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.
This has been my BEST recipe to make. I liked your recipe the most out of all I researched, for two reasons. Mostly because the substitutes were good, but also the easiness of finding the ingredients. I have now made it several times, because it tastes good on everything!! I found the lazy way to enjoy Peruvian chicken is to buy a half roasted chicken from the grocery store(just call and ask), then rub the Peruvian marinade on and finish roasting. Obviously it’s not as rich tasting, but good for the moment. I not only put it on my Chili Rellenos( when I tried that recipe), but I took it on our beach trip for the extended family to enjoy, too.
While this may not include authentic Peruvian ingredients, I absolutely love this bright, fresh green sauce with a kick. You have elevated taco night in my home! I do have family members who dislike cilantro, so I simply replace it with parsley. Thank you Kate for another family favorite!
I didn’t have cheese or sour cream and I swapped the mayonnaise for veganaise and used this as a sauce for tofu-veggie burritos. It was delicious!!!!
This is very close to what they serve at our favorite Peruvian restaurant. Thank you for sharing!
This is a REALLY good sauce! I read the comments about it not being authentic, so it would be interesting to try making it with traditional ingredients. I can see making a disclaimer that it is INSPIRED by aji verde?? Regardless, it’s very yummy! This is the flavor I’ve been looking for in a salad dressing, so I’m going to experiment with this some more. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment, Melissa! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
Wow! I made this tonight and it was amazing. I tastes every ingredient and the flavors are so well blended. Served it with my Crane Asada Tacos and it went well on my homemade Mexican rice. I couldn’t get enough of it. This will be put on my recipe list to keep.
I have made this so many times since first finding it on Pinterest. I’ve made it for many guests and it’s always such a hit! We absolutely love it on soft tacos, especially brisket taco’s – but shrimp and chicken are wonderful, as well! I served it as an accompaniment to cold filet last Christmas, and people were saying “What is this amazing sauce?!” I have tried using avocado to replace the mayo, but it needs to be watered down quite a bit. My favorite is still your original recipe! Yum!
Love it! It is an amazing sauce. Thank you for your review, Kristen.
Can I substitute cilantro with parsley
Sure, they usually make good substitutes for each other.
Kate, you are a saint!
Hi Kate,
Did you ever try the aji amarillo and huacatay? If so how much did you add of them both? Did you use the Huacatay paste?
Super excited to try this.
Thanks!!
This looks really really delicious. I love cilantro, and often have a lot left over when I use it in a recipe. This is a good way to extend the flavor and use it in different ways. I don’t usually review recipes that I haven’t tried, but I love all the ingredients, so I’m sure I’ll love your recipe for Aji Verde!
I wonder if it freezes?
You’re absolutely right about the aji verde, one of, if not the best sauce on the planet …. outstanding on peruvian ceviche and pretty much any seafood dish ….
This sauce was absolutely delicious! My family went through 3/4 of the batch in one night. We put it on fish tacos and it was perfect! Definitely going to be making this one on repeat!! For the cheese I used half pecorino and half feta.
Thank you for taking the time to review, Tessa! I’m delighted you loved it.
Years ago, a Peruvian acquaintance here in the U.S. showed me how he made his. He used both yellow banana and jalapeno peppers, cilantro, olive oil, garlic, lime juice, and salt. No mayonnaise. He made it in a blender, adding the oil slowly through the top. It was A LOT of peppers, cilantro, and olive oil–a bunch of cilantro, at least a cup of olive oil, 8 – 10 peppers. A little bit of garlic, lime juice, sand salt to finish. It tasted deceptively like there was avocado in it.
I made this yesterday except with a variation. I realized too late that my vegan mayo was expired, so I did not use it. I didn’t have another mayo, so I subbed an equal amount of tahini. It came out beautifully albeit maybe not authentic.
Thank you for sharing, Katie!
Another commenter (Jim, in the Romanesco sauce post) said this was great on sockeye salmon broiled in butter, olive oil, and white wine with dill. I tried that and WOW! It was fabulous
This is exactly the recipe we were given by our waitress at Galyn’s restaurant in Bar Harbor! Which I just stumbled across in my wallet, and googled to get ideas of what to do with it. This was part of a fancy, not-complementary bread board. We loved it enough to ask about it, and the waitress came back with the recipe, and mentioned how versatile it is. She recommended it on fish and vegetables, which I think I will try next week… Probably soon to be followed by some of your ideas..!
I’m glad this is just what you were looking for! Thank you for sharing, Lisa.
This is sooooo delicious!!!!! Thank you!
Served this on top of cod fillets, and stirred into rice with veggies. And additionally found this made a nice snack for dipping tortilla chips into :-) Really tasty and versatile — nice flavors! Thanks for posting this.
Great flavor and super easy to make. My family LOVED it!
Wonderful to hear, Kathy! Thank you for your review.
I made this today for my family & OMG this was spot on!!! It tasted just like the one from our favorite peruvian restaurant. We don’t do dairy so I replaced the parmesan for 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast to keep the cheese flavor & you couldn’t tell a difference. Thank you so much for sharing!! I look forward to trying more of your recipes. FYI my wife gave me a little dance after tasting this on her veggie omelet & posted a picture. :)
Hooray! I’m glad this reminded you of your favorite, Kam. I appreciate your review.
Amazing source for everything. Of all the recipes we made this is one is the one we made most times. Thank You!
I apologize if I have already left a review on this. But seriously this is the best tasting sauce ever! Every time I make it I am so grateful for the flavors in these ingredients. It’s a marvel of creation. Sorry for getting a bit philosophical, but these days, it’s the little things in life that bring joy. And this sauce does it!
I’m glad you left a review! Thank you for sharing.
This is more of a question instead of a comment I did the green sauce without the mayonnaise or cheese would I be able to freeze it…. I tend to make too much
Hi! I haven’t tried freezing it, sorry. It does keep well for awhile.
Wow! I am so excited this recipe came up first when I googled Aji recipes! Absolutely amazing and so easy to make! Can’t wait to dip my baked plantain chips sweet potato fries in it!!
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Candi.
this sauce is amazing. I make it a lot — I do not use the cheese but will have to give that a try sometime.
thank you!
You’re welcome, Janet!
Just made a vegan version of this, using the recipe for the first time and it’s amazing! My bunch of cilantro only came out to a little more than a cup. I used Follow Your Heart Veganaise and 2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast instead of the parmesan. My guests don’t love spicy foods, so I used one jalapeño, which was perfect. I’ll be using this OFTEN!! Thanks for great recipes!
Wonderful to hear, Marsha! I’m delighted you enjoyed it.
Too much mayo for my taste, but I’m also not a huge fan of mayo. I ended up adding another three whole limes, and one more cup of cilantro. Was quite tasty and tangy, thank you :)
Hi Kate! Can I use canned jalapeños?
Hi Valeria, you really need fresh for this recipe. Sorry!
I’ve made this aji verde three times– each time to accompany the halloumi pineapple tacos featured on the site. Every single time I make this sauce (and the tacos), people go wild.
I understand that it’s not how they make it in Peru and doesn’t conform to the native recipe. Call it anything else you want, but firstly call this sauce “Delicious”.
So delicious! Thank you for your review and comment, Maura.
Absolutely love this recipe. Served it with seasoned and quickly sautéed thin pork chops. Side of chili powder lightly seasoned sweet potatoes cut in chunks and roasted in oven and cilantro rice.
Thank you for your review, Cynthia!
Can the be persevered in Ball Jars if you make it in bulk?
Hi Julia, this wasn’t designed to be canned.
I tasted huacatay sauce for the first time from Viva Chicken 2 weeks ago. I’m putting it on everything! I’m currently counting macros, so every gram of fat, carbs, and calories counts. Any ideas on how to make this copycat sauce with even less fat and calories (I know without mayo, but what other alternatives do you think would be good?)?
Can you freeze this sauce? Kind of like you can freeze pesto? It’s delicious by the way.
I have no concerns that it might not be “authentic.” All recipes are authentic in their own way and they change and vary through time and families. And I’m sure there are different versions of it in Peru and they’re still considered authentic.
Hi Susan, you can try it! I haven’t so let me know how it works for you.
Delicious! I found this recipe after eating a “Peruvian chicken rice bowl” at a local cafe. Baby greens, warm rice, grilled chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, avocado and this awesome sauce. For ease of prep, I just toss everything into the food processor, no pre-chopping at all. Thanks!
Sounds delicious, Sara! Thank you for sharing.
does this freeze ok? the perviain sauce
I haven’t tried to freeze it, so I can’t say for sure.
I’m not from Peru and I live in Nevada, this recipe is great for those of us gringos.. Love you recipe!!
I’m glad you like it, Deborah!
Loved this recipe, yum! It was perfect for our Peruvian-styled Christmas dinner. Especially loved it with the sweet potatos (cut in chunks) and the cornbread stuffing. Thank you!
This sauce is not Peruvian sauce , because we don’t use jalapeños ( this is mexican product ) , parmesan cheese and mayonnaise.
The Peruvian food is unique.
Hi Ana, thank you for your feedback. In the post, I indicate I’m doing my best to replicate a delicious sauce I had and know it’s not 100% authentic. I try to be as authentic I can, while adding my interpretation as a recipe developer. I hope you try it and let me know what you think!
Peruvians don’t use jalapeños. I’m sure this recipe is tasty. Once you use aji Amarillo you’ll see the difference. Most Peruvian chefs I’ve met don’t tend to use Mayo. What we do is blend oil and evaporated milk until you get the right consistency. Queso fresco works well. Either the Peruvian or Mexican. It’s easier to find the Mexican in the US but if you ever get hold of the Peruvian it’s really good also. in addition to the huacatay we add a little basil. I can’t wait to try your recipe with aji amrrillo to see how it come out. It sounds delicious
Hi Dan, Thank you for your insight. I try to keep recipes as authentic as I can, while adding my interpretation. I hope you try it!
Could you use green yogurt in place of the Mayo?
HI Shannon, you can try it. Let me know what you think!
I just made this recipe as is. I have had this green sauce in Peruvian and Colombian restaurants. The only thing I added was habanero peppers. And I have to say it came out perfect, even the spiciness. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Much appreciated
Thank you for sharing how you made it, Betsy!
Not bad. I think it could have a bit less cilantro and a little more jalapeno. We have tons of Peruvian chicken joints around us (though, admittedly, many are staffed and run by Salvadoreans) and everyone tends to make their aji verde a bit differently. Some are nothing less than minced peppers, salt, and a tiny hint of lime, while some are creamier and incorporate cilantro and plenty of garlic. At least in the U.S., my experience is that the recipe is open to interpretation and different places simply make it differently. This is far milder than I’ve generally experienced, but it’s still a perfectly enjoyable sauce that could be used to top anything from tacos to grilled chicken to scrambled eggs.
I’m sorry you didn’t love it as it. I appreciate your feedback, Alex.
Love this recipe!!
I’m half Peruvian so I’ve been raised eating a variety of dishes my grandmother made. She came here from Peru and even SHE used jalapeños when she made it here. I’m assuming because the other ingredients aren’t readily available. Yours tastes a LOT like hers! Only she liked SPICY so she added extra peppers lol
Keep the recipes coming. This was a home run!
I’m glad it meets your expectations! Thank you for sharing, Christie.
I have made your recipe several times. So yummy. Question I do t have any limes would lemon juice work?
Thanks for clarifying the differences with Peruvian ingredients. Patty
You’re welcome, Pat! Thank you for your review.
hi. just made the sauce and will have it on our wild salmon with rice on the side. i’m planning to make sauces a lot more for our food. thank you!
Can’t wait to try it in some smoked BBQ ribs!
do you think it could still be tasty subbing greek yogurt for the mayo?
You can try it. Let me know what you think!
Recipe was exactly what I wanted!
That’s great, JC!