Sometimes a single drop of Mexican Crema will be the missing final touch on your taco masterpiece.
But if you’ve ever fretted when you see Mexican Crema listed in a recipe, then spend five minutes reading this post and next time you see it called for you’ll be an expert on your options.
Homemade Mexican Crema Recipe
Creme fraiche, sour cream, heavy cream, Mexican Crema — what’s the deal with all these creamy incarnations?
It’s probably easiest to think of them as a group of close relatives that look similar but act differently based on fat content and culturing agent used.
Creme fraiche starts with high fat content cream and uses buttermilk as a culturing agent to thicken it up. This also happens to be the perfect starting point for a delicioso homemade Mexican Crema.
Start by warming up one cup of heavy cream to room temperature. You’re not cooking it; just warming for a couple minutes to bring it up to room temp. This will accelerate the thickening process a bit.
Now add 1 Tablespoon of buttermilk to the pan and mix well.
Pour into a jar and cover without tightening the lid.
Now the hard part. You have to let it sit on the counter overnight as it prefers to thicken at room temp (or slightly warmer). Keeping the lid slightly loose will allow just enough air circulation. And since most creams and buttermilks bought from the market have already been pasteurized, you don’t have to worry about it spoiling too quickly.
12-24 hours later it will have thickened up considerably. Fasten the lid tight and refrigerate. After a few hours in the fridge it will thicken up even more.
So this is essentially creme fraiche. Take a taste; it’s already got incredible flavor. (Note that you can increase the thickness by adding more culturing agent at the beginning of the process.)
To turn this into a Mexican Crema that will outdo anything you can buy at the market, add the juice of 1/2 a lime and a generous pinch of salt to the mixture.
Taste for seasoning and add a bit more salt if you want.
This will produce a rich, tangy crema that does wonders on the entire breadth of Mexican cuisine, with a special nod to tacos.
And of course one of the real benefits to a genuine crema is the thick consistency that lets it cling to the food instead of dispersing.
There are also a few substitutes you can use if waiting around 24 hours to eat your taco doesn’t sound appealing.
Sour cream is similar to creme fraiche but it usually has a lower fat content and uses different culturing agents. A quick way to shift it back towards the creamy mouthfeel of Mexican Crema is to dilute it with buttermilk.
Add a big dollop of sour cream to a bowl. Dilute it with 1-2 Tablespoons of buttermilk and serve as is.
This produces a crema that works great in a pinch but will develop an inferiority complex when compared to the version we cultured for 12-24 hours.
It’s also worth mentioning that sour cream usually has live culturing agents in it. So sometimes you’ll see crema recipes that use a combination of heavy cream and sour cream as the culturing agent. I haven’t tried this personally but just know that it is a viable option if you don’t want to run out to buy buttermilk.
Your homemade Mexican Crema should keep for at least a couple weeks in the fridge if not longer, but of course its lifespan will vary depending on culturing agent used. But since it’s so easy to make you have special permission to make tacos again tomorrow night.
Buen Provecho.
Homemade Mexican Crema
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon buttermilk
- 1/2 lime
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Slightly warm 1 cup heavy cream to room temperature in a saucepan
- Add 1 Tablespoon buttermilk to the pan and mix well
- Add mixture to a jar and lightly cover
- Keep jar on counter (or in warm place) for the next 12-24 hours.
- Fasten lid tightly and refrigerate
- In a few hours it will thicken even more
- Add the juice of 1/2 lime and a generous pinch of salt to the jar and mix well
- Taste for seasoning
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge
Notes
Still hungry?!
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Karen
Hi I liked this post very much and thank you for it. Your page is all around wonderful. I have two questions if I may… can cream fresh be frozen and then used, as I would hate to waste it, or is there a smaller portion equivalent that can be made? Also do you have a creamy cheese fondue or queso recipe here to try? Thank you all around.
Patrick
Hi Karen!
Hmmm sorry I can’t give a better answer on freezing this as I haven’t tried that yet. In general I think high fat creams are supposed to freeze well, but I would worry that you’ll get a downgrade in flavor if you freeze this Crema. You can always cut the recipe in half though if you want a smaller portion size (1/2 cup cream and 1.5 teaspoons buttermilk).
Here is a single serving queso fundido recipe.
Okay hope that helps a bit. Let me know if you have any other questions. Cheers.
Sarah
Hi! I love the simplicity of the recipe! I was wondering if it’s bad to have it on the counter for much longer than 24 hours. I forgot about it, and now I’m at work, so it’ll be about 27-28 hours total before I put it in the fridge
Patrick
Hi Sarah! An extra few hours shouldn’t make much difference so I would prob just put it in the fridge when you get home and you should still get a good result. Cheers.
Jan
Hi Patrick, I am sooooo excited to find your site, especially THIS recipe right here. I had Mexican creama for the first time about a week ago & OMGOSH where has this been all my life! I usually sub sour cream, but no more. Ran out of creama & now that I tasted the creama, sour cream = yuck. I live in a rural area & closest grocery with creama is 3 hour round trip, boo! Needless to say, can’t wait to try this recipe & it will be a staple for sure, yay!!!! THANK YOU, thak you, thank you for sharing & am checking out your recipes now.
Patrick
Thanks Jan! Yeah it’s super easy to make and will treat you quite well 🙂
Sara
I would think adding lime juice to the crema would make it curdle. No?
Patrick
Hi Sara! I’ve never had trouble with curdling when adding lime juice.
barry steiger
Has anyone used fat free half and half instead of cream? I am sure it wouldn’t be as rich but would be a trade off to reduce sat fat.
Sandy
Can I add cheese to make this a cheese sauce
Patrick
Hey Sandy! I haven’t tried that but I think it would be a super rich sauce. I typically use this Crema just a few drops at a time as a little goes a long way. Cheers.
Valerie Simonton
I looked everywhere for Mexican Crema to no avail. I wasn’t even sure what it was.
Thank you for the explanation, recipe and this site. Patrick you are wonderful.
.
Patrick
Cheers Valerie, thanks for stopping by!
Annie
I found powdered buttermilk in the grocery and thought I struck it rick. Lasts until I need it. Have you tried this crema with a powdered version?
Patrick
Hi Annie! I haven’t tried the recipe with powdered buttermilk but I don’t think it would work. The powdered buttermilk isn’t going to have live cultures so I think it would just be flavoring the cream instead of interacting with it.
Darcie
I have been online for almost 30 years, yep, I’m older! And…your site, that I just found, is my MOST favorite! Thank you so much for all your hard work putting this together!
I haven’t yet delved into all your 27 Mexican recipes, but am doing that next!
My one question I have, (sorry if this has already been asked and answered), on your list of staples, do you have a gestimate of what these ingredients might cost on a whole?
I know this would change from year to year and from different stores, but I’m just wondering if you know?
Thanks again, now I’m off to read recipes! Yummy anticipations!
Patrick
Thanks so much for your feedback Darcie! I’m so glad you’re finding some enticing recipes on the site.
Hmmmm tough question as you probably already have some of the items on the list and won’t need to buy them all. I think spending $30-40 would get your kitchen well stocked with Mexican ingredients. Then once you have the staples in place it’s just a matter of buying fresh produce in your regular grocery trips. I was getting by on very little money while living in Mexico and still had the option of making great tasting food at home — trust me you won’t need to spend much once you get familiar with some of the recipes.
Hope that helps a bit. Feel free to get in touch if you have any other questions.
Nancy
Hi Patrick, I’m catering for a group of about 40 and want to make enchiladas with some taco-seasoned ground beef. So I googled Mexican Crema. Lucky me to have found your sight! I’ve joined your email and am looking forward to receiving lots of great recipes. Any suggestions for me for that crowd? My mode of cooking will be in Nesco cookers and crock pots. There is a stove/oven available there too. I cater for this crowd on Memorial weekend and late October weekend, twice a year. Thanks!
Patrick
Hi Nancy!
I’ve used the ground beef from our Ground Beef Tacos in all sorts of dishes, it has loads of flavor and it would probably be a good candidate for your beef enchiladas dish. I would also consider the Ancho Enchilada Sauce as this too has loads of flavor and it’s easy to make big batches of it.
One other option to keep in mind for a group that size…
My default when cooking for a large group is to make a taco bar with loads of fixings to choose from. You can serve the tacos with a combo of freshly cooked meats so people have choices, but what really gets rave reviews is serving the tacos with some homemade Salsas. I usually do Tomato Jalapeno Salsa, Salsa Verde, Basic Guacamole, and sometimes Avocado Salsa Verde too. I also put some Mexican Rice and Refried Beans on the table for any peeps who want to make vegetarian tacos. This is a good option if you have a wide range of palates to please because there will be something for everyone on the table.
Hope that helps a bit. Good luck!
Nancy
Thanks Patrick. I can hardly wait to make your enchilada sauce and all the salsas! You are going to make me the hit of the weekend. I’ll let you know how it wend (in October).
Patrick
Thanks Nancy, good luck!