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Make the best avocado crema recipe with a few simple ingredients! This is the perfect topping, sauce, or dip for veggies, chicken, seafood, and more.
This ultra creamy cilantro lime dip instantly upgrades any meal! The smooth crema is made with ripe avocados, tangy lime, fresh cilantro, and rich sour cream. You can keep it thick for a dip or indulgent sandwich spread, or consider thinning it out for a delicious drizzle atop your favorite meats, nachos, and rice bowls.
The best thing of all: It only takes a few minutes to make! There’s absolutely no cooking involved, so it’s the perfect recipe for newbies to bring to taco night. It’s amazing with roasted vegetables, your favorite fish dishes, air fryer chicken, and so much more. However you use it, this refreshing and flavorful sauce is guaranteed to become a staple in your kitchen!
Avocado Crema Ingredients
As always, here is a quick overview of what you will need for this recipe. Scroll to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements.
- Avocados and Sour Cream – These two ingredients keep this sauce thick and decadent! Make sure your avocados are nice and ripe for the best texture. See variations below for dairy-free and vegan substitutes.
- Onion, Jalapeno, and Garlic – These are blended in for a versatile flavor that goes with anything. Any onion will work, but I used white for the sharp burst of flavor. Make sure to remove the jalapeno seeds or it may be too spicy.
- Fresh Cilantro, Lime Juice, and Lime Zest – You get a major punch of flavor with these additions! If you hate cilantro, you can leave it out or substitute parsley.
- Cumin, Salt, and Pepper – Simple seasonings to complement any dish. Start small and adjust to your taste preferences.
How do you make avocado crema
All you need is a blender for this quick and simple recipe! Add in your avocado, sour cream, onion, seeded jalapeno, garlic clove, fresh cilantro, lime juice, lime zest, and cumin into the blender. Give it a whirl until it’s nice and smooth. Taste it, then add a bit of salt, pepper, and more cumin until it makes your heart sing.
Serve
This cilantro lime crema is delicious with so many foods, the options are endless! Use it as a wholesome appetizer and serve it with fresh veggies, chips, toasted pita, taquitos, crab cakes, sweet potato fries, or potato skins. Drizzle it on burrito bowls, quesadillas, tacos, nachos, salads, cauliflower rice, tostadas, or fajita veggies. Spread it onto sandwiches, burgers, or flatbreads. It can instantly boost simple salmon, chicken thighs, or even pork chops!
Storage
We all know that avocado doesn’t store super well, but there are a few tricks you can use to keep it lasting longer!
- Pack the container full to the brim. It’s better to fill up multiple smaller containers versus using one that is too large. First, this helps because you can use each container whenever you need it, leaving the others in the fridge, not exposing them to the air. Second, if your container is not full, that means you have a lot of surface area that the air can touch, causing it to brown.
- Reduce surface area. If you cannot fill your container, you can lightly press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the dip, making sure it is completely covered and goes all the way to the edges of the container. Then place your airtight lid on the container.
- Use onion slices or lime juice. Both of these ingredients help preserve avocado in this cilantro lime sauce. Taking a thin slice of onion and covering the top of the dip with it will help you keep this dip fresh for 4-5 days! If you don’t have any onion left, you could pour a bit of lime juice over the top, but the onion has been the most successful preserver for me so far. Once the avocado crema is covered with your preservative, place an airtight lid on your container and keep in the fridge.
Variations and Substitutions
- Make it dairy-free. You can use store-bought plant-based sour cream or homemade cashew cream to make this the perfect vegan recipe.
- Add protein. Instead of sour cream, substitute plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese for a higher dose of protein in each serving.
- Go spicy. Increase the jalapeno, add a splash of hot sauce, or sprinkle in some cayenne powder for a spicy version!
- Switch up the flavor. Don’t like cilantro? Leave it out or replace it with parsley or basil. No lime? Use lemon instead!
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Easy Avocado Crema
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe avocados
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 jalapeno, seeded
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- zest from one lime, about 2 teaspoons
- juice from 1/2 a lime, about 1 tablespoon
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If needed add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to thin the sauce.
- Adjust the lime, salt and pepper based on your personal preference.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
