Recipe

This cilantro lime sauce is creamy, tangy, and the kind of sauce you’ll want to drizzle on everything!

Made with simple ingredients and blended in minutes, this cilantro lime sauce adds fresh flavor to tacos, bowls, salads, grilled meats, and more.

jar filled with homemade cilantro lime sauce and a spoon drizzling some sauce to show creamy texture

Creamy Cilantro Lime Sauce for Tacos

This cilantro-lime sauce first appeared in my best-selling cookbook, the Taco Tuesday Cookbook, and it quickly became one of those sauces we (my loyal fans and I) started putting on everything. Really! It's creamy, bright from the lime juice, and packed with fresh cilantro flavor without being overpowering. You’re going to love it!

Ingredients

The creamy base for this sauce is sour cream (regular or light), and fresh lime juice brightens everything up. Garlic powder or (a garlic clove), salt, and black pepper add simple flavor, and plenty of fresh cilantro gives the sauce its vibrant color and fresh taste. In the recipe, I share how much jalapeño to add for a spicy version.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Sauce

Add everything to a blender or food processor.
No need to finely chop the cilantro, just a few coarse chops of ½ of the bunch, that’s about the ½ cup needed.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
Blend until it’s mostly smooth, leaving a few cilantro specks if you like.
Serve or refrigerate.
Keep it in a jar or dressing bottle in the fridge for up to a week, then stir before drizzling it over salads, tacos, or grilled nuggets.

How to Use It

Shake it up, or stir it, if you’re the gentle type, then drizzle it over some blackened fish tacos, a Santa Fe chicken salad, or over sheet pan shrimp fajitas.

Cilantro Lime Sauce (Easy Blender Recipe)

Servings: 12 approx ¾ cup

Prep Time: 2

Total Time: 2

This cilantro lime sauce is creamy, tangy, and the kind of sauce you'll want to drizzle on everything!

5 from 32 votes

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Watch how it’s made:

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream, regular or light
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 small garlic clove, or ½ teaspoon garlic of powder
¼ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of black pepper
½ cup fresh chopped cilantro, about ½ bunch

Instructions

Make the sauce:

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Blend until it's mostly smooth. I like to leave a few cilantro specks in my sauce.

Storage:

Transfer the cilantro lime sauce to a jar or dressing bottle, then refrigerate it until you're ready to serve it over your favorite tacos, salads, and more.
This sauce keeps in the fridge for up to 5 days. Stir or shake before using.

Notes

Want to make it spicy? Add ¼ to ½ jalapeño and blend with the other ingredients.
Adjusting the thickness: for a thinner sauce, or to reach a dressing-like consistency, add a bit more (1 tablespoon) lime juice.

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