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This creamy avocado cilantro sauce takes about 5 minutes in a blender or food processor, made with ripe avocado, Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, lime juice, garlic, and a jalapeño – no oil or mayo needed.
It’s naturally gluten free with an easy dairy-free option, and you can use it thick as a dipping sauce for chips and veggies or thin it out with a little water to make a dressing. I made it to go on top of my crispy buffalo chicken tacos, but it’s just as yummy on burgers, salads, burritos, and nachos.
Why This Avocado Cilantro Sauce Recipe Works
This is about as easy as a sauce gets. Everything goes in the blender or food processor at once, you blend until it’s smooth and creamy, and that’s it. Easy peasy! I love that homemade sauces make it easy to control the spice level, so it can be totally mild or actually spicy. I keep mine mild so it’s more kid-friendly for my girls.
It’s a dip and a dressing in one. Keep it thick to scoop up with chips, or thin it out with a splash of water and drizzle it over everything. I first made it for my crispy buffalo chicken tacos, and the cool, creamy sauce with the spicy, crunchy tacos is SO good. If you’ve made my creamy chimichurri sauce, this one is quicker and tangier, but just as easy!
Ingredient Notes
- Avocado: Find a ripe one that gives a little when you press it, since a firm avocado won’t blend up creamy. One medium avocado is all you need!
- Greek yogurt: This is what makes the sauce creamy and tangy without any mayo. If you don’t have Greek yogurt on hand, sour cream can be used instead, but I do like the higher protein content of Greek yogurt. For a dairy-free version, use a cashew or coconut based yogurt.
- Cilantro: Fresh only, and the tender stems are fine to throw in with the leaves. If you’re one of those people who thinks cilantro tastes like soap, I’ll be honest – this sauce is probably not for you.
- Fresh lime juice: Use freshly squeezed here. This is the trick to help slow down the browning on the avocado.
- Jalapeño pepper: Remove the seeds and membranes if you don’t want the sauce spicy, and wear gloves while you do it so the pepper doesn’t burn your skin. If you want it spicy, feel free to add some of the membrane to the sauce. You can also save it and blend some in later to taste.
Recipe Variations
- Make it spicy. Blend in some of the jalapeño membranes and seeds you removed, a little at a time, until it’s as spicy as you like. Adding them back gradually is a lot easier than trying to tone down a sauce that’s already too hot.
- Use sour cream. Sour cream works in place of Greek yogurt in a pinch and makes the sauce a touch richer. You just lose that extra protein.
- Make it dairy free. Swap the Greek yogurt for a cashew or coconut based yogurt. Look for a plain, unsweetened one.
- Turn it into a dressing. Add water a tablespoon at a time and blend again until it’s pourable. It’s a great way to top a paleo burrito bowl with cilantro lime cauliflower rice or any taco salad.
- Try other herbs or spices. I haven’t tested this with parsley in place of cilantro or with add-ins like cumin, so I can’t say for sure how they’ll turn out. If you try it, let me know how it goes in the comments!
How to Make Creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Step 1: Add the avocado, Greek yogurt, cilantro, lime juice, garlic, jalapeño, salt, and black pepper to a blender or food processor. Leave the water out for now.
Blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides once or twice so there are no chunks of avocado hiding at the bottom. It should look like a thick, pale green dip at this point. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
That’s it. Seriously. Once you have a batch in the fridge, you’ll want to put it on everything: spoon it over guacamole stuffed burgers for a double dose of avocado, drizzle it on grilled cilantro lime chicken thighs, or serve it next to air fryer salmon cooked straight from frozen for a quick weeknight dinner. It’s also really good spooned into smash burger Big Mac tacos in place of the usual sauce.
Recipe Tips
- Wear gloves when you handle the jalapeño. The oils in the seeds and membranes can burn your skin, and they’re really hard to wash off.
- Hold the water until the end. It’s easy to thin a sauce out, but you can’t thicken it back up once it’s watery. Blend everything else first, see how thick it is, then add water a tablespoon at a time only if you need it.
- Make the sauce mild first, taste it, then add a little of the reserved jalapeño membrane and blend again. Repeat until you reach the spice level you want.
- Stop and scrape the sides of the blender once or twice so everything blends evenly instead of leaving avocado chunks behind.
Storage & Make Ahead
Store the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. A little bit of browning at the top is normal since it’s avocado based. You can remove the top layer, or just mix it back in before enjoying. It still tastes great. Since it keeps for 5 days, it’s an easy one to make at the start of the week so it’s ready for tacos, salads, and bowls whenever you need it.
I don’t recommend freezing this sauce. The avocado and yogurt don’t hold up well once thawed.
Recipe FAQs
It’s creamy and tangy from the avocado and Greek yogurt, fresh and bright from the cilantro and lime, with a little garlic bite and as much or as little heat from the jalapeño as you want. Think of it as somewhere between a guacamole and a creamy salad dressing.
Only if you want it to be. Removing the seeds and membranes from the jalapeño keeps the sauce mild with just a hint of pepper flavor, and blending some of the membranes back in makes it spicy. The heat is completely up to you.
The fresh lime juice in the recipe helps slow the browning down, and storing the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge is key. Some browning at the top after a day or two is normal and totally harmless. Just scrape it off or stir it in.
Guacamole is chunky and made from mashed avocado with onion, tomato, and other mix-ins, so it’s more of a dip you scoop. This sauce is blended smooth with Greek yogurt, which makes it creamy and pourable enough to use as a dressing or drizzle. If you’re after the chunky version, my homemade keto guacamole is the one to make.
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Creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 avocado
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 jalapeño pepper, remove membranes and seeds for not spicy
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- Water, if needed
Instructions
- Place all ingredients for the creamy avocado cilantro sauce, except water, in a blender or food processor.1 avocado, 1/2 cup greek yogurt, 1/2 cup cilantro, 2 tbsp fresh lime juice, 2 garlic cloves, 1 jalapeño pepper, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
- Blend until smooth and creamy, then taste to adjust seasoning. You can thin out the sauce if you wish by adding a tablespoon of water at a time and blending again. Use right away or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a weekWater
Notes
- Wear gloves to remove the seeds and membranes of the jalapeño so you don’t burn your skin. For a spicy sauce, blend in some of the membrane, or save it and add some in later to taste.
- Hold the water until the end and add it a tablespoon at a time. You can always thin the sauce, but you can’t thicken it back up.
- Sour cream can be used instead of Greek yogurt. For a dairy-free sauce, use a cashew or coconut based yogurt.
- Delicious on burgers, salads, tacos, burritos, nachos, or as a dip for chips and veggies. To use it as a dressing, thin it out with a bit more water.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. A little browning at the top is normal since it’s avocado based – remove the top layer or mix it in before enjoying. I don’t recommend freezing this sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
