Aji verde is the most addictingly delicious spicy green sauce made with cilantro, peppers, queso fresco, mayo, garlic, and lime! It’s SO good on tacos, bowls, salads, grilled meats and veggies, and my personal favorite at the moment – scrambled eggs and hash browns.
In This Post: Everything You Need For Aji Verde
Lindsay’s Notes
This little green sauce is NUMMY central! She’s spicy, she’s versatile, and she is wanting to be put on every food you eat.
Aji Verde is a Peruvian spicy green sauce that’s used as a table sauce – think drizzles, swoops, and dips on top of all your favorite things.
- This takes these black bean tacos to the next level.
- It is so fun as a swizzle on top of this plantain stew.
- It’s so delightful as a condiment for scrambled eggs and hashbrowns – one of my favorite weekend breakfasts!
- And I’m not above using it as a chip dip. Just ADDICTING.
I love a good green sauce (see also: basil sauce, magic green sauce, avocado mojo sauce). What makes this one unique is the creaminess that comes from the mayo and queso fresco (yum) and also the spice level. It is definitely a more pepper-forward sauce and packs a bit of heat, which you can scale up or down with the number of peppers you use.
I made this using the ingredients that are readily available to me – instead of serranos, I often use jalapeños because they are easier for me to find. And I omit the more traditional additions of huacatay and aji amarillo pastes so I don’t have to make multiple trips around town or place any online orders for single-use ingredients.
I just go with what I have (what you’ll see written here), and it’s irresistibly delicious. Prepare to have your whole life covered in this spicy Peruvian green sauce!
How To Make Aji Verde
Step 1: Put Everything in a Food Processor or Blender
Lots of good stuff here: cilantro, jalapeño, queso fresco, mayo, garlic, and lime juice.
Step 2: Blend It Up
You can choose how chunky (or not chunky) to make this! I prefer a smoother sauce for this one.
Step 3: Done! Enjoy!
This is great on tacos, bowls, salads, and just for dipping into with chips and veggies and crackers and literally EVERYTHING. It’s irresistible.
Something brand new we added this week: a button to add all your ingredients to your Target cart! Just tap the button to get all these ingredients – it’ll create your list and pop you over to the Target app where you can just order it all for Drive Up. It’s literally the easy button! ♡
Aji Verde
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: about 8 servings 1x
Description
This Aji Verde is the most addicting spicy green sauce! It is SO good on tacos, bowls, salads, grilled meats and veggies, and my personal favorite – scrambled eggs and hash browns.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 3 ounces (a little chunk) queso fresco
- 1 jalapeño pepper (for a mild sauce, remove the ribs and seeds – you can also use a serrano pepper)
- 1 cup cilantro
- 2 cloves of garlic
- juice of 1 lime
- a pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until smooth-ish. I like to go until it smoothly drips off a spoon – no more chunks but just a little bit of texture to it.
- You’re done! Serve with grilled meats and veggies, tacos, salads, bowls, or just dip into it with some chips. It’s incredible.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
Keywords: aji verde, peruvian sauce, aji verde sauce
Frequently Asked Questions For Aji Verde
Typically ingredients will include spicy peppers, cilantro, garlic, lime, and mayo and/or cheese to give it a creamy texture. Traditional aji verde might also include pepper-based pastes like huacatay or aji amarillo, but those can be more challenging to find depending on where you live. This version is made without them since they are not ingredients that are readily accessible to me. And even without them, this aji verde so delicious.
Aji verde is a spicy Peruvian green sauce and has been made since the Incan Empire!
I love it as a topping for tacos, bowls, grilled meats and vegetables. It’s also exceptionally good with eggs and I *love* it in a breakfast bowl. Hashbrowns, fried eggs, and aji verde might be my perfect breakfast. And, it might not be traditional, but it’s so good that I will often find myself just dipping into it with chips or raw veggies.
It keeps pretty well! I usually keep it in a sealed jar in the fridge for 5-7 days.
It is naturally gluten-free! To make it dairy-free, omit the cheese. (Still delicious, although you may find you want to add a bit of salt to make up for the lost salt with removing the cheese.)
Yes! I could be wrong but I’m guessing the Incans were not out there making aji verde with their Vitamixes. To make without a blender, mince everything very finely, or grate it, and stir it up a in a small bowl. You could also use a mortar and pestle to grind up the herbs, garlic, etc. before mixing in with the rest of the ingredients. If you have a blender, though, I’d recommend this method because I love the smooth and creamy barely-flecked texture of it.
