A traditional Peruvian sauce, Aji Verde Sauce is a bright green chili sauce that comes standard in any Peruvian restaurant. Serve it alongside your favorite meats, use it in salads, or as a dip for bread. It’s delicious!
Fast and easy to make, simply add all ingredients to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
This sauce requires Aji Amarillo Paste, a Peruvian chili paste, Huacatay Paste, made with an herb indigenous to Peru. If you can’t find these at a local hispanic supermarket, you can purchase them both online: Huacatay Paste and Aji Amarillo Paste. Note: If you’re making Pollo a la Brasa (see below), you will also need Aji Panca Paste, another type of Peruvian chili paste.
Aji Verde Sauce is most famously served with what is perhaps the most popular dish in Peru:
Pollo a la Brasa (Peruvian Roasted Chicken) (click on link for recipe)
- 2 green jalapeno peppers, seeded
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 green onion, chopped
- 2 teaspoons huacatay paste
- 1 tablespoon aji amarillo paste
- 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup good quality mayonnaise
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth paste. Keep refrigerated for up to a week.
Kelly says
Such snobbery! EVERY culture adapts their recipes to fit what can be found fresh locally. To say that a crime has been committed because someone used the readily available jalapeño instead of the nearly impossible to find fresh aji amarillo is pedestrian at best. The hot pepper is there for the heat, as the nuanced flavor of it is lost under the other ingredients.
Everbizarre says
Just made it. Came out amazing! Its setting in the fridge right now.
Thank you for this recipe.
luis says
Peruvian recipies do no use jalapeno peppers.
Stayxsie says
Nope…that is a patently false statement. They absolutely do.
George says
my very good friend married one of the most beautiful woman from Cousco Peru. Altitude 3,400 meters or 11,200 feet. Plus she is a attorney. Cusco is higher up in the Andes. Just 75 km to Machu Picchu. The hot peppers are not used in restaurants and homes. in and around Cusco The use of these hot peppers such as you mentioned Jalapeno are only found and sparingly in cusines in locations around northern Peru and close to sea level.
I myself from Wyoming find the flavors of Peruvian food do not benefit from the addition of Hot peppers at all. I personally find the flavors of Peruvian food to be the most inventive and complex I have experienced in my travels around the world. Even within the USA. i have noticed that Peruvian restaurants have been popping up in every city. As they should. as one lady put it. Her experience with Peruvian food. Escaped the normal culinary descriptions and went straight to beautiful. With which I completely agree. For Peruvian food is in no way pretentious. Just Beautiful.
Roofeo says
Listen to George. He’s from Wyoming and knows a Peruvian person.
SS says
Amazing! I had to only add a bit more lime juice but turned out superb! Thank you.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
Anonymous says
You’re right. I’m Peruvian. Jalapenos don’t exist in Peru. There’s nothing close to it. However, I use it because of lack of aji amarillo since I live in the States.
Geoff McClure says
I have made a variation of this for some time now but I never knew of the huacatay or aji amarillo. This stuff is amazing! Thanks!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Geoff, thank you!
Miguel says
Although it looks pretty good, it is not the most popular crema de ají served in PERÚ nowadays.
Crema de ají amarillo
Crema de Rocoto
Ají de pollería
Crema de ají limo
Jalapeño peppers are not part of the chilli menu in the beautiful Perú.
Regards
Nicolás says
Thanks for sharing a nice recipe from my country! And even though it sound really nice it would be a little offensive to any peruvian to hear that you’re using jalapeño (a mexican pepper) in a peruvian recipe!! I would recommend using only ají amarillo and rocoto instead
Nicolás says
Also i forgot to mention that in Perú we call this sauce just Huacatay, like its main ingredient! Again thanks for the recipe!
Adam Walker says
Hi Kimberly, thank you for this wonderful Peruvian Green Sauce! I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. We have three Peruvian restaurants where I live, all with this wonderful green sauce. I have been meaning to try and duplicate it for years. Today I got around to it. One of the restaurants is called The Rocoto, after the Rocoto Pepper. Anyway, I knew the recipe had to have this ingredient, so I used your recipe, really only switching the Aji Amarillo Pepper for the Rocoto Pepper (both are spicy peppers). I am also vegan, so I used vegan mayo and left out the parmesan cheese (although I do love that stuff). Your recipe was so on target. Here is my vegan version of your great recipe. I hope you don’t mind the changes. Without you I could have never done this. Thanks!
Peruvian Aji Verde Sauce
2 green jalapeno peppers, seeded
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 clove garlic
1 green onion, chopped
1 teaspoon huacatay paste (Inca’s Food brand)
1 teaspoon rocoto paste (Inca’s Food brand)
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup vegan mayo (Follow Your Heart Pea Protein brand)
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until a smooth paste. Keep refrigerated for up to a week.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Adam, I’m so glad you enjoyed it, thank you! Thanks also for sharing your vegan version.
Kathy says
Finally an authentic Huacatay salsa as delicious as what I had in Peru.
You are my hero!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Woohoo!! That’s awesome, Kathy, thank you!
Alida Zavala says
The original recipe does not have japeno, the aji amarillo paste is enough.
Jay Ride says
Correct! I have never seen aji verde made with jalapeno and if you use aji panca and huacatay it is not needed. Authentic peruvian uses many different types of aji peppers I don’t know why one would add another random pepper to a relatively simple sauce.
Carmen yo says
That id right, jalapeno is for Mexican cuisine, please do not kill my Peruvian spices, use aji verde amarillo, verde lo llaman porque es el aji fresco amarillo. Sale perfecto pero no jalapenos por favor.
Erik says
Whats the original recipe?
Nadia says
I learned about this sauce with ceviche. It is also amazing in chicken soup and all type of recipes. If you have a moment to post a ceviche recipe I would greatly appreciate. Thanks for sharing great wonderful sauce
Lin says
This sauce will make you love your vegetables! It’s terrific.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Lin!
spike says
i make the companion las brasas recipe often, but this sauce is fantastic for anything – I use it on banh mi sandwiches, put a dab on grilled steak, use it as a dip with pita, and of course with roasted chicken. I have experimented with cubanelle peppers as well for a milder spice.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
It really is a terrific all-purpose sauce. Thanks, Spike!
Nanita says
Cottage cheese is a good summer substitute for queso, the missing ingredient in your recipe. It also lessens the need for mayonnaise.
Henry says
Great sauce! Tastes great on everything.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thanks, Henry!
jesusan says
Wow! Even not being familiar with the flavors of the pastes, this sounds divine. And even without yet trying it, thank you for choosing to be Santa… Looking forward to trying this eventually.
The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Susan!