Crema mexicana is a rich, slightly tangy Mexican cream that is thinner and smoother than sour cream. This easy homemade Mexican crema recipe uses just three ingredients and is perfect for drizzling over tacos, enchiladas, soups, and more.
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.
Gather This
One of the best parts of this crema mexicana recipe is that it only takes three simple ingredients to make! A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- 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 (Step-by-Step)
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
Your Questions, Answered
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.
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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 the 1 cup heavy cream for 40 seconds. Meanwhile, stir together 1 heaping tablespoon sour cream and 1 tablespoon buttermilk in a glass bowl.
- Add the heated 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.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Oh, how interesting. I can put this on tacos and nachos and all my favorite Mexican dishes. Lovely. Can’t wait to try this.
I love using Mexican crema on enchiladas, taquitos and nachos. We use it once a week and this recipe is so much better than the store bought kind.
Fantastic recipe, we added cumin and lemon zest as you suggested and it came out perfect 🙂
Thanks for sharing!!
I never knew how they made this but I love creama Mexicana! Thanks for such a great and easy recipe!
This sounds so good ! Love that it can be made homemade!
I was so tired of driving to the edge of town to find crema mexicana! I’m so glad I found your recipe as it worked perfectly in my suiza enchildas!!
I always buy crema mexicana and love the brand I get but when ever I can’t find it, is now good to know how to make it at home. Sooo simple. Thanks!
It is simple- still a little time consuming since the “quick” version takes 4 hours, but in a pinch, it works!
*want to*
I’m SO tired. lol
This is delightful. I was to slather it over everything.
Oh I love putting cojita and mayo on my corn!! I’ll have to make this!