How To Make Peruvian Green Sauce

Peruvian green sauce, also known as Aji Verde sauce, is a bold and bright sauce with tangy, spicy, and fresh flavor. This spicy green sauce is usually made up of aji amarillo, huacatay, chesh, and fresh cilantro.

Even the most basic food will become so enticing when you drizzle it with this authentic Peruvian green sauce. The ingredients may vary depending on the add ons used depending on preference. 

This amazing green sauce is commonly served in Peruvian restaurants alongside Peruvian food.

If you want to know how to make this spicy Peruvian green sauce at the comfort of your home, check out the complete recipe below.

Make Peruvian Green Sauce

Aji verde sauce is usually prepared in most Andean countries like Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, and Ecuador.

This sauce is commonly served beside grilled meats, roasted veggies and chicken, rice, eggs, salads, green beans, potatoes, and other veggies.

INGREDIENTS USED FOR MAKE AJI VERDE RECIPE

To prepare this best aji verde sauce, we are going to use the following ingredients:

• PARMESAN CHEESEParmesan cheese has a strong and nutty flavor, and can be salty, bitter, and sweet at the same time.
• LIME OR LEMON JUICEFresh lime juice is recommended for this Peruvian green sauce recipe. If lime juice isn’t available, you can substitute it with lemon juice.
• JALAPENO PEPPERSThese chili peppers are the heat agent of the Peruvian green sauce. Jalapeno pepper has a range of pungency from 2,500-8,000 Scoville heat units. This is spicier than bell peppers and Poblano.
• GARLICAnother healthy ingredient you should not forget in making your Peruvian green sauce is the garlic. You can use fresh clove garlic or sautéed ones. In this Aji Verde recipe, we don’t sauté our garlic. We blend it fresh instead.
• FRESH CILANTROIn this hot sauce recipe, you will use the leaves and stem of the cilantro. This herb is a healthy ingredient that adds flavor to your Peruvian green sauce without adding extra fat, sodium, or calories. It also helps maintain the color of the sauce.
• GINGERPreparing a Peruvian sauce means making a healthy dipping sauce for your favorite Peruvian food. Ginger, a very essential ingredient for this recipe, is loaded with antioxidants and promotes various health benefits. Fresh ginger is somewhat sweet and peppery with a spicy aroma. 
• HONEYHoney has a bitter sweet taste. It helps balance the spiciness of your Peruvian green sauce. 
• OLIVE OILThis liquid fat produced from olives, is commonly used in salad dressing as well as for frying foods. If olive oil isn’t available, you can use canola oil or sunflower oil instead.
• Ají Amarillo PASTEAside from chili pepper or hot pepper, this Peruvian green sauce also calls for Aji amarillo paste. It adds more heat to the sauce.
• MAYONNAISEYou can use store bought mayonnaise or the one made from scratch. If you want the sauce to become lighter, you can swap mayo with Greek yogurt.
• FRESH BASIL LEAVESBasil leaves is a commonly used herb for cooking. It has a fragrant lemon scent that makes the sauce more enticing. This herb also helps maintain the green texture of your Peruvian sauce. On top of that, it helps lower cholesterol and triglycerides. Basil is a good source of magnesium essential to improve blood flow. Hence, a healthy ingredient essential in making your delicious and spicy Peruvian green sauce.
• KOSHER SALTJust like other Peruvian recipes, we prefer to use Kosher salt for our Aji Verde peruvian green sauce. Because we like our sauce to be adequately healthy, we use salt that does not have any trace of minerals and iodine. Unlike table salt, Kosher helps improve the flavor of the sauce and does not make your Peruvian dipping sauce salty at all.

You can maximize the heat of this spicy sauce by not removing the seeds and inner ribs of the chili peppers.

If you are into spicy foods and need more heat, add more spicy peppers until satisfied.

PARMESAN GREEN SAUCE/AJI VERDE RECIPE

Similar to most hot sauces, this Peruvian sauce can be served as a dipping sauce and a salad dressing at the same time. If you love spicy food, try this great recipe and you’ll surely get the best satisfaction an ordinary chili powder or chili paste can’t pull off!

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTEs

EQUIPMENT: BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR, dry GLASS JAR

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoons grated cotija cheese or Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 medium fresh jalapeno peppers or Peruvian aji amarillo
• 1 medium garlic cloves
• 1 ¼ cups fresh cilantro leaves and stems 
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon sunflower or canola oil or olive oil
• 1 tablespoon Aji Amarillo paste
• ½ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
• kosher salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a food processor or blender, combine all the needed ingredients except mayonnaise. Mix on high speed for 3-4 minutes or until the paste smoothened.

2. Then add mayonnaise and blend until the texture becomes even and creamy. 

3. Once done, transfer the Peruvian green sauce to a glass jar with a tight fitting lid.

   Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste. Adjust the flavor according to your preference.

4. Serve immediately with your favorite food like roasted chicken, roasted vegetables,  rotisserie chicken, grilled chicken, and other Peruvian cuisine.

NOTE: Store the leftover sauce in an air-tight container and refrigerate for up to 7 days.  And since this Peruvian green sauce is made with mayonnaise (or you use any sour cream), freezing the sauce is not advised.

NUTRITION INFORMATION: 

This Peruvian green sauce recipe makes 16 tablespoons servings with a Calories of approximately 60 kcal. 

And again, you can make some changes with the above-mentioned ingredients according to your taste. Add more chili paste or bell pepper if you want the sauce to be more spicy, and remove the seeds and inner ribs of the pepper if you want the sauce to be less spicy (and use the exact amount of chili ingredients provided in this recipe).

And that covers up everything about our homemade spicy green sauce. I hope this post has helped you one way or another. Please show us your support by sharing this post.

Thanks for reading!