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Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce) is a bright, spicy Peruvian condiment that uses hucatay paste, aji amarillo and cilantro leaves. Serve it with pollo a la brasa, yucca fries, lomo saltado or simply roasted veggies–the possibilities are endless!
Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce) is a hot sauce that I LOVE SO MUCH! If you’ve ever gone to a place that serves Pollo a la Brasa, it will look familiar to you. It’s usually kept in squeeze bottles on every table. You dip your yucca fries it, you douse the chicken with it…and then you start sweating because it’s SO spicy. And yet, you can’t stop eating it.
It’s addicting! This sauce is SO good. It does require two ingredients that used to be harder to find. But they’re not absolutely required.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce)
- Cilantro. Traditionally huacatay is used here. But since most of us don’t have access to huacatay, cilantro is our best bet!
- Mayonnaise. Adds creaminess and richness.
- Queso Fresco. This will add the delicious creaminess to this sauce.
- Serrano Peppers. This is not traditional but it’s what I know most of us can find.
- Huacatay paste and Aji Amarillo Paste. These are two optional ingredients that you don’t have to add but if you have them or you’re inclined to buy them, you won’t be sorry.
For the rest of the ingredients, please see the recipe index card below!
How to Make Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Sauce)
Making Aji Verde could not be simpler. A high-powered blender helps a lot with getting this sauce to a super smooth texture. Here’s how to make Aji Verde:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender. I like to add the liquids (mayo, olive oil and lime juice) to the bottom of the blender and then layer the solid ingredients on top. I find that it blends better this way.
- Turn the blender on until smooth. Stop the blender, scrape down the sides and then blend a bit longer. The cilantro will go from being in teeny bits to super smooth. This does take a minute or so, so be sure to let it run.
- Give it a taste and adjust the salt according to your liking.
- Transfer to an airtight container or squeeze bottle.
Recipe FAQs
Huacatay is a Peruvian variety of mint, often described as black mint. It’s nearly impossible to find fresh huacatay outside of Peru but the paste is amazing. It adds a brightness and hint of flavor that is needed. BUT you can skip it.
In Peru, most aji verde is made from JUST fresh huacatay. But here in the United States we have to make adjustments due to what we have access to. I find that using cilantro AND the paste makes for a really delicious ají verde.
Aji amarillo is a yellow pepper indigenous to the Peruvian Andes. It’s a mild-flavored pepper that is a bit sweet and delicious. They’re quite difficult to find fresh peppers in the United States. I like to use the paste, though it’s not a requirement for this recipe. It does add a nice lovely flavor and heat.
More Peruvian Recipes
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Aji Verde Recipe (Peruvian Green Sauce)
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 1 whole lime, juiced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup good-quality mayonnaise, (such as Hellmann's)
- 3 ounces queso fresco or blanco
- 2 serrano peppers, ends trimmed
- 1 bunch cilantro, with the leaves removed and stems discarded*
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 2 green onions, ends trimmed and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons huacatay paste, (optional)
- 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste, (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- To a blender, add the lime juice, olive oil, cheese, mayonnaise, serrano peppers, cilantro leaves, garlic cloves, green onions, huacatay paste, aji amarillo and salt. Blend for about 1 to 2 minutes, until very smooth. At first the cilantro leaves won't be totally smooth, but keep the blender running and it will eventually become cohesive and smooth.
- Give it a taste and adjust the salt according to your liking. Keeps in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
- If you have a super high powered blender such as a Vitamix or Ninja, etc, it can process a lot of the stems. If you don’t, I suggest to remove al of the cilantro leaves.
- I would suggest to add the liquids to the bottom of the blender and then add the cilantro on top. It helps combine all of the ingredients.
- To make this Whole 30, eliminate the cheese and replace it with a bit more Whole 30 compliant mayonnaise.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
You might want to re-word the part that says to “remove” the leaves. What you want to say is remove the stems, or remove the leaves from the stems and place them in the blender. Remove the leaves means to discard the leaves.
This sauce is amazing. We keep it around full time for dipping and spreading. I know it changes the flavor profile but my wife doesn’t like cilantro so I substituted parsley instead and truth be told, I love it more than the cilantro version. A great hack if you have people who don’t like cilantro like my wife. The only other change I made was to substitute parmesan for the queso fresco because that’s what I had on hand…Lastly, I know the recipe says the pastes are optional, I would beg to differ. I got both on Amazon and it is totally worth the effort.
Delicious. I made it today to spice up a relatively boring dinner, and I’m pretty sure we will be putting it on everything now. I ordered the huacatay and aji amarillo specifically for this recipe and it was worth it.
Thanks so much! Looks delish, can’t wait to make it tonight!
Can you substitute the queso fresco with another type of cheese such as parmesean?
i would substitute with feta if you can’t find queso fresco 🙂
Just made this to accompany pollo ala brasa, it tastes amazing. Is there any way to make the aji verde a little more thick?
I have never had authentic ají verde (in Peru) to compare, but this is so good. I live in Honduras, so I made some substitutions out of necessity. I used queso especial, jalapeños instead of serranos, no green onions, and a whole ají amarillo (from a jar in brine). I did use huacatay paste and everything else as is. Thank you!
ahhh love hearing this! yeah, it’s pretty tough to find all of the ingredients but if you have at least a few, it helps a lot! glad you loved it.
I made this as is with the huacatay and aji Amarillo and queso fresco and my Peruvian boyfriend and his parents loved it! Thanks so much!
ahh amazing!
This turned out delicious! I removed some of the seeds from the Serrano to scale back on the heat and I didn’t have huacatay, but followed the rest of the recipe as described. Yum!
awesome – love hearing this!
So do you just use the stems from the cilantro?
I do. If you’re using a high powered blender (such as a Vitamix, Ninja, etc.), it will absolutely break down the stems. If you don’t have one and are using a pretty standard blender, I would remove the leaves from the stem and just use the leaves.