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Like any good food blogger or millennial, I love Trader Joes. Like I really love it. I love the atmosphere. I love the products. I love the employees. Sometimes when I come across a product that I really love it becomes my inspiration for my next Mad About Food recipe. I loved the zhoug sauce, but I have to be honest it was a little too spicy for me. I made a version of my own. I toned down the spice and stirred in some full fat Greek yogurt to cool it down and this creamy zhoug sauce was born.
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I don’t want this whole blog to be just me bragging on how incredibly delicious this creamy zhoug sauce is, but I don’t have a choice, its just that good!! My girlfriend and I were making dinner the other night and snacking on some carrots and a store bought dip that I will not name, but we both were not loving the dip. I pulled out this creamy zhoug sauce to eat with our carrots and we devoured it. Safe to say, homemade is really always better.
There aren’t many instructions that you need for this creamy zhoug sauce except to say that an immersion blender will make the process much easier. If you need to use a blender or a food processor to make this, I would recommend making a double batch so that you have more material for the blades to pick up. To make this creamy zhoug sauce place all ingredients except yogurt in an immersion blender cup and blend until smooth. Remove immersion blender and slowly fold in Greek yogurt with a spatula until fully combined. Enjoy with chicken, fish, beef, on grain bowls or with veggies as a dip! Full recipe is down below and, as always, if you make it, please share with me on Instagram!
Creamy Zhoug Sauce
ingredients:
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 of one jalapeno
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1/2 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
instructions:
- Mince garlic cloves and seed and chop jalapeno
- Add lemon juice, avocado oil, crushed red pepper, sea salt, cilantro, garlic, and jalapeno to a wide mouth jar
- Blend ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth
- Fold in Greek yogurt with a spatula
- Serve with veggies as a dip or as a sauce with chicken or seafood!
Hi there, love your blog! Quick Question- would you say it’s imperative to use an immersion blender, or would a regular blender (I have a Ninja) would work? Thanks!
Just saw your note about the immersion blender that I some how missed the first time, sorry, feel like a ditz!
Not a ditz at all!! You can definitely use a regular bleder! I’ve done it both ways 🙂
Would you say the avocado oil is irreplaceable in this recipe? Not something I normally use and was just wondering how important it is. I almost always have olive oil.
I just meant that the subtle flavor is what you are searching for. Using olive oil will affect the taste, but it will still work!!