Looking to liven up your Mexican dishes? Look no further than my Mexicana Crema, sometimes also referred to as Mexican Sour Cream. Cool and just a touch tart to balance out those spicy flavors in Mexican recipes.
Perfect for tacos, burritos, arepas con queso and Street Corn Salad!
What is Crema?
Think of Crema Mexican as the Mexican version of French crème fraiche or American sour cream. It is slightly thinner and a bit sweeter and often served along with cotija or queso fresco cheeses.
Some might call is Mexicana crema, Mexican sour cream, crema fresca or just plain crema.
Ingredients for Making Mexican Crema
One of the best parts of this crema mexicana recipe is that it only takes three simple ingredients to make!
- Heavy cream – This cream is the main ingredient of the recipe. It helps to thin out the consistency and make it more pourable.
- Sour cream – In order to help thicken and also add a little bit of acidity, we use sour cream.
- Buttermilk – I like my Mexican crema to have a little bit of tang to it, and sour cream buttermilk that.
How To Make Crema
Crema Fresca can be found in many Latin supermarkets and some mainstream stores. That side, my store was fresh out so I needed to make my own. Don’t worry, it is super simple!
The traditional crema recipe calls for heavy cream blended with buttermilk and given 24 hours to thicken up. Again, I was tight on time.
The quick version of crema Mexicana uses 1/4 cup of sour cream. I opted for a middle of the road experiment – a little bit of buttermilk AND a little bit of sour cream.
- Heat heavy cream. In a microwave safe container, heat heavy cream for 40 seconds. Meanwhile, stir together sour cream and buttermilk in a glass bowl.
- Add heavy cream to remaining ingredients. Add heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Mixture will be watery, but you will notice it starting to thicken already while stirring.
- Allow to sit in a warm place, set lid loosely on the top, or use plastic or aluminum foil. Allow to breath, but to keep covered and free from any floating particles near by, especially if placed outside. Do not let crema mexicana go over 100 degrees.
- Let thicken. Allow to sit for 4-6 hours to thicken. Add flavor, if desired, using a stick blender.
Let it Thicken
It needs to sit in a warm place to thicken. Near the stove or oven (if you are using it,) on top of the refrigerator, or in my case, outside on a beautiful 80-degree day all work just fine.
The end result will be thinner than yogurt or sour cream, so don’t be concerned if it seems a bit more loose in terms of texture than what you were expecting.
How to Use Crema Mexicana
One of my favorite parts about this delicious condiment is that you can use it on just about anything! Add a dollop of it to soups like white chicken chili or chicken tortilla soup. You could even use it as a dip for chips or veggies.
It works great as the perfect topping for burrito bowls, tacos or nachos. The creamy taste pairs well with just about any Mexican food you can think of. I always have a jar in the fridge.
I used this batch for Mexican Street Corn but you can also use it on my favorite Totchos. It also tastes great on grilled chicken fajitas or Smothered Burritos.
Variations
Crema mexicana is a blank slate. There are plenty of ways you can make it your own. Here are a few suggestions.
- Plain yogurt – You can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. In fact, I love using yogurt in place of any of the three soured creams. However, for my purposes, I usually need something a little thinner to get the right consistency.
Just like other types of cream, you can add a little bit of flavor by blending in other flavors. Some of my favorites are:
- cumin
- fresh cilantro
- lime juice or zest
- lemon juice or zest
- chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Storage & Shelf Life
How to Store Crema Mexicana
Just like most dairy products, it will be good for about a week if kept refrigerated. The FDA recommends it being out for no longer than 2 hours.
Can I Freeze Creme Mexicana?
I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Questions About Crema Mexicana
It is just the Mexican version of American sour cream or French crème fraîche. It is a slightly soured thickened cream, but thinner than sour cream.
You can use all three interchangeably, but remember they have a slightly different texture. Sour cream is the thickest.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
Are you ready for a Mexican fiesta? Here are some of our favorite Mexican recipes that we know you’ll love too.
Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Crockpot Taco Meat
How to Cook Pinto Beans
Homemade Crema Mexicana Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 heaping tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk
Instructions
- In a microwave safe container, heat heavy cream for 40 seconds. Meanwhile, stir together sour cream and buttermilk in a glass bowl.
- Add heavy cream, stirring until smooth. Mixture will be watery, but you will notice it starting to thicken already while stirring.
- Allow to sit in a warm place, set lid loosely on the top, or use plastic or aluminum foil. Allow to breath, but to keep covered and free from any floating particles near by, especially if placed outside. Do not let crema mexicana go over 100 degrees.
- Allow to sit for 4-6 hours to thicken. Add flavor, if desired, using a stick blender.
- Drizzle over your favorite Latin dish.
- Blending in cumin, cilantro, chipotle peppers, lime and/or lemon juice or zest to flavor your crema are all optional.
Video
Nutrition
What a great recipe for Mexicana Crema. Can’t wait to try it!
Thank you! I so badly needed a recipe to make my own crema… I madly love Mexican food, but I don’t always have time to travel to the other side of town where there all of the Latin markets are located to pick up some of the harder-to-find ingredients. I already learned to make my own tortillas, so between that and this recipe for crema, I’m basically set! 🙂
I have never heard of this before but it sounds delicious!! Sadly, I can’t have too much dairy but I’ll make it for our next Latin themed party — sounds like a winner to me!!
This is fantastic. I love Latin and Mexican recipes and find it refreshing to find this recipe for Quick Crema Mexicana! Will come in handy in several areas! Pinning!!
This looks great and seems like you could use it in so many things!
How neat. I have never heard of this before but I love Creme Fraiche!
Love the simple ingredients! Sounds too easy not to try!
I had no idea how to make crema! I often need it and, of course, don’t have it on hand. Love to learn something new every day – thanks!
I’ve never tried Crema Mexicana but i looks incredible and can be used in so many ways! Like on top of my quesadillas!
I’ve never heard of Crema Mexicana, but it looks really versatile!