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This Smoky Red Pepper Crema has a rich, bold, smoky flavoring. This easy to make Mexican condiment is versatile and can be used as a dip or drizzled topping for all your favorite tacos, nachos, or soups.
All about this Smoky Red Pepper Crema
This red pepper crema is a bold Mexican condiment made of roasted red bell peppers, smoked paprika, lime juice and crema or sour cream. It can be used as a drizzled topping over your favorite Tex Mex or Mexican meals, or as a dipping sauce. It has a mild, sweet, smoky flavoring combined with the cold, creaminess of crema. There’s many reasons to love this recipe:
- Simple Ingredients
- Versatile- both a topping or a dip!
- Flavorful
- Quick and Easy
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Sour Cream: or you can always use Mexican Crema.
- Smoked Paprika: adds to the smokiness of the dip, with a slightly sweet paprika finish.
- Roasted Red Peppers: roast your own, but store bought jarred peppers work great in this recipe and make it quick and easy.
- Lime: use freshly squeezed and adjust the amount as needed to taste.
- Garlic: amount can be adjusted to taste, use fresh garlic cloves, or read about our favorite garlic substitutes if needed.
How To Make
- Blend: add all of the ingredients to a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Store: pour cream sauce into a jar, seal and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Variations & Substitutions
- Spice: looking to up the spice in this sauce? Add some ground cayenne or hot sauce to taste.
- Red Peppers: if you have time, up the flavor profile by roasting your own red peppers in the oven and peeling the blackened steam before blending. You can follow the instruction for the peppers from this Roasted Red Pepper Soup if needed.
- Sour Cream: if you have mexican crema on hand you can use that instead for a thinner consistency, or you can add some milk or buttermilk to this recipe with the sour cream to thin it out.
Expert Tips
- Thickness: if the crema is too thick you can thin it out with a splash of milk or water.
- Storage: store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
- Freezing is not recommended due to the sour cream in the recipe, the texture would be altered.
FAQs
Answers vary online, but it seems that the HelloFresh version is a combination of sour cream and smoked paprika.
Jarred roasted red peppers will last 2-3 weeks once opened and stored in the refrigerator.
This red pepper crema has a mild spice, the main peppers used are red bell pepper and ground smoked paprika. Paprika has a SHU of 250-1000 and bell peppers have 0 SHU.
More Crema Recipes
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup roasted red bell peppers patted dry
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ teaspoon lime juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor.
- Blend until sauce is smooth and creamy.
- Use or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for this recipe. It tastes amazing! I happened to have many ingredients to try and make a version of the Hello Fresh Saucy pork burrito bowl. I used cubed pork chops, tomato paste, a little chipotle powder, ancho powder and smoked paprika for the Tex-Mex Paste and I had the rest except this sauce. We loved it! It really finished off the dish. I’ll be trying your cheese enchiladas next and I’m really looking forward to making the best enchilada sauce Thank you