Remember this wonderfully delicious, juicy Grilled Jalapeño Cilantro Chicken recipe that I posted a couple of weeks ago? Whether you’ve made it yet or it’s still on your summer dinner list, it’s time to chat about the incredible marinade, sauce, dip, drizzle situation that goes with it.
This cilantro yogurt sauce is so freakin’ good that it deserves its very own post. Creamy, spicy, fresh, savory, and the perfect complement to pretty much any dish you can think of. Abra, Rebecca and I tested it with a brand new recipe a few weeks back (that may or may not be hitting the blog this week) and we kept dreaming up more amazing ways to use this sauce.
Tacos, enchiladas, nachos, rice bowls, veggies, your favorite proteins — you name it, this sauce should 100% be involved.
Bonus? It couldn’t be easier to make, all you need is a blender or food processor. Check out all of our fav ways to use it below and let me know in the comments what you added it to!
Ingredients in this cilantro yogurt sauce
This easy cilantro yogurt sauce uses super simple ingredients: just some fresh produce, yogurt and seasonings! It’s SO easy to make and will seriously be your new go-to whenever you need a quick, delicious sauce. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Produce: we’re adding fresh cilantro, a jalapeño, garlic, and some fresh lime juice to the sauce.
- Yogurt: the base is made from plain greek yogurt. Feel free to use a plain, dairy free yogurt if you’d like!
- Oil: you’ll also want to add a bit of olive oil or avocado oil to help give the sauce a creamy consistency and to give it a little boost of healthy fats.
- Sweetener: add a little bit of sugar or coconut sugar to balance the acidity of the yogurt and lime juice.
- Seasonings: you’ll just need some salt and pepper to bring out all of the flavors!
Choose your spice level
If you love spicy foods like I do, keep the seeds in the jalapeño when you blend it in with the sauce. If you’re sensitive to spice (or are sharing with someone who is) I recommend removing the seeds from the jalapeño.
How to make a cilantro yogurt sauce
This creamy sauce couldn’t be easier to make. You’ll simply add all of your ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend it up until it’s smooth and creamy. You may need to add a few teaspoons of water to thin it out to your liking, but this typically isn’t necessary.
Delicious ways to use cilantro yogurt sauce
Not only is this sauce easy to make but it’s also absolutely delicious as a dip, drizzle, and even marinade! Here are some amazing ways to use it:
- Drizzle it on your favorite quesadilla, tacos, enchiladas, nachos, or grilled veggies
- Use it as a dip for fresh veggies, tortilla chips, and your fav proteins like steak, chicken, shrimp, and salmon
- Marinate your chicken (like in this recipe) or salmon in the sauce directly before grilling or baking it!
- Spoon it onto sandwiches or burgers for the perfect boost of flavor
How to store cilantro yogurt sauce
Keep this homemade cilantro yogurt sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3-4 days. Be sure to give the sauce a good stir before you use it, or shake it up with a few tablespoons of water in a mason jar before using it.
More dips & sauces to try
- Creamy Feta Yogurt Dressing (or dip!)
- The Best Creamy Tahini Sauce Recipe
- Homemade Tzatziki Sauce Recipe (yogurt cucumber sauce!)
- Jalapeño Green Tahini Sauce
- Cilantro Pistachio Pesto (my favorite pesto ever!)
Get all of my sauce recipes here!
I hope you love this spicy cilantro yogurt sauce! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Spicy Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro (a big handful)
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon sugar (or sub coconut sugar)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 small to medium jalapeno (do not seed if you want it spicy)*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Optional: 1-2 teaspoons water, to thin sauce if necessary
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend/process until well combined. You may need to add a few teaspoons of water to thin, but most of the time this isn’t necessary. Use as a sauce for drizzling on tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, nachos, on veggies, a dip for veggies or chips, grilled corn, steak, chicken, shrimp, salmon, etc!
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
Incredible! Not normally a huge fan of jalapeño or cilantro yogurt dressings, but this was an amazing recipe. Thank you!
I love this sauce so much, I could drink it straight. Today I used it to top a spiced red lentil soup (made with garlic, ginger, cayenne, and turmeric) and the flavors paired really well together. A+
This was so yummy! I made the chipotle salmon tacos and this sauce is included there and we used the remaining the next day for a salad with buffalo chicken on top and the flavors were delish together! I added a tad bit of water and wish I hadn’t – really can’t imagine needing that and Monique warned me haha!
Lol this sounds so good! Great idea, Ashley!
This is summer yummy! A little bit of work, but totally worth it. I did not use sugar in the recipe for the salmon sauce or the yoghurt sauce but I think I might add just a smidge of honey for the salmon sauce to mask that “‘fishy taste.” Thank you so much for this recipe. I love all of your recipes! I’m a gluten-free/lactose eater and your receipes are awesome!
Aw thank you so much, Malia. This means the world to me. Glad you’re loving my recipes and this sauce turned out great for you!
Love this sauce – super simple to make and tastes good with so many things! Great to have saved as a standard cilantro sauce, plus I’ll play around with ingredients depending on what I have available!
Loved this sauce! Super easy to make and pairs well with falafel.
Absolutely! One of my go-to’s 🙂
I could drink this sauce I love cilantro so much. But besides drinking it, I love to use it as a salad dressing or on a burrito bowl 🙂
So glad you love it!!
Hi Monique,
I love all your recipes and am having a wonderful time working through your cookbook! Have you used this cilantro lime yogurt sauce in the slow cooker with chicken? I just made the sauce and am wondering if I can try it in the slow cooker or if I should just marinate my chicken breast in the sauce and cook it on the stove?
Hi! So glad you’re loving the cookbook! I’d recommend using this sauce as a marinade or “finishing” sauce instead 🙂
Amazing!! By far the best sauce I have ever made 😋.
Thank you so much for sharing!
So happy to hear that!
This recipe is in her cookbook, but I made the effort to find it on the website to give it 5 stars, because that’s how delicious it is! I did it without the seeds to of the jalapeño and it was so good! I’m sure with some seeds, the spice would be great too!
So glad you love this one!
I make this at least once a week! It goes with everything, doubles as salad dressing and a drizzle for bowls of any kind. Obsessed!
Agreed! I use this ALL the time, too 🙂
Such a delicious, easy dip. Don’t skip it!
Glad you enjoyed!