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Roasted Red Pepper Crema in a bowl with a spoon.
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Smoky Red Pepper Crema

This easy Smoky Red Pepper Crema adds bold flavor to pretty much anything! Use this versatile sauce on tacos, burrito bowls, fajitas, nachos, proteins or veggies. Great for weekday meal prep. Just 6 ingredients and 3 minutes to make. (Vegetarian, Gluten Free).
Prep Time3 minutes
Total Time3 minutes
Servings: 8
Author: Bri Beaudoin

Ingredients

  • 1 roasted red pepper (see note 1)
  • ½ cup sour cream (see note 2)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
  • ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika (see note 3)
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (more to taste)
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Instructions

  • Blend: Pat 1 roasted red pepper dry to remove excess moisture. Add it to a blender container, along with ½ cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt. Blend until smooth (see note 4).
  • Taste and serve: Add more salt to taste (I sometimes add up to another ¼ teaspoon salt, depending on what it's being served with). Transfer to a resealable container and refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

  1. Roasted Red Pepper: Roasted red bell peppers from a jar are easiest. Make sure to pat the pepper dry to remove excess moisture that would make the crema too runny. Otherwise, you can roast your own red bell pepper (remove skin and seeds before adding to blender).
  2. Sour Cream: For best taste and texture, use full fat sour cream. If you don't have sour cream, you could swap a thick plain Greek yogurt.
  3. Smoked Paprika: Use smoked sweet paprika (vs. smoked hot paprika). Sweet paprika isn't spicy. If the package doesn't specify, it's likely the sweet paprika variety—because it's more common. If in doubt, give it a taste.
  4. How to Make Sauce Thicker: This recipe yields a pourable sauce that can be drizzled over pretty much anything! If you want a thicker sauce, you just need to add more sour cream. We recommend following the quantities in step 1. If after blending you want a thicker sauce, add sour cream in increments to the blender until it's the texture you want.
  5. Spicy Variation: This recipe isn't spicy as written. If you want to make this crema spicy, add hot sauce to taste. Or add cayenne pepper or similar.
  6. Storage Tips: Cover and refrigerate extras. Best used within 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 8mg | Sodium: 141mg | Potassium: 28mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 0.1mg