Name: Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: ¾ cup
Cuisine: Peruvian
Ingredients: ½ mayo or sour cream (or 1/3 cup cashews and 1/3 cup water -vegan option, see notes); ½-1 jalapeño or 1/2 a serrano chili (use less for less spicy, you can always add more to taste); 1 fat garlic clove; 1 cup chopped cilantro- thin stems ok.; ¼-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,; a squeeze of lime juice (1 tablespoon)

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This recipe for Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde) is made with fresh chilies, cilantro, garlic and lime. This version can be made without mayo or dairy using cashews as the base, keeping totally vegan & plant-based if you like.

If you’ve been here a while, you’ve probably seen this old post for Peruvian Chicken with Peruvian Sauce – it’s still one of my favorites and today I wanted to share how you can make the flavorful Peruvian Green Sauce, totally vegan. It has been coming in handy around here!

Peruvian Green Sauce called Aji Verde, is traditionally made with Peruvian chilies- a little hard to find in here the states, so we often sub serranos or jalapenos.

The sauce is loaded up with cilantro, lime and garlic and the base is typically made with mayo– so you end up with a spicy, creamy cilantro sauce that is tangy and dangerously addicting.

I seriously want to put this Aji Verde Sauce on everything, it ticks all the boxes for me. Well except the mayo part that is- so I’ve been making it vegan!

The best part, my husband hasn’t even noticed!

How to Make Peruvian Green Sauce:

The recipe is simple! Just place the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy and smooth. Adjust the spice level, by adding more fresh chilies to taste.
To make this vegan, simply substitute raw cashews and water for the mayo. And of course, you can also use vegan mayo. Very easy!

What to serve Peruvian Green Sauce with:

This recipe is pretty universal! It can go so on many things- and can take plain old meals and elevate them, so I hope you give it a try!

Happy Week,

Sylvia

Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde)

★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews

Author: Sylvia Fountaine
Prep Time: 10
Total Time: 5
Yield: ¾ cup
Category: condiment, vegan
Method: blended
Cuisine: Peruvian
Diet: Vegan

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Description

A simple recipe for Peruvian Green Sauce ( Aji Verde) that is vegan adaptable- to use in Peruvian Style Meals, burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, or with Peruvian Chicken.

Ingredients

Peruvian Green Sauce (Aji Verde) :

½ mayo or sour cream (or 1/3 cup cashews and 1/3 cup water -vegan option, see notes)
½–1 jalapeño or 1/2 a serrano chili (use less for less spicy, you can always add more to taste)
1 fat garlic clove
1 cup chopped cilantro- thin stems ok.
¼–1/2 teaspoon kosher salt,
a squeeze of lime juice (1 tablespoon)

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down sides if need be. ( See notes for vegan)

Blent until creamy. Taste. Adjust heat, salt and lime to your liking, adding more of each if you want. You want this slightly salty.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Makes 3/4-1 cup.

Notes

A note on Peruvian Green Sauce ( Aji Verde): Mayo is traditional. I prefer sour cream, or a blend of sour cream and mayo. Or the vegan version below!

VEGAN PERUVIAN GREEN SAUCE: Instead of mayo, substitute 1/3 cup raw cashews and 1/3 cup water, and use 1/2 teaspoon salt. Blend cashews and water first- in a high-powered blender. (If your blender is not “high-powered” soak the cashews in water for 4 hours first, so they soften a bit.) Blend until creamy then add remaining ingredients- chilies, cilantro, garlic, salt and lime. Taste and adjust heat and salt to your liking. You want this slightly salty.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 3 tablespoons

Keywords: aji verde, aji verde recipe, Peruvian green sauce, spicy Peruvian green sauce, vegan aji verde, vegan Peruvian green sauce

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