This vibrant Peruvian-inspired green sauce is about to become your new go-to all-purpose condiment. Based on a classic aji verde that traditionally accompanies Peruvian roast chicken, this easy green sauce recipe delivers incredible flavor in just 5 minutes.
While this versatile sauce is phenomenal with roast chicken (of course!), it’s equally amazing drizzled over roast pork or grilled steak, fish, lamb, or vegetables. I’ve served it alongside rice and beans, spooned it over roasted potatoes, dolloped it on morning eggs, and my dad has even turned it into his new favorite dip for tortilla chips!
One of Our Favorite Woks Recipes
This green sauce recipe actually comes from one of our family’s most beloved recipes: our Peruvian Roast Chicken & Green Sauce. You might be surprised to learn that one of the Woks of Life recipes we turn to most often isn’t even Chinese! But it’s just that good.
Whenever I need to put together an impressive yet comforting meal for a crowd, I often reach for that roast chicken recipe—and this green sauce usually steals the show. That’s exactly why it deserves its own spotlight. It has so many different applications beyond roast chicken.
What Makes This Green Sauce Special
What I love most about this green sauce recipe is how it transforms simple dishes into something special. Watch how it elevates everything on the plate. It’s tangy, spicy, herbaceous, and perfectly balanced in a way that brightens up whatever you put it on. The combination of fresh cilantro, jalapeños, garlic, and lime is both fresh and complex.
Drizzle it over our Pernil-Style Roast Pork, and you’ve taken an amazing dish into and somehow made it even better. I love serving it with our Favorite Grilled Chicken Breast or our Three-Ingredient Grilled Wings. I also love it on a sunny-side up egg with a side of breakfast sausage, or with a simple bowl of rice and beans.
The best part about making green sauce at home? It takes literally five minutes. Just toss everything into a food processor, and you have this gorgeous, flavor-packed green sauce ready to transform whatever you’re cooking.
Trust me on this one—once you make this sauce, you’ll find yourself putting it on everything.
Green Sauce Recipe Instructions
Combine jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and vinegar in a blender or food processor.
Turn on high speed, pausing to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary, until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months at best quality.
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Recipe
Green Sauce (Aji Verde)
Ingredients
- 2 whole jalapeños (roughly chopped)
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves (packed)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine jalapeños, cilantro, garlic, mayonnaise, lime juice, and vinegar in a blender or food processor. Turn on high speed, pausing to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula as necessary, until smooth. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
