise.
• Substitute. To make a creamy avocado crema, use blended avocado as a sour cream replacement.
• Mexican crema. If you can get your hands on Mexican crema, go ahead and use it instead of sour cream, for an even more authentic crema!
• Thick or thin. It will thicken as it sits, so before using it, you might consider adding a squeeze of lime juice to thin it out a bit.
• Be patient. The longer this sauce sits in the fridge the more the flavors meld, so feel free to make it in advance.

Ways to Use Lime Crema

This crema is, of course, amazing on any Mexican dish and is my first choice with southwestern egg rolls!

• Tacos: Try it on tilapia fish tacos or this carnitas taco recipe.
• Burritos: Baked chicken burritos and green chili burritos are favorites.
• Veggies: Try it with sweet potatoes, Mexican street corn or even use as a veggie dip.
• Salad : Drizzle on BBQ chicken salad or taco salad.

Storage

This sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. The longer the flavors sit together, the longer they infuse, and the tastier it gets!

More Sauce Recipes

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