Cilantro Lime Sauce: A creamy, tangy blend of cilantro, garlic, and lime juice ready in under 10 minutes. Perfect for tacos, salads, grilled meats, or as a dip—a true fridge staple!
The BEST Lime Cilantro Sauce Recipe
This recipe came about as I was working to develop my vision of the ideal cilantro lime sauce for shrimp tacos. I envisioned a tangy, zesty, lime, and cilantro-packed sauce to perfectly complement the spiced shrimp and crunchy slaw. After it was perfect, I was thrilled to read so many of you also loved the sauce.
In fact, the Cilantro-Lime Sauce for the shrimp tacos is probably the most raved-about part in the comment section. Here’s what some of you had to say about this sauce:
- “The cilantro lime cream sauce is one of my favorites. Thanks for a great recipe!”
- “The sauce, to me, is addictive…So good! Wouldn’t change a thing.”
- “This was sooo good. The sauce was amazing.”
- “The sauce is so addictive, I could (and do) eat it with a spoon…”
- “…I always double the sauce recipe so we have extra for other dishes over the next few days. Well done”
Convinced you need this creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce?! I almost always have a batch of it in my fridge which makes throwing together a quick dinner a cinch! 🙂
Ingredients In Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Fresh limes: Juice and zest 2-3 limes for the sauce. I use a zester for zesting and a citrus juicer for juicing.
- Minced garlic: Use jarred, frozen, or fresh garlic.
- Fresh cilantro: Use a generous bunch, loosely measured. It blends down nicely in the sauce.
- Jalapeño: Remove seeds and ribs for less heat or leave them in for extra spice.
- Mayonnaise: Use your favorite mayo for best flavor. Hellmann’s is a good choice.
- Sour cream: Full-fat, low-fat, or lite sour cream works well. Use lite if you’re watching calories.
- Salt and pepper: Season to taste. A pinch can elevate the sauce from good to amazing.
How To Make Cilantro Lime Sauce
This sauce is as simple as adding everything to a blender or food processor and giving it a whirl! Taste, adjust, and enjoy! Below are a few tips:
- Which to use — a high-powered blender or a food processor? Either works just fine. For an ultra-smooth sauce use a blender. In the food processor, you’ll have a lighter sauce with more specks of cilantro throughout.
- When zesting the limes, avoid the white part of the limes–it can be very bitter.
- Chill the sauce: This is a great sauce to make ahead of time as it gets more flavorful as it sits. It also tastes better cold!
- When using this sauce for tacos, add it right before eating to avoid soggy taco shells!
- If you’d like a slightly sweeter sauce, add a touch of honey or a few pinches of sugar. Depending on the cilantro used, you may want to add a touch — there can be some flavor variation in cilantro.
How To Use Homemade Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Top your tacos: I drizzle this sauce on all kinds of tacos — steak tacos, fish tacos, shrimp tacos, and chicken tacos! I also drizzle this sauce over quesadillas or burritos!
- Cilantro-Lime Sauce for fish: Try drizzling this sauce over this blackened tilapia for the most delicious dinner.
- Add in some ranch seasoning: This Cafe Rio dressing is quite similar, but I add in a dry ranch seasoning mix.
- Use on shrimp: Here is my favorite cilantro lime shrimp bowls where I use this sauce!
- Cilantro-Lime Sauce for chicken: Drizzle on some grilled chicken, my favorite grilled fajita chicken, or over these honey lime chicken bowls.
- Grab a rotisserie chicken to serve over this tasty Mexican rice and drizzle everything with this sauce.
- Vegetarian uses: I love drizzling this sauce over these Mexican chickpeas, over these vegetarian fajitas, or on these vegetarian tacos.
Storage
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days and give it a good stir before using again. Make sure the dressing is tightly covered or it will absorb odors in the fridge.
I don’t recommend freezing this dressing because it is dairy-based. It can become lumpy and can curdle when thawed. Instead, cut the recipe in half if you won’t use it within 4-6 days.
More Recipes Using This Sauce:
- Baked Chicken Tacos with ground chicken
- One-Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls with rice
- BBQ Chicken Tacos with charred corn tortillas
- Make this Cilantro-Lime Sauce to top our fave Fish Tacos
- Tikka Masala Wraps with air-fried or roasted chickpeas
Cilantro Lime Sauce
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (plus 1 teaspoon lime zest from 2-3 limes)
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño (Note 1)
- 1/2 cup regular full-fat mayonnaise (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (Note 3)
- Fine sea salt & pepper
Instructions
- PREP: Zest and juice limes to get 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) juice and 1 teaspoon zest.
- FIRST BLEND: Add the juice and zest to a blender or mini food processor with minced garlic, cilantro, chopped jalapeño, and mayo. Season with salt and pepper (I use 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, but adjust to taste). Blend until smooth.
- SECOND BLEND: Add sour cream and blend again. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. The sauce is thick but can be thinned with water if desired.
- STORAGE: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days and stir before using. Keep it tightly covered to avoid fridge odors. I don't recommend freezing dairy dressings because they can get lumpy or curdled. Instead, make a smaller batch if you won't use it in 4-6 days.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
shredded a chayote squash to make the perfect slaw
Delish! Love that!