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Homemade Mexican Crema (Plus Some Substitutes)

July 29, 2016 By Patrick 75 Comments

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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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

Now add 1 Tablespoon of buttermilk to the pan and mix well.

Pour into a jar and cover without tightening the lid.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.
O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

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.

P.S. I recently put together a free Mexican Cooking Survival Guide that details 27 droolworthy Mexican recipes that you can make from a simple, inexpensive pantry list. Click here to read it or go to the Survival Guide tab at the top of this page. Please let me know what you think of it!

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

O' Mexican Crema where art thou? If you're tired of searching for Mexican Crema in the markets here's the easiest way to make your own at home (also includes some quick and dirty substitutes) mexicanplease.com

Homemade Mexican Crema

This is an easy way to make a homemade batch of delicious, tangy Mexican Crema.
4.27 from 30 votes
Print Pin Rate
Servings: 8 (1 cup)
Calories: 54kcal
Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please

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

You can adjust the thickness of the final product by varying the amount of culturing agent used.
Like this recipe?Click the stars above to rate it or leave a comment down below! @mexplease

 

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Filed Under: Appetizers/Sides, Mexican Cooking 101, Most Recent

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karen

    June 17, 2019 at 5:27 am

    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.

    Reply
    • Patrick

      June 17, 2019 at 7:06 pm

      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.

      Reply
  2. Sarah

    May 28, 2019 at 8:02 am

    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

    Reply
    • Patrick

      May 28, 2019 at 5:13 pm

      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.

      Reply
  3. Jan

    May 16, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    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.

    Reply
    • Patrick

      May 17, 2019 at 6:45 pm

      Thanks Jan! Yeah it’s super easy to make and will treat you quite well 🙂

      Reply
  4. Sara

    May 2, 2019 at 7:48 am

    I would think adding lime juice to the crema would make it curdle. No?

    Reply
    • Patrick

      May 3, 2019 at 7:33 pm

      Hi Sara! I’ve never had trouble with curdling when adding lime juice.

      Reply
  5. barry steiger

    March 25, 2019 at 12:41 pm

    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.

    Reply
  6. Sandy

    January 26, 2019 at 1:01 pm

    Can I add cheese to make this a cheese sauce

    Reply
    • Patrick

      January 29, 2019 at 5:31 pm

      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.

      Reply
  7. Valerie Simonton

    December 16, 2018 at 1:54 pm

    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.

    .

    Reply
    • Patrick

      December 17, 2018 at 6:25 pm

      Cheers Valerie, thanks for stopping by!

      Reply
  8. Annie

    November 27, 2018 at 7:58 am

    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?

    Reply
    • Patrick

      November 27, 2018 at 7:42 pm

      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.

      Reply
  9. Darcie

    August 22, 2018 at 9:59 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      August 27, 2018 at 6:27 pm

      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.

      Reply
  10. Nancy

    August 20, 2018 at 11:53 am

    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!

    Reply
    • Patrick

      August 20, 2018 at 6:33 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Nancy

        August 21, 2018 at 6:17 pm

        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).

        Reply
        • Patrick

          August 21, 2018 at 7:47 pm

          Thanks Nancy, good luck!

          Reply
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