How To Make Homemade Mexican Crema (Easy Recipe)

Let me teach you how to make this homemade Mexican crema recipe using 4 simple ingredients. Whisk together and wait for it to thicken. Use the creamy sauce to drizzle over everything from fish tacos to refried beans or any of your favorite Mexican recipes!

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This recipe is January’s Challenge Ingredient Recipe!

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Homemade crema Mexicana is an absolute staple in our fridge. We substitute it for mayo in our chicken salad, garnish our chicken and mofongo dumpling soup with it, and use it instead of plain Greek yogurt in our jicama wraps. Similar to American sour cream, French crème fraîche, and other cultured dairy products but thinner and more flavorful. It’s the perfect topping for anything you want to add a creamy touch to.

It is ridiculously simple to make with 4 easy-to-find ingredients and you can add all sorts of flavors to really make it your own. My version of Mexican crema has lime juice to make it irresistibly tangy but you could also add chopped fresh cilantro or minced chipotles in adobo to make it spicy.

You Will Love This Versatile Condiment:

• 4 ingredients with lots of optional add-ins
• No fuss whatsoever
• Made from ingredients found at most grocery stores
• No additives or preservatives like store-bought crema
• Keeps in the fridge for up to a month
• Perfect topping for any and all Mexican cuisine or mixing into my creamy chicken and rice recipe
• Delicious drizzled over everything from nachos to burritos to enchiladas
• Texture: the consistency is super creamy but still light
• Flavor: tangy, rich taste, and perfectly seasoned

Traditional Mexican crema is made with a combination of heavy cream and buttermilk or plain yogurt but I use a slightly different ratio. I like to add fresh-squeezed lime juice for extra tangy, citrus flavor and salt to brighten it up. Plus if the crema is perfectly seasoned on its own it immediately enhances everything it touches.

4 Ingredient Mexican Crema Recipe

Follow the same recipe to make creme fraiche but omit the lime juice and salt. Specific ingredients and instructions are in the recipe card.

1. Heavy cream: Any cream labeled “heavy cream”, “whipping cream”, or “heavy whipping cream” will work.
2. Buttermilk: Buttermilk acts as the fermenting agent here. Traditionally it was the byproduct of making butter but now it is made by adding fermenting bacteria to milk. Have leftover buttermilk? Use it to make my café de olla cake.
3. Lime juice: Fresh lime juice please, not the bottled stuff.
4. Kosher salt: I always use Morton kosher salt unless otherwise specified.

Overview: How To Make This Mexican Crema

This Mexican crema recipe is great for beginners because the prep work is super simple and it comes together in just one bowl.

The video tutorial and full printable recipe are below, but let me walk you through the basics with step-by-step photos so you know what to expect.

Start by combining 1 cup of heavy cream, a tablespoon of buttermilk and lime juice and a teaspoon of salt in a medium bowl. The crema will be very runny at first, but then thicken up as it sits out on the counter. Let me show you the difference.

Below, left: Crema is very runny at first. Below, right: Crema thickens and after sitting on the counter overnight.

And that’s it! The crema takes 12-24 hours to thicken at room temperature. The end result is a thick cream that is spoonable but still thin enough to drizzle and pour. The following day, transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to use. The crema will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

I think the best flavor and texture comes from the overnight fermenting at room temperature but if you are immune compromised you can also let it cure in the refrigerator. It takes much longer (like 24-48 hours) and won’t become as thick.

How does it work?

I find it interesting to know the science behind this great recipe, I think you might too. Here’s an overview of why it works.

The Process:

1. Bacteria Introduction: Specific bacteria cultures, like Lactococcus or Streptococcus in the buttermilk, are added to the cream.   
2. Fermentation: The bacteria consume the milk sugars (lactose) and convert them into lactic acid.   
3. Tangy Flavor: This lactic acid plus the lime juice is what gives Mexican sour cream its characteristic tangy flavor.   
4. Thickening: The fermentation process also causes the milk proteins to coagulate, which thickens the cream.
5. Flavor Development: Just like regular sour cream, during fermentation, other compounds are also produced, contributing to the overall flavor profile of the crema.   

Now It’s Time To Use Your Crema!

There are a million and one uses for this Mexican Crema recipe. Here are some of my favorite Mexican dishes to stir, dip, and drizzle it into.

One of my favorite ways to use this tangy Mexican crema is to drizzle over these tasty street corn garnaches.

For Breakfast! Use it to make this torta de jamón breakfast casserole or spoon over chilaquiles—these beet chilaquiles are my personal favorite

Top Burrito bowls with traditional crema. I especially like it on this Mexican breakfast buddha bowl or my crispy salmon rice bowls with mango salsa.

The next time you make slow cooker chicken tacos, serve with your homemade crema.

Use it as a substitute wherever you typically use sour cream like in these sweet potato breakfast nachos or in creamy Crockpot chicken tortilla soup.

For Dessert! Substitute the creama for sour cream in my fresas con crema recipe.

Sweet potatoes or other roasted veggies are great dipped in crema (so are mole fries!).

For Tortas! Use it as a spread for tortas like smoky chipotle turkey torta or chicken chile verde torta.

Variations

• Cilantro Lime Crema: Stir in 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro after the cream has thickened.
• Creamy Salad Dressing: Make a next level salad dressing by combining 1/2 cup of the thickened cream in a small bowl, add 1 clove minced garlic, 2 more tablespoons fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 2 minced scallions. Use the dressing on Mexican tuna salad or any one of these 23 Mexican salad recipes.
• Spicy Chipotle Crema: Stir in 1-2 minced chipotles en adobo (depending on how spicy you like things) after the cream has thickened.