This spicy vegan cilantro lime crema will take all your Mexican-style foods to the next level! This creamy cilantro lime sauce is perfect for drizzling on tacos, nachos, burritos, and soups.
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This cilantro crema has a fresh light taste and brightens up just about any meal. If you are like me and can't get enough cilantro and lime, this recipe is for you!
This recipe is similar to my garlic cilantro sauce, but the crema is made with vegan sour cream or vegan heavy cream as well to give it a richer and creamier flavor.
You can use it instead of salsa on just about everything. It's even delicious poured over mashed potatoes, tofu scramble, or a vegan omelet. You can even use it as you would pesto and pour it over pasta!
🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Cilantro - you must use fresh cilantro for this recipe. You will need a large bunch of fresh cilantro.
- Garlic - fresh garlic cloves are important for a great flavor.
- Lime Juice - you will need the juice of 2-3 fresh limes.
- Jalapenos - optional for a fresh spicy flavor. You can also swap this out with 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
- Salt - for flavor
- Oil - any neutral-flavored oil will work like canola or light olive oil. I don't recommend extra virgin olive oil. You can also omit the oil - the sauce will just be less creamy.
- Vegan Sour Cream - you can use my homemade tofu sour cream recipe or you can use vegan yogurt, cashew cream, or mayonnaise instead of sour cream.
🔪 Helpful tools
- A Food Processor - or a blender to mix it up very fine.
🥄 How to make vegan cilantro lime crema
Step 1 - Wash the fresh cilantro bunch and cut off any long stems.
Step 2 - Place the washed cilantro, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of lime juice, 1 fresh jalapeno (with the stem and seeds cut out), and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a food processor.
Step 3 - Blend until all ingredients are chopped fine, then slowly add 1/3 cup of oil while the food processor is running. Scrape the edges if needed and blend until creamy.
Step 4 - Add 1/3 cup vegan sour cream to the food processor and blend again until smooth and creamy. (You can also use vegan yogurt, cashew cream, silken tofu, or mayonnaise.)
👩🏻🍳 Uses for the cilantro lime crema
Use this cilantro lime sauce drizzled on the following meals
- Vegan Breakfast Burritos
- Vegan Tamales
- Spicy Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Loaded Nachos
- TVP Tacos
- Tempeh Tacos
- Vegan Tostadas
- Southwest Bean Salad
- Vegan Fish Tacos
- Vegan Shrimp
- Vegan Empanadas
- Taco Soup
- Vegan Pozole
Use it as a dipping sauce for the following
🥡 Storage
Refrigerate: This vegan cilantro lime crema will keep well in the fridge for 1 week in an airtight container. You can also freeze leftover lime cilantro crema for up to 3 months.
🌟 More vegan sauces
- Vegan Buffalo Sauce
- Vegan BBQ Sauce
- Vegan Chipotle Mayo
- Dairy-Free Ranch
- Vegan Tartar Sauce
- Vegan Honey Mustard Sauce
- Vegan Sriracha Mayo
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
📋 Vegan cilantro lime crema recipe
Vegan Cilantro Lime Crema
Ingredients
- 2 cups cilantro (one large bunch)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup lime juice (fresh squeezed)
- 1 jalapeno (seeded) or 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 1/3 cup vegan sour cream
Instructions
- Wash the fresh cilantro bunch and cut off any long stems.
- Place the washed cilantro, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of lime juice, 1 fresh jalapeno, (with the stem and seeds cut out) and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a food processor.
- Blend until all ingredients are chopped fine, then slowly add 1/3 cup of oil while the food processor is running. Scrape the edges if needed and blend until creamy.
- Add 1/3 cup vegan sour cream to the food processor and blend again until smooth and creamy. (You can also use vegan yogurt, cashew cream, silken tofu, or mayonnaise.)
Notes
Nutrition
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