15 Best Cilantro Recipes (2024)

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Here are the BEST cilantro recipes for lovers of this tasty herb! There’s something for everyone, from cilantro lime shrimp to the best salsa and guacamole.

15 Best Cilantro Recipes (1)

Welcome, cilantro lover! Here at A Couple Cooks, we’re huge fans of this zesty herb. Some people have a genetic aversion to the stuff, but we say: get over it! Because cilantro is one of the most delicious herbs there is. It’s the powerhouse behind the best salsa in the world, the freshness in guacamole, and maker or bright green, zingy sauces.

Here are the best of the best cilantro recipes to use this tender herb! If you’ve got a bunch of cilantro, we’ve got all the best dinner ideas, dips, and sauces to liven up your life. Starting…now.

And now…the best cilantro recipes to try!

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Cilantro Lime Shrimp

At the top of our cilantro recipes...cilantro lime shrimp! It's packed with zingy flavor: and it takes less than 10 minutes to put together!It comes out beautifully tangy and fresh, pairing perfectly with Mexican-style flavors. Serve it withrice, anavocado salad, or intacos. Or make it into amain dish saladtopped with ourcilantro dressing.

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Cilantro Lime Rice

Add cilantro, lime juice and lime zest to your rice, it catapults it to an entirely different level! The ways to serve it are endless: use it as a side to go with tacos,burrito bowls, enchiladas,grilled shrimp skewers, and more. It’sincrediblyversatile, and we find ourselves making it often. Really, any meal is better with a little cilantro lime rice!

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Cilantro Lime Dressing

Here’s one of the tastiest cilantro recipes we know: creamy cilantro dressing! You’re going to want to bathe in this one (really). It’s creamy, savory, fresh, and tangy all at once. You can drizzle it on salads, tacos or enchiladas. Or a burrito bowl! Or even use it as a dip for fries. It’s multi-purpose and it takes only 5 minutes to blend up!

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Cilantro Lime Slaw

Cabbage in a creamy dressing is one thing. But add the bite of fresh cilantro and a pop of lime, and it’s next level! The flavor is creamy, savory and ideal as a side dish for chicken, fish or veggie mains. Or, throw it into a tortilla as a taco filling, and eat the rest on the side. Here’s how to make this irresistible recipe (we’re already getting hungry).

This healthy cilantro recipe recipe is 100% green veggies, and people can't get enough of it! Every time we serve this one, someone asks for the recipe. When we tell them it's just green peas, cilantro, and salsa verde, they don't believe it! Here's a great way to eat your green veggies: on top oftortilla chips.

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Cilantro Lime Crema

Here’s a tasty cilantro recipe that’s begging to be drizzled on just about anything:cilantro lime crema! This Mexican sauce is perfect for dolloping on tacos and burritos. At the same time, it’s just as delicious as a dip forsweet potato friesandgrilled shrimp. It’s full of zesty, herby flavor, and it’s quick and easy to mix up.

Also try: Cilantro Lime Sauce

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Best Salsa Recipe

The classic cilantro recipe: salsa! This salsa fresca is classic but so savory and good, you won't be able to stop dipping chips! It's the classic tomato salsa using fresh tomatoes, onion, garlic, and jalapenos. It's tangy, it's savory, it's a little garlicky, and it's 100% WOW.

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Simple Guacamole

This guacamole is a home run every time! When we serve it, a chorus of “Wow’s” fill the room. (Really. Not hyperbole!) What makes it so great? It’s classic and has the perfect balanced flavor: perfectly savory, creamy, and tangy. Serve this classic cilantro recipe withtortilla chipsand your guests — and you — won’t be able to stop eating it.

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Classic Falafel

What makes the green interior on falafel? Cilantro! Once you’ve had areallygood falafel sandwich, you crave it. This fried chickpea fritter is stuff dreams are made of, stuffed into a flatbread with cool cucumber sauce. You get the crunch of the fried outside, the soft herby interior, and the sauces that run down your chin and stick to your fingers.

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Shrimp Tacos with Cilantro Ranch

Here's a tasty cilantro recipe that's always a winner: shrimp tacos with cilantro sauce! Combine shrimp tacos withchips,salsa, andfrozen margaritasand we can’t think of much better. What we love about this easy shrimp tacos recipe is that it’s both fast dinner recipe for weeknightsandentertaining: making it a double whammy.

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Creamy Cilantro Sauce

Meet our favorite vegan cilantro recipe: this bright green cilantro sauce! It’s 100% plant-based, so it works for all sorts of eaters! For a while now, Alex and I have been using the idea ofcashew creamto make creamy, dairy free sauces. It’s just soaked cashews blended with a bit of water, but it becomes so intensely creamy that it makes the perfect sauce for dolloping.

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Best Pico de Gallo

Another fantastic cilantro recipe? Classic pico de gallo. If you’ve got ripe tomatoes, pico is the perfect place to use them. Use it as a salsa with tortilla chips, use it on top of grilled fish, or of course, throw it into a taco.

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Easy Mexican Salad

This Mexican salad is full of delicious Latin-style flavors: colorful veggies,cilantro lime salad dressing, and crispytortilla strips. It all combines into a super-flavorful dish that's absolutely perfect with tacos! Even better, it's quick and easy to make. This cilantro recipe is a big winner in our house.

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Mexican Coleslaw Recipe

What we love about this cilantro recipe? Mexican coleslaw is fresh and flavor-filled, a healthy contrast to the richness of tacos. It has no mayo: instead there's tangy vinaigrette to compliment the crunchy cabbage, red onion, cilantro, and cumin. It’s got both cumin seed and ground cumin for a double hit of flavor. Bonus: it doubles as a taco topping.

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Salsa Verde

Last up in our zesty cilantro recipes: salsa verde! Why make salsa verde at home when you can easily buy it at the store?Because it’sthat good.It’s super tangy, garlicky, smoky, and a little spicy, perfect for dipping endless mountains of tortilla chips.

How to cut cilantro

Many of the recipes above use chopped cilantro. What’s the best way to chop it? We’ve got your back. It’s easy to whack at cilantro endlessly with a knife. Here’s a quick way to cut it without getting bogged down:

  1. Scrape off the leaves: Hold the root ends of the cilantro with your non-cutting hand. Use a large chef’s knife to scrape off the leaves in a downward motion.
  2. Remove large stems: Use your fingers to remove any large stems from the cilantro leaves; small tender stems are okay.
  3. Finely chop: Holding the top of the blade with your non-cutting hand, rock the blade back and forth to chop the cilantro. Pull the leaves back into a pile and go over them with the knife several times until the pieces are the size that you’re looking for.

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15 Best Cilantro Recipes (17)

Cilantro Lime Shrimp

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  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 6 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
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Description

This cilantro lime shrimp is a healthy, easy dinner recipe that takes just 10 minutes! Serve with rice, in tacos, or as a Mexican-style salad topping.

Ingredients

Scale

  • 1 pound large shrimp, deveined (peeled or unpeeled)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 pinch cayenne
  • ¼ teaspoonkosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus zest
  • ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Instructions

  1. Thaw the shrimp (see the notes above).
  2. Mince the garlic.
  3. Pat the shrimp dry. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp with the garlic, cumin, cayenne, and salt.
  4. In a large skillet, heat the butter or olive oil on medium high heat. Cook the shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes per side until opaque and cooked through, turning them with tongs.
  5. Spritz with lime juice and stir in the lime zest andchopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Mexican
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Keywords: Cilantro Recipes, Cilantro Lime Shrimp

More fresh herb recipes

Love cooking with fresh herbs? Us too. Outside of these cilantro recipes, here are a few more places to find tasty recipes:

  • Best Basil Recipes Got fresh basil? Here are the best basil recipes for using that peppery herb, from pesto to pizza.
  • Thyme Recipes There’s almost nothing that a sprig of fresh thyme doesn’t make better.
  • Best Dill Recipes This herb brings a unique punchy flavor to everything from pickles to salmon to dips.
  • Simple Carrot SaladA tangy and simple summer salad.
  • Rosemary Roasted PotatoesSpice up your potatoes with fresh herbs.
  • Mushroom Pizza with Fresh HerbsTop your pizza with loads of herbs.

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About the authors

15 Best Cilantro Recipes (18)

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes for memorable kitchen moments! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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15 Best Cilantro Recipes (2024)

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