Peruvian Green Sauce

This Peruvian green sauce is creamy, herby, garlicky, and just a little spicy. It comes together in minutes and is one of the easiest ways to add big flavor to chicken, shrimp, steak, sandwiches, bowls, and roasted vegetables.

If you’re making Peruvian Chicken, this is the sauce to serve with it. The cool, creamy texture and bright flavor balance the warm spices in the chicken really well, and once you make a batch, it’s easy to use the extras with simple meals throughout the week.

This is the kind of sauce that can make dinner feel more exciting without adding much extra work. Blend it once, keep it in the fridge, and spoon it over whatever you’re making. It works especially well with Seared Scallops, Seared Shrimp, Cast Iron Chicken Breast, Pan-Seared Halibut, and even Steak Bites when you want a fresh and flavorful topping.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Big flavor with very little work: This sauce comes together quickly but adds a lot to the plate.
• Easy to keep in the fridge: Once it’s made, you can use it all week to wake up leftovers or finish simple meals.
• Works with more than chicken: It’s especially good with Peruvian Chicken, but it also works well with shrimp, scallops, steak, roasted vegetables, and bowls.

Ingredients You’ll Need

This Peruvian green sauce recipe uses a short list of ingredients, but each one helps build that creamy, bright flavor. Grab the exact amounts from the recipe card below.

• Plain Greek yogurt: This makes the sauce creamy and tangy. Use plain yogurt, not flavored, and choose one you already like the taste of since it is the base of the sauce.
• Jalapeño: Use a roughly chopped jalapeño with the ribs and seeds removed for a milder heat. If you want the sauce spicier, leave a little of the ribs or seeds in.
• Cilantro: Fresh cilantro gives the sauce its signature green color and fresh flavor.
• Garlic: One large clove adds bold garlic flavor without making the sauce overpowering.
• Lime zest and lime juice: These add brightness and help balance the creamy yogurt.
• Salt: Salt ties everything together and helps all of the flavors stand out.

How to Make Peruvian Green Sauce

This sauce is very easy to make and only takes a few minutes.

Add everything to the blender

Add the Greek yogurt, jalapeño, cilantro, garlic, lime zest, lime juice, and salt to a blender or small food processor.

Blend until smooth

Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy. Taste, then adjust the salt, lime, or jalapeño if needed.

Tips for the Best Peruvian Green Sauce

• Start with less jalapeño if needed: You can always add more heat, but you can’t take it out once it is blended.
• Use fresh lime juice: Fresh lime makes the sauce taste much brighter than bottled juice. One lime will give you the zest and juice that you need for this recipe.
• Blend until fully smooth: This helps the cilantro and jalapeño mix in evenly and gives the sauce a creamier texture.
• Taste before serving: A little extra salt or lime juice can make a big difference.
• Chill it if you have time: The flavor gets even better after it sits in the fridge for a bit.

What to Serve With Peruvian Green Sauce

This sauce is best known for serving with Peruvian Chicken, but it’s useful far beyond that.

• Chicken: Spoon it over Air Fryer Boneless Chicken Thighs or Cast Iron Chicken Breast for an easy dinner.
• Shrimp: It’s a great match for Seared Shrimp or Blackened Shrimp when you want something creamy and bright as a topping.
• Scallops: A little of this sauce on the side of Seared Scallops adds freshness without covering them up.
• Salmon: Like shrimp and scallops, this works well on Blackened Salmon or Air Fryer Salmon Bites.
• Steak: If you want a change from butter-based toppings, serve it with Steak Bites for a fresh, herby contrast. It is not a substitute for chimichurri sauce, but it is a great alternative when you want that same kind of bright, bold flavor on steak.
• Bowls, sheet pan meals, and roasted vegetables: Drizzle it over rice bowls like Buffalo Chicken Bowls, grain bowls, sheet pan meals like Sheet Pan Sausages and Veggies and Sheet Pan Chicken and Potatoes, regular roasted potatoes, or other roasted vegetables.
• Sandwiches and wraps: Use it as a spread when you want more flavor than plain mayo or yogurt.

FAQs

Storage

• Store: Keep the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
• Freeze: Freezing is not the best option because the texture can change once thawed. However, if you don’t mind that, then a good option would be to freeze the sauce in portions so that you can take out and use only what you need.