Cilantro Lime Crema

Make this refreshing, zesty cilantro lime crema made with 5 ingredients in 5 minutes, and use it to replace your everyday sour cream on everything from tacos, and burritos to salads and grilled veggies! 

Creamy Mexican sauce

It’s socially acceptable to have a healthy obsession with Mexican food, right? I mean, the flavors, the herbs and spices, the tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas, and of course, the toppings and sauces! From the pico de gallo and salsa to this delicious lime crema. I love it all! Especially when it’s fresh, homemade, and much more cost-effective than eating out or using store-bought.

If making delicious restaurant-quality food at home is your jam as much as it is mine, you’re going to love adding this cilantro lime crema recipe to your list of easy homemade condiments that you keep on hand. This refreshing, vibrant sauce tastes amazing on everything! It’s thick, creamy, tangy, and zesty and is the perfect finishing touch on any Taco Tuesday topping, especially these delicious skirt steak tacos.

If you’ve ever had my cilantro lime dressing, you’ll notice the taste is similar, but the crema has a thicker consistency. It is basically a sour cream replacement anytime you’re looking to jazz up your flavors. The combination of cilantro and lime together gives your food a pop of citrus and herb that keeps you wanting more.

What is crema?

As you’ve probably guessed, In Spanish, crema is a direct translation for cream. Traditionally, it’s made with Mexican crema which requires buttermilk and cream, but it’s not always readily available in local grocery stores. You can of course, make your own Mexican crema, but we can also take a little shortcut to get us to where we need to be. Enter, sour cream! It’s the tangy creamy fat we need to give our cilantro lime crema its thick and rich consistency.

Crema is a sauce that can be used as a drizzle (or a pour depending on your style) on everything from tacos, enchiladas, burritos, soups, salads, grilled vegetables, you name it!

Tips for making cilantro lime crema

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

Ways to use it

This crema is, of course, amazing on any Mexican dish, but it definitely works for all kinds of dishes. It’s worth exploring!

• Tacos: Instant pot chicken taco bowls, Taco salad, Chicken taco soup, Slow cooker chicken tinga tacos
• Burritos: Breakfast burritos, Baked chicken burrito, Green chili burritos
• Veggies: Grilled sweet potatoes, Mexican street corn, Stuffed sweet potatoes
• Salad & Rice: BBQ chicken salad, Cilantro lime rice, Mexican salad

Storage suggestions

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 recipes to use it in:

• Mini taco cups
• Shredded chicken taco salad
• Sheet pan nachos
• Slow cooker pork tacos
• Baked chicken taquitos