Cilantro Garlic Sauce

This Cilantro Garlic Sauce is a delicious healthy sauce for grilled meat, toast, or salad made from a few wholesome ingredients. Plus, it’s a low-carb, gluten-free sauce easy to turn dairy-free with a few swaps.

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Dip and sauce recipes like my Cottage Cheese Pasta Sauce, Keto Mushroom Sauce, or Tahini Yogurt Sauce, can turn any simple vegetable or grilled meat into a gourmet recipe. Plus, if you have cilantro growing in your garden, this cilantro sauce comes in very handy. You can also prepare large batches and freeze and use them all year round. Let me share with you my tips on how to make this delicious sauce.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All you need to turn cilantro into a green sauce that truly tastes amazing are a few ingredients:

• Fresh Cilantro – No need to trim the branches. Pack the whole bunch of cilantro in measuring cups and use all of it.
• Garlic – Peeled and whole.
• Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice – Or bottled lime juice if you can’t find any fresh ones.
• Olive Oil – Prefer local extra-virgin olive oil.
• Parmesan Cheese or nutritional yeast if dairy-free.
• Salt and Pepper – Season to taste.

How To Make Cilantro Garlic Sauce

There are many ways to make a cilantro sauce. Some recipes call for sour cream, but my way of making this sauce is inspired by my love for Mediterranean cuisine.

In fact, this cilantro garlic sauce is close to a pesto recipe. It’s mainly made of olive oil, a lot of herbs, and fresh garlic and is delicious on a steak, grilled chicken, or vegetables.

The best way to make this sauce is to use a chopper or a small food processor.

1. Place all the ingredients into the bowl of the chopper, blend on low-medium speed, and stop a few times, scraping the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula.
2. Repeat until all the ingredients are well combined, the cilantro finely chopped, and the sauce is oily and green like a pesto.
3. Optionally, add Parmesan or nutritional cheese and blend to incorporate. It turns the sauce cheesy, salty, and amazing.

Serving Suggestions

You are probably wondering why and how to use this sauce. There are so many great options, I will try to list my favorites below.

Serve on top of a warm piece of BBQ or grilled meat. Spread a tablespoon on top to add the most fantastic garlic flavor to meat or vegetable. Try some of the below recipes with the sauce:

• Whole Roasted Cauliflower
• Roasted Zucchini
• Oven-Roasted Potatoes
• Roasted Rutabagas
• BBQ Steak
• Cast-Iron Chicken 
• Blackened Chicken

Stir the sauce into plain cooked spaghetti or into my zucchini noodles as a swap to the pesto.

Toast some bread and spread the sauce to add a garlic olive oil flavor to the bread. Then add feta crumbles, tomatoes, or fresh buffalo mozzarella. You can also serve the cilantro garlic sauce as a dip to focaccia or bread.

Drizzle this on top of your favorite Mexican dinners, like tacos or enchiladas. Feel free to add more fresh lime juice and splash water to turn the sauce into a thinner consistency. You will love the tangy cilantro lime sauce on the salad. Here’s some salad to serve with this sauce:

• Shirazi Salad
• Greek Pasta Salad
• Cranberry Chicken Salad

Storage Instructions

You can store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in a sealed glass mason jar placed in the fridge. The sauce thickens in the fridge but comes back to its consistency after 30 minutes at room temperature.

Allergy Swaps

Below are some options to make this sauce recipe with other ingredients if needed.

• Citrus-Free – Swap the lime juice for apple cider vinegar or leave it out and add a bit of water.
• Dairy-Free – Use dairy-free Parmesan or nutritional yeast to add a cheese flavor.
• Olive Oil – Try avocado oil for a healthy swap or other oil with light flavors like almond oil or walnut oil.
• Lime – You can use fresh lemon juice instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are my answers to your most common questions about this recipe.

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