Say hello to the only sauce you will ever need, for the rest of your life.
SPICY MAGIC GREEN SAUCE.
Like, whoa.
Think: dipping sauce, sandwich spread, creamy salad dressing, marinade, pasta sauce, glow bowl sauce, taco topping sauce, burrito bowl and all things mexican sauce… pretty much your go-to spread for EVERYTHING, from here on out.
I eat salads a lot. Like a lot, a lot. And since I refuse to buy store-bought salad dressing because I don’t know what half of the ingredients are and they have a TON of oil (plus, the gourmet vegan salad dressings at the store are crazy expensive) this girl has to make homemade dressing every time I make a salad, which is everyday, pretty much.
UGH.
Like, no.
Not doing that anymore!
Instead, I’ll be making this Spicy Magic Green Sauce every week, for all of my salads and glow bowls and whatever else! I know what you’re thinking though. This magic sauce is just another avocado lime sauce that looks like guacamole, right? NOPE! My friends, this vegan green sauce is magic because, aside from the lime, cilantro and avocado, it has basil, parsley, garlic, tahini, jalape?o, scallions and champagne vinegar.
Basically, the flavor profile is on point AND blends with any flavor, while adding a touch of spiciness too. YASS.
Genius Ideas:
- Drizzle it on a baked sweet potato
- Dip carrots and cucumbers and sliced bell pepper in this goodness
- Use as a dip for chips, crackers or pita bread. (um, yes?)
- Spread on any sandwich or wrap
- Add creaminess to any salad
The list goes on…
You’ll need a handful of vibrant ingredients and a food processor to blend ’em up until super smooth and creamy.
Then, adjust by adding more water to thin it out, or keep it thick and creamy. Add extra lime, jalape?o or garlic, or not!
This sauce is totally customizable to your liking. I like to add a little water when using as a salad dressing to make it go further, but it’s totally up to you. And it does make enough to last through the whole week, or at least a few days if you’re sharing with someone else (you won’t want to share though!).
So happy to be expanding TGF recipe collection with a zesty green sauce. It’s about time for a solo sauce recipe that you can come back to time and time again. This was much-needed.
Spicy Magic Green Sauce
- Prep Time: 3
- Total Time: 8
Ingredients
- 1 ripe avocado
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- 1/3 jalapeño, (or more, to taste)
- 2 scallions
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (1 clove)
- 1/4 cup tahini
- juice of 1 fresh lime
- 1 tablespoon champagne vinegar (or wine vinegar)
- 3/4 teaspoon pink sea salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water, or more to thin out
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend all ingredients on high until smooth and creamy, about 4-6 minutes. Taste test and adjust salt/pepper/garlic and add more water, if needed, to thin it out more, depending on the consistency you want. Blend again until well combined.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Makes 4-5 cups, depending on how much water you added.
- Refrigerates well, up to 5-6 days, due to the lime juice that keeps it fresh. Make sure it’s tightly covered!
Pin for later 🙂
Can I make this with dried parsley and cilantro? I have everything else fresh. If so, what measurements should I use?
Seeing “spicy”, I adjusted the 1/3 jalapeno to 4 jalapenos, then did the greek-yogurt-for-tatziki substitution mentioned in earlier comments to reduce the bitterness, and then added a tablespoon of brown sugar just because I like sweet to go with my spicy. My coworkers have really been enjoying it. Thanks for the great base recipe!
I LOVE this! My 3 year old did as well! I actually added spinach to it too! Thank you for your recipe!
Looks tasty will be making this soon.
Thank you
This sauce is the bomb!!
Thank you for the recipe. I put it on everything!!
Hi, What’s the serving & nutritional information for this dressing?
The magic green sauce is so tasty. If you want something spicy, follow this http://wikimonks.com/magic-sauce-recipe/
Can you tell me what size avocado you used? Was it the larger or the smaller size? The ones I usually buy would probably only fill about 1 cup, but I do see much larger avocados occasionally that are at least twice that size! Thank you!
They’re always different but probably more towards the larger side if I can find them – I always try to pick the larger avocados but in the end, it doesn’t make that much of a difference! One cup is perfect 🙂 Hope this helps!
xo
Shannon
YUMMO! I love making avocado sauces but I also get sick of the lime + cilantro + avo combination from time to time. I love the idea of changing it up and adding more herbs and vinegar to make it more dressing-y. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
can this be frozen?
Hi Margaret! I haven’t tried freezing it because I don’t think the consistency or texture would be the same after having been frozen. You are welcome to try it but I imagine it would be soupy.
Hope this helps!
Shannon
Gorgeous sauce! Thank you for the recipe!
I don’t eat avocados. I want to like them so badly but I just cannot do it! Is this base noticeable or do the other ingredients take over? Thank you!
I could not get beyond the bitter tahini taste. Wasn’t a fan at all. Maybe next time I’ll just use greek yogurt and no tahini.
I’m thinking microgreens would be amazing in this. I use them all the time and this looks like a good fit.
Is there anything I can substitute for the tahini? I have a child with a sesame allergy. I make this every week–a favorite in our family (except for our sesame-allergic child! Lol!).
You could try runny cashew butter!? Let me know how it goes if you try it!
xo
I love this with pita chips and carrots and celery. It is so delicious and I don’t feel guilty eating it. Thank you.
This looks really delicious and I love that you provide many different ways to use it. Great post! Thank you! 🙂
Two questions: 1) can I use frozen avocado; and 2) is there a good sub for champagne vinegar or should I bite the bullet and buy some? Thanks, looking forward to making this!
WOW! This really is magic. I was skeptical that all the different herbs would work together, but it just makes the sauce super compatible with ANY dish. I use it on everything! 🙂 A definite must-have in the fridge.
This is DELISH! I left out the cilantro, b/c my tastebuds don’t agree. I followed the recipe otherwise, and I absolutely love it! Like you said it hits all the notes. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kate, yay so happy you like the sauce! It’s definitely one of my faves too 🙂
xo
Shannon
Just made this and it turned out good! I used one shallot instead of the scallions and omitted the jalapeño (none on hand). My lime was on the bigger side and super juicy, so the sauce was initially quite tart. But I decided to add about 1/2 cup of walnuts to try and mellow out the tartness and it worked great! Thanks for the recipe, love cramming all those fresh herbs in something so tasty and healthy to boot! 🙂
Wow this looks awesome!! I would love to try this one when I visit some friend this weekend! Thank you for sharing! I love reading all your posts on the blog and your blogger life looks like one to envy! I am a newly vegan (5 months) and your starter guide is what actually helped me make the full commitment (I was “transitional” for 6 months prior). Thank you for being so awesome and sharing your beautiful recipes!
I notice in your pictures that the jalapeños still have the seeds – did you leave it that way for the whole 1/3 you used? How was the spice level?
Thanks – looks delicious!
Hi Ellen! I did leave the seeds in because I like some heat. I would say the spice level is moderate, but every jalapeño is different. Some have a lot of seeds and others only have a few so it just depends, but for the amount of sauce we are making, I decided on using 1/3 of it. Start out with a smaller piece and add more to your liking, if you are worried? Hope that helps!
Shannon
This sauce looks and sounds delicious. I am curious with the avocado and basil, how badly does it discolor stored in the frig? How do you keep it fresh looking. Thanks.
Hi Cheri, this sauce will not discolor in the fridge, due to the fresh lime juice. I assume it might start browning after about 6 days though? Just be sure to keep it tightly covered and feel free to add extra lime juice if needed!
Shannon
Great, thank you!!!