Impossibly Creamy 5-Minute Avocado Crema

Avocado Crema is a thick, creamy sauce that can be served with a variety of dishes, from tacos and burritos, to enchiladas, chilaquiles and breakfast scrambles. It’s made with ripe avocado, sour cream, lime juice, a little fresh garlic, and Kosher salt, and takes just 5 minutes to make in a blender or food processor. It’s a great alternative to guacamole, but with a lot of the same characteristics.

For a quick dinner idea, try pairing this with our Chorizo Tacos and these Sweet Potato Fritters! Here’s a few more reasons why we love it so much:

• Clean ingredients! The fresh citrus juice and lime zest really rounds out the tangy sour cream and brightens up the avocado flavor.
• Versatile! Not only is this delicious with Tex-Mex and Southwestern dishes, but it pairs well with any recipe where you’d want to add avocado. Whether that’s as a sandwich spread or a creamy dip, we love having a container on hand throughout the week.
• Silky smooth and creamy! Drizzle this cool, creamy avocado sauce over your favorite spicy dishes to cool down the heat.

Make a batch today, store in a fridge, then enjoy throughout the week!

Be sure to check out all of our easy sauce recipes, including Cilantro Lime Crema (Fish Taco Sauce), Cilantro Chimichurri (For Grilled Meats + Seafood), and this flavorful Light & Fresh Basil Vinaigrette!

What’s In Avocado Crema?

• Sour cream: The base of the crema! Sour cream has a thick texture, rich milky taste, and a slightly acidic tangy flavor similar to (but thicker than) crème fraîche.
• Avocado: Be sure to use a ripe avocado for this recipe! It makes for an extra creamy sauce!
• Garlic: You’ll need 1 clove finely chopped garlic, which adds a nice kick and subtle heat that only garlic can add. You can use garlic powder, but fresh garlic has a stronger flavor.
• Lime: A fresh lime is zested, but we’ll also need the fresh lime juice.
• A pinch of Kosher salt: To season the avocado crema!

We like to make crema in a personal blender, but a small food processor works as well. Alternatively, you can mash the avocado and finely chop the garlic clove, then whisk all ingredients together in a bowl.

How To Make Avocado Crema

Simply combine all crema ingredients — avocado, sour cream, fresh lime juice and lime zest, garlic, and Kosher salt — in a blender or food processor, then blend until smooth. If you want a thinner consistency, add a little milk, then process again to thin out. And that’s it — your creamy avocado sauce is ready!

How To Prevent Browning

If you’ve ever had avocados turn brown once peeled, you’re familiar with oxidation. This is a chemical reaction when certain substances are exposed to air. The best way to prevent avocados from turning brown is to eliminate as much air as possible.

When storing leftovers, we recommend placing the crema in an airtight container, but also placing a piece of plastic wrap firmly on top, pressed down into the sauce to prevent as much air as possible from getting in. Just as you’d do with fresh guacamole. Keep in a fridge for 4-5 days.

The fresh lime juice will also help to prevent browning!

If, however, the sauce turns a little brown, don’t worry. Just give a stir!

Variations

• Instead of using all sour cream for the base, you can substitute with part whole milk Greek yogurt or mayonnaise. Cream cheese could be used, as well.
• Make it spicy! To add some heat, add ¼ tsp of cayenne pepper to the crema ingredients. Jalapeño adds a great spice as well! For a less intense heat, add chili powder or ground cumin to add warmth without much spice.
• Make it smoky! You could add 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, or even just a couple teaspoons of the adobo sauce liquid before blending. As another smoky option, you can add smoked paprika.
• Add fresh cilantro! Cilantro lovers will agree that the fresh herb is a natural addition to Mexican crema of any kind. We love to add it in before blending!

If you love cilantro as much as we do, be sure to try our Cilantro Lime Dressing next!