Creamy Cilantro Sauce
on Jun 23, 2021, Updated Jan 20, 2025
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This creamy cilantro sauce is amazing when spooned over all kinds of vegetables, chicken, pork, fish, and seafood cooked any which way.
If you like or maybe even love cilantro, you will want this beautiful green-flecked sauce with its robust flavor and personality in your fridge at all times. If you don’t like cilantro, well, I can’t imagine how you would have landed on this recipe. And if you find yourself with a lot of extra cilantro, this is a great way to use it up!
Cilantro sauce is easy to make and so versatile. It’s lovely spooned over everything from grilled fish or chicken to poached salmon to sautéed shrimp. It’s amazing spooned over all kinds of vegetables, grilled, roasted, or what have you. It has a creamy, not-too-thick, not-too-thin consistency, perfect for drizzling. And, it takes about 10 minutes to pull together!
Table of Contents
Cilantro Sauce: Amazing spooned over all kinds of vegetables, chicken, pork, fish, and seafood cooked any which way.
Ingredients
- Fresh cilantro leaves – The star of the show.
- Shallots – Adds a sweet oniony flavor.
- Dijon mustard – Adds a little bit of kick to the creaminess.
- Mayonnaise – The creamy base of the sauce.
- Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream – Provides another kind of creaminess with some tanginess. You can also just add another 1/4 cup mayonnaise.
- Jalapeño pepper – Seeded and roughly chopped.
- Heavy cream, half-and-half, or whole milk – To loosen the sauce a bit.
- Pinch cayenne pepper – Another little bump of heat; add more if you want your sauce on the spicier side.
How to Make Cilantro Sauce
- Puree the base of the sauce: In a food processor or blender, combine the cilantro leaves, shallots, and Dijon mustard.
- Add the remaining ingredients: Add the mayo and yogurt (if using), jalapeño, cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Blend until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasonings.
Variations
- You can add a teaspoon or two of lime juice to the sauce at the end if you like. If it separates, give it a good stir before serving.
- Try using half fresh parsley and cilantro. (Fresh herbs only, please!)
- Add a teaspoon of minced fresh garlic to the sauce when blending it up.
- Add half of a ripe avocado when blending the sauce.
Leftovers and Storage
This sauce will last in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Give it a good stir before serving.
What to Serve With Creamy Cilantro Sauce
This sauce goes with any simply cooked protein, like grilled chicken breasts, grilled NY strip steak, or baked salmon. Cilantro sauce also makes a great pasta salad dressing; try it in Pasta and Salmon Salad with Cilantro Dressing.
Also, drizzle it over roasted potatoes, over the fluffy insides of a baked potato. Try it on roasted bell peppers, perhaps as part of a bruschetta or crostini.
It’s also an amazing condiment drizzled over Mexican food, like tacos (try Alaskan rockfish tacos!) or a taco salad, nachos, and burritos or burrito bowls.
And it’s a great dipping sauce. Serve with simply grilled or broiled kebabs, raw veggies (crudites), quesadillas, or poached shrimp.
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Creamy Cilantro Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream; or another 1/4 cup mayonnaise)
- 1 jalapeno (seeded and roughly chopped)
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream (or half-and-half, or whole milk)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
- Pinch cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine the cilantro leaves, shallots, and Dijon. Puree.
- Add the mayonnaise and yogurt, if using, jalapeno, cream, salt, pepper, and cayenne and puree. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Notes
- Makes about 2 cups.
- This sauce will last in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. Give it a good stir before serving.
