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Home Recipes By Type Sauces, Dressings & Seasonings

Lime Crema

Rich, zesty cream to drizzle over tacos, or to use as a dip or salad dressing. All it takes is just 4 ingredients, and 5 minutes to make it.
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By: Diana Last updated on December 18, 2024

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This lime crema is what takes your food to next level! This rich, creamy, and zesty dip is what you need to drizzle over everything from tacos and fajitas, to soups and salads. All it takes is just 4 ingredients, and 5 minutes to make this tasty crema.

Lime Crema in a small rustic bowl


What is crema?

A staple in the Mexican cuisine, crema is prepared from heavy cream and buttermilk. The result is very similar to what is sold in the supermarkets as “sour cream”. It’s super smooth, rich, and creamy.

Crema is often flavored with things like garlic, lime, and salt to be drizzled as a topping over Mexican foods such as tacos, fajitas, enchiladas, taquitos, you name it!

Lime Crema in a handmade bowl

This lime crema is probably my favorite dip! I always make dips to go with my food. Dips are one thing that usually need just a few simple ingredients, and 5 minutes to make, but they always take your food to the next level!

I prefer making my own homemade sauces from scratch as they’re healthier than store-bought sauces, and they always taste much better! I make my own buffalo wing sauce, yum yum sauce, ginger sauce, and even bang bang sauce. They’re all so easy and quick to make.

This lime crema needs just 4 simple ingredients, and I usually make it to go along with Mexican food. But because it’s SO good, I tend to make a large batch to have leftovers so I can enjoy it as a salad dressing on the next day, and it also makes a perfect dip for chips.

How to make lime crema

You will need:

  • Sour cream. I strongly recommend using sour cream, but if you prefer Greek yogurt or creme fraiche then that works too.
  • Lime. You will use the juice and zest so pick a fresh one!
  • Garlic. Fresh garlic tastes best here, but you can substitute fresh garlic with garlic granules if you have to. For every 1 garlic clove, use 1/4 teaspoon of garlic granules.
  • Salt.
Lime Crema ingredients, sour cream, lime, garlic, and salt.

In a mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients together and whisk until smooth and creamy.

Lime crema ingredients in a glass Pyrex bowl

The consistency will be thick, but the kind of thick that can be drizzled over tacos and that’s exactly how you want it to be.

Whisking Lime Crema in a glass bowl using a small hand whisk

This recipe is quite flexible so you can adjust the amounts of the ingredients used to your liking. Add more garlic if that’s your thing, and less lime juice if you prefer.

Lime Crema in a small bowl, with a wooden tea spoon

Cilantro lime crema

Another variation of this lime crema is to add cilantro to the mixture as well. Add 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves to the sour cream and the rest of the ingredients, and whisk until well combined.

It will add a herby flavor to the crema and make it green in color.

Storing

Store the lime crema in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Substitutions

You can substitute sour cream with creme fraiche, or Greek yogurt.

Lime Crema in a bowl garnished with lime zest.

Drizzle lime crema over:

  • Cauliflower tacos
  • Chickpea fajitas
  • Baked chicken fajitas
  • Air fryer chicken fajitas
  • Instant Pot fajitas
  • Instant Pot burrito rice
  • Vegan chili

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
5 from 4 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Lime Crema Recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 5 minutes mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe
Rich, zesty cream to drizzle over tacos, or to use as a dip or salad dressing. All it takes is just 4 ingredients, and 5 minutes to make it.
6 servings
Rich, zesty cream to drizzle over tacos, or to use as a dip or salad dressing. All it takes is just 4 ingredients, and 5 minutes to make it.

Equipment

  • Whisk
  • Mixing Bowl
  • Zester

Ingredients 

  • 8 oz (200ml/grams) sour cream
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions 

  • Zest a lime using a zester, and squeeze out the lime juice.
  • In a bowl, whisk all of the ingredients until well combined.
  • Taste it, and adjust the salt, garlic, and lime to your preference.

Notes:

  • You can use ¼ teaspoon of dried garlic granules instead of fresh garlic.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 127mg, Potassium: 53mg, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 235IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

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  1. Dee says

    Posted on 5/9/23 at 03:07

    5 stars
    Recipe was easy to follow and the results were a big hit with the family. Will definitely make again as we loved it on tacos and fajitas. The lime makes it pop. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply

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Diana, author of Little Sunny Kitchen.
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