This Cilantro Lime Sauce is bright, zesty, and packed with fresh flavor. Ready in under 10 minutes, it’s the perfect addition to tacos, bowls, salads, grilled meats and more!
author’s note
I Put This Sauce on Everything!
I first developed this cilantro lime sauce for my shrimp tacos, which have quickly become one of the most popular recipes on my website, and honestly, I think this sauce deserves a lot of the credit!
Truthfully, out of all the recipes on my site, this is one I make the MOST. I almost always have a container of it in my fridge.
It makes dinner so simple. I grab a protein, a base, and whatever toppings we have around, then turn it all into bowls, tacos, or some kind of easy dinner. And if it’s covered in this sauce, my kids really don’t care what else is going on. Haha.
So of course, it needed its own place on the site. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Cilantro Lime Sauce Ingredients
| Ingredient | Tips & Easy Swaps |
|---|---|
| Fresh cilantro | Use a generous bunch, loosely measured. It blends down nicely in the sauce. |
| Fresh limes | A good zester and citrus juicer makes all the difference. |
| Mayo | Use your favorite mayo for best flavor. Hellmann’s is my favorite. |
| Sour cream | Full-fat, low-fat, or lite sour cream works well. Plain Greek yogurt is another option. |
| Jalapeño | Remove the seeds and ribs for less heat, or leave some in for a spicier sauce. |
| Garlic | Use jarred, frozen, or fresh garlic. |
How To Make Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Zest & juice: Get 1 teaspoon lime zest and 1/4 cup juice.
- Blend: Add lime, cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, mayo, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Finish: Blend in sour cream. Taste, adjust, and thin with water if needed.
- Chill: Refrigerate before serving for the best flavor.
author’s note
How To Use This Cilantro Lime Sauce
- Tacos: Drizzle over steak, fish, shrimp, or chicken tacos.
- Cafe Rio-style: A local restaurant here in Utah uses a similar sauce on their sweet pork salads and burritos.
- Shrimp: Use it on my cilantro lime shrimp bowls.
- Chicken: Drizzle over grilled or baked chicken, fajita chicken, or honey lime chicken bowls.
- Rice bowls: Pair rotisserie chicken with Mexican rice and plenty of sauce.
- Vegetarian: I love drizzling this sauce over these vegetarian fajitas or on these vegetarian tacos.
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:
Cilantro Lime Sauce
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 limes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño see note 1
- 1/2 cup mayo full-fat, see note 2
- 1/2 cup sour cream see note 3
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Zest and juice limes to get 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) juice and 1 teaspoon zest.
- 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.
- Add sour cream and blend again. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. The sauce is thick but can be thinned with water if desired.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I actually saved this recipe awhile back and knew I would definitely be making this sauce. Because I LOVE anything with cilantro, limes or lemons. Today, I felt like eating shrimp tostadas. I have all the ingredients and figured perfect. Although I will be making this recipe for the first time, I’m already giving my review because I know it will be delicious and it has all the ingredients that I love. After I use it for shrimp tostadas, I plan to make it again for fish tacos. This sauce, can be put on everything basically; on salads, chicken, egg salad, over a baked potato, the list is endless. Can’t wait! Thank you for the recipe.
Thank you so much! I love your enthusiasm, and shrimp tostadas sound like the perfect way to use this sauce! I hope you love it as much as you think you will. And you’re so right, it’s delicious on so many things. I can’t wait to hear what you think once you’ve tried it!
This was so easy to make and so good! We paired it with the baked chicken thighs but had some left over and used it on tacos the next day. It’s so versatile, this would be great on shrimp,
nachos, burgers, really anything! We omitted the jalapeños due to my family’s preference but this sauce is amazing!
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you loved it, and using the leftovers on tacos sounds amazing. I love all those ideas too, especially shrimp and nachos! And totally fine to leave out the jalapeños. So glad it was a hit with your family!