Aji Verde (Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce)
Learn how to make the best aji verde sauce! Aji verde is spicy Peruvian green sauce, made with cilantro, jalapeños and mayonnaise. It's irresistible!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on May 16, 2024
Meet my new favorite hot sauce! Aji verde is a bold and bright Peruvian green sauce. It’s spicy and tangy, and packed with fresh flavor.
We’ve been dousing just about everything in aji verde since I found it—tacos, eggs, rice and beans, potatoes and more. A drizzle of aji verde makes the most basic of foods taste irresistible.
I discovered aji verde not at a Peruvian restaurant, but at the Avanti food hall in Denver a few weekends ago. Have you been to a modern-day food hall yet? I’m like a kid in a candy store, since I can taste so many concepts from so many restaurants.
I walked up to The Rotary and ordered a couple of vegetable sides, plus all three of their sauces to sample. You know I can’t resist a good sauce.
We each took a bite of their grilled broccolini, which was doused in aji verde. Our eyes lit up and I vowed not to leave without the recipe. Today, I’m sharing the recipe with you!
Aji Verde Ingredients
The girl behind the counter said the sauce was made with cilantro, jalapeño, Parmesan and lime juice. I deduced that she must have forgotten to mention mayonnaise, since the sauce had an unmistakable mayo-like consistency. I also added garlic, to match the restaurant sauce’s pungent flavor.
Aji verde is often made with Cotija cheese, not Parmesan. They’re both hard, aged, salty cheeses that lend complexity to this bright sauce, and you can use either one.
A note on authenticity: The aji verde recipe you see here is more like the aji verde you might find at North American Peruvian restaurants than restaurants in Peru.
True Peruvian aji verde recipes are made with Peruvian ingredients including aji amarillo (hot yellow pepper) instead of jalapeño and huacatay (black mint or black mint paste) instead of cilantro. I haven’t tried these ingredients myself, but I’m ordering them now since this recipe has piqued my interest in Peruvian cuisine.
From what I’ve read, aji verdes vary between restaurants, so please consider this my version. I absolutely love it and hope you will, too.
Watch How to Make Aji Verde
Uses for Aji Verde
This zippy green sauce will liven up a wide variety of dishes. Like chimichurri, aji verde will be great on anything from your grill this summer. Here are some vegetarian ideas:
- Tacos
- Tostones
- Rice and beans
- Grilled or roasted vegetables
- Prepared raw vegetables, like carrot sticks and strips of bell pepper (serve it as a party dip)
- Salads
- Scrambled or fried eggs
- Sweet potato fries
On a homemade hot sauce kick? Here are a few more of my favorite spicy condiments:
- Shatta (Middle Eastern Hot Sauce)
- Zhoug (Spicy Middle Eastern Cilantro Sauce)
- Fresh Jalapeño Relish
- Creamy Avocado Dip
Please let me know how you like this sauce in the comments! I can’t wait to hear how you serve it.
Aji Verde (Spicy Peruvian Green Sauce)
Learn how to make the best aji verde sauce! Aji verde is spicy Peruvian green sauce, made with cilantro, jalapeños, and a little mayonnaise and Parmesan. It is utterly irresistible drizzled onto tacos and more! Recipe yields about 1 ¼ cups.
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 cups lightly packed fresh cilantro, mostly leaves but small stems are ok (from 1 big bunch of cilantro or 1 ½ medium)
- 2 medium jalapeños, seeds and membranes removed but reserved, roughly chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup (1 ounce) grated Cotija or Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients. Blend until the cilantro has broken into very tiny pieces and the sauce is green and mostly smooth (no matter how long you blend it, it will still have some texture to it).
- Taste, and adjust if necessary. This sauce is intentionally bold and spicy and I usually think it’s just right as written. However, if the flavor is too overwhelming, blend in 1 tablespoon of olive oil while running the food processor. If it’s not spicy enough, add some of the reserved jalapeño seeds and blend again. If it doesn’t have enough zip, add another tablespoon of lime juice and/or a pinch of salt.
- Aji verde keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.
Notes
Make it dairy free: Simply omit the Parmesan. To temper the flavor a bit, drizzle in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil while running the food processor.
Make it vegan: I think you could replace the mayonnaise with equal parts vegan sour cream, and omit the cheese. Or for a similarly creamy cilantro sauce, try my avocado dip. You can add extra jalapeño if you want it to be more spicy.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Sounds great! What are your thoughts on freezing this?
HI Tom, I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure. With the mayo base, I don’t know if it a great option. But, if you try it let me know!
Wow. This is so delicious I am licking the spatula while I finish making your Halloumi tacos!
I’m glad you loved it, Megan! I appreciate your review.
This is very good. My wife is not a huge cilantro fan but she will eat it. I cut back on the cilantro but it would be better with more. I also did not have cotija so I used 1/2 feta and 1/2 parmesan. A good sauce that I will keep in mind to have with other dishes.
Just had a Peruvian buddy give me some the other week, he wouldn’t share what was in it… family recipe and all that. Can’t wait to try this. Seems impossible to find the original ingredients here… but I reckon this will work.
This recipe is fire!!
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Jayna!
Also tasted Aji Verde at The Rotary when they were at Avanti! lol
thanks for the recipe! <3
You’re welcome, Lydia! Thank you for your review.
For vegan, you can use veganaise and add extra salt to taste. I used to frequent a local Peruvian spot and one ingredient for this sauce that she shared is romaine lettuce! It changes the texture a bit. Thanks for your research on this one! It is delish.
So freaking good. Did fish tacos with lettuce, avacado and pineapple! This was the perfect sauce!
Love to hear it, Katie!
Hi there, do you think I could use lemon in replacement of the lime? I bought a bag of limes and every single one of them is hard as a rock. I got about two drips out of them when squeezed.
Sure, you can try it. I hope it turns out well!
For some reason, this sauce seperates. It’s oily on top. Why is this happening?
All the ingredients should be blended well and then add in the mayo and blend only for a few seconds … if you blend all the ingredients together at first the mayo will curdle and separate & the sauce will get very watery….
I’ve had these with your halloumi tacos and with quesadillas, both combinations were amazing! It’s delicious and gives some nice spice to everything (and the green looks really fun). Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you loved them, Louise.
I really love it. It’s my husband favorite since he taste. Thank you. Thank you.
So good! I am not a mayo fan so used a little less and added extra lime. It was perfect and so spicy
My version of Aji Verde is quite simple and all my friends Love it. Full bunch of Cilantro, 1x Jalapeño with seeds + 1 Jalapeño without seeds, 1 TBSP of Olive Oil, 1/2 Lime Juice, 2 x Garlic Cloves 2 Greek Yogurts, 2 pinches of Himalayan Pink Salt. Blend with High Speed Blender.
This was so good. I subscribe to the ‘more garlic = better’ school of thought but that was not the case here… stick to it as written! I tasted garlic for at least 24 hours after, lol. Still totally worth it and next time, I’ll keep to 2 cloves.
Thank you for your feedback, Michelle!
How long does this sauce last in the fridge? Th you for this recipe.
Hi Leslie, Please see the final step. Aji verde keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.
Where has this been all my life? I tried it at a restaurant with cauliflower tempura, whoa! I’m not a big fan of cilantro but this recipe makes it delicious! We had one more garlic clove, I was suprised by the addition of parmesan cheese but it gives great saltiness. Having this for lunch with grilled shrimp.
That’s great to hear, Karen!
Can I replace the mayo with plain Greek yogurt?
You can try it. Let me know what you think, Sheri!
That isn’t authentic, but it is what we do at home and we spent a month in Peru. We are familiar with the original. However, I recommend what we do and make it 3:1 Greek Yogurt to Mayo. Still has some of the mayo flavor and creaminess but toned down a lot versus that much mayo.
If I am really in the mood I make homemade mayo and mix it more 1:1 with GY. Homemade mayo is another level compared with store bought but more effort.
At the end of the day, most cuisines adapt to the tastes of the people they are brought to. I try to start with the most authentic, try it, learn it and then tweak to your own tastes.
I make this all the time. It’s a staple in my kitchen. my husband sears ahi and this sauce is just dynamite with it. thank you. I do omit the cheese and use 1/4 cup plain yogurt with 1/4 cup mayo. And maybe 1 jalapeno – I don’t like it too hot. Super!!
Thanks for the recipe! We just went to Chicken and Pickle and had a salad with dressing. It was so good we wanted to replicate it!!
Great to hear, JB!
This sauce is so incredible I make it once a week. I always add some jalapeno seeds because I love it spicy. Thank you so much for introducing it into my life Kate!
Thank you for your review, Dave!
This is a wonderful sauce. Lick the plate wonderful. I used Mexican queso fresco.
Made this for the first time today! It came out so good!
Great to hear, Anu!
love this sauce just pour over freshly cooked Mexican corn ribs.
Definitely NOT Peruvian, we don’t use jalapeños and tacos and tortillas are not part of our regular cuisine. We have much better and tastier peppers like ají amarillo, limo and rocoto
Wow thank you it’s amazing and so simple, how long do you think it will last in the refrigerator?
Hi Chris, this sauce keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for about 1 week.
Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!