Chipotle Lime Crema (5-Minute Sour Cream Sauce)

I love sour cream on all types of Mexican food – its creamy coolness tames the heat from chiles and adds richness and tang to tacos, burritos, nachos, tamales, and lots of other dishes. Sour cream also makes an excellent base for a flavorful sauce, like this Chipotle Lime Crema. I developed this recipe as a dipping sauce for my Chipotle Lime Chicken Kabobs, but it also tastes great with Allie’s Black Bean Tacos, Cilantro Lime Shredded Chicken or just about any of our Mexican or Southwest recipes. It’s actually a faux crema – true Mexican crema is made with heavy cream and buttermilk, not sour cream. This sauce only takes about five minutes to make, and you can serve it with fish, shrimp, chicken, pork, beef, beans or vegetables. Chipotle chiles are red, ripe jalapeños that have been smoked. A lot of recipes call for canned chipotles packed in spicy adobo sauce, but the dried powder is more convenient and easier to use in small amounts. Chipotle chile powder is moderately hot, so for a little more heat I used Tapatio, my favorite brand of Mexican-style hot sauce. I love the tangy flavor of Tapatio, but you can use whatever you have on hand. The process for making this recipe couldn’t be easier. Just mix sour cream with chipotle chile powder, lime juice, lime zest, finely chopped cilantro, salt and hot sauce until well blended. Start with just 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle chile powder and 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce, and then taste test to decide if you need more. I ended up using about 3/4 teaspoon chipotle powder and 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce. This sauce is so yummy, I didn’t mind doing two or three “taste tests”! For an optional flavor rest, refrigerate the crema about 30 minutes before serving, so the flavors have time to develop. Have fun trying this creamy sauce on anything and everything!

Chipotle lime crema tips

Is chipotle powder the same as chili powder?

Use the chipotle chile powder listed in the recipe: it supplies the smoky pepper flavor. A general chili-seasoning blend is a different ingredient and will change the flavor.

How spicy is this sour cream sauce?

Start with the card’s ½ teaspoon chipotle powder and ¼ teaspoon hot sauce. Mix, taste, then add more gradually. Sour cream, lime and cilantro balance the smoky heat; the finished sauce should suit your own preference.

What can I serve it with?

Spoon it over tacos, burrito bowls or nachos, or serve it as a dip with the chicken kabobs linked above. This is a homemade chipotle-pepper sauce, rather than a copycat of a restaurant’s cilantro-lime sauce.

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