Creamy Cilantro Dipping Sauce

This creamy cilantro dipping sauce has a delicious tangy flavor from sour cream, buttermilk and lemon juice. A little bit of olive oil makes it rich and creamy and ground coriander, cumin and garlic salt add warm, aromatic flavors.

Recipe ingredients and notes:

Garlic salt: I wanted only a hint of garlic flavor in this sauce so as to not overpower the cilantro and the spices. Garlic salt was the perfect ingredient for that. It's a mix of salt and a much smaller amount of garlic powder (usually a 3 to 1 ratio of salt to powder.) It works great in a recipe like this, where even a small amount of straight garlic powder would be too much.

You'll need a mini food processor:

This recipe is best made in a mini food processor because you would need to make a huge batch in a regular processor. (At least 4 times the amounts listed in the recipe card below.)

Start by adding all ingredients except for the oil into the work bowl, then process until the cilantro is chopped up into tiny bits.

How to add the olive oil:

Most mini food processors have a so-called "drizzle basin" – a cavity in the lid with a small hole in its center. This basin allows you to slowly let oil drizzle into the work bowl while the blade is running. For the recipe here, you can add the oil through the drizzle basin OR add it all at once into the work bowl and then continue to process. I have tested both methods multiple times and both created a smooth, emulsified sauce every time.

How to serve the sauce:

This sauce is fantastic with wraps, breaded fish or on grilled meat. You can even use it as a salad dressing.

More creamy dipping sauces with fresh herbs:

• For another great dip for breaded fish, check out this sauce for fried tilapia.
• This buttermilk sauce for fish has delicious flavor from fresh dill.
• This basil mayo dressing features the classic flavor combo of basil, lemon and garlic.