40 Flavorful Cilantro Recipes For The Herb Lovers In The Family
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Although cilantro may not be loved by everyone, it's a versatile herb that adds a fresh, pungent flavor to a variety of dishes. We make good use of cilantro in our recipes, from dips to dressings to main courses. Cilantro is often used to brighten both the appearance and flavor of dishes like stews, soups, and casseroles. Cilantro's vibrant, green color stands out when used as a finishing touch or garnish. Due to its unique flavor and versatility, this herb is a staple in Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Latin American foods. Discover the refreshing taste of cilantro in these recipes–we guarantee you'll love it!
Related: 32 Fresh Basil Recipes To Make All Summer Long
Cilantro-Lime Crema
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Here's a tasty alternative to sour cream that can be paired with any chili, stew, or seafood tacos.
Chile-Lime Steak Skewers With Coconut-Cilantro Sauce
James Ransom, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
A fresh mixture of coconut cream, cilantro, and lime brightens up these perfectly marinated steak skewers. Serve with lime wedges and white rice for a balanced summer meal.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Corn, beans, and tomatoes come together to create this classic weeknight soup. Fresh cilantro is added to the soup and also used to garnish.
Burrito Bowls
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Charred corn, seasoned black beans, creamy avocado, tangy pico de gallo, and cilantro lime rice come together to form this perfect bowl, suitable for lunch or dinner. This recipe is vegetarian but feel free to add chicken, ground beef, or pork.
Creamy Jalapeño Dip
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Torie Cox
No party or potluck is complete without this jalapeño dip. Creamy, savory, garlicky, and spicy, there's nothing not to love. Dip with tortilla chips, baby carrots, cucumbers, or crudités. This can also double as a salad dressing.
Curry Chicken Salad
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Add a little spice and tang to your regular chicken salad recipe by adding curry powder and cilantro. It's worth a try.
Slow-Cooker Carne Guisada
This Carna Guisada is a traditional Spanish meal and can be found throughout Texas, Latin America, and the Caribbean. It's best when served with warm tortillas and garnished with cilantro.
Guacamole
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
No guacamole is complete without a little bit of cilantro. Guacamole is one of the easiest dips you can make for parties, family dinners, and tailgates. If you like a little heat, add extra chiles and crushed red pepper.
Tortilla Soup
Stacy Allen
This rich, stew-like soup is perfect for chilly days but can be enjoyed year-round. It won't be complete without avocado, tortilla chips, and our homemade cornbread.
White Bean Chicken Chili
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
Your guests will think you've been cooking this all day when really, it was ready in less than an hour. Tender chicken, sharp cheddar cheese, and creamy beans form the perfect winter soup that will make you want to cozy up by the fire. Don't forget to garnish with cilantro, and add extra shredded cheese and sour cream on top.
Taco Dip
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
This will be your new favorite way to enjoy tacos. A layer of creamy refried beans is topped with a spicy sour cream mixture, guacamole, salsa, cheese, lettuce, and a homemade pico de gallo. Serve with a basket of tortilla chips, of course.
Easy Catfish Tacos With Slaw
No fish taco is complete without cilantro. Once you realize how easy and delicious this recipe is, you'll want to make it at least once a week.
Mango Salsa
Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Rebecca Cummins
Mango salsa can spice up crab cakes, tacos, seared fish, or even grilled chicken. Fresh, ripe mangos are mixed with red onion, bell pepper, cilantro, and lime juice to create this beautiful salsa that makes any dish twice as good.
Grilled Shrimp Lettuce Wraps
Greg DuPree; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Kathleen Varner
Have a light lunch or dinner ready in under 20 minutes with these shrimp lettuce wraps. The shrimp is full of flavor from ingredients like garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and rice vinegar marinade.
Peach-Mango Salad With Avocados
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
We utilize one of our favorite summer fruits in this salad by mixing peaches with mangoes, jalapeños, avocados, and fresh lime juice. This sweet and spicy salad is the perfect side dish for any summer main.
Vegetarian Skillet Chili
This might be the fastest chili you'll ever make. Ready to go in under 30 minutes and only using one pan, this dish is perfect for busy weeknights.
Green Chile-Chicken Soup
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis
Bring on the heat with this green chile chicken soup. Green enchilada sauce and one poblano chile give this soup a serious boost of flavor.
Steak Taco Salad
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This salad is piled high with grilled corn, tomatoes, creamy avocado, shredded cheese, and crumbled tortilla chips. We drizzled a homemade sauce made with sour cream, salsa, cilantro, and taco seasoning over the top to pull it all together.
Tiny Tacos
Fred Hardy, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
These tacos are almost too cute to eat. Bite-sized mini tacos make the perfect appetizer for any gathering and they're easy to prepare. We serve these with our simple lime-and-herb sour cream mixture for dipping.
Easy Enchilada Bake
Effortless, delicious, and ready when you are, the slow cooker makes these enchiladas the perfect weeknight dinner.
Blooming Quesadilla Ring
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
This will be your new favorite snack to bring to parties, tailgates, or potlucks. This quesadilla ring is made by cutting tortillas in half, filling them, them rolling them into cone shapes and baking them together with some extra cheese. They will vanish from the table within minutes.
Grilled Flank Steak
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
The bright and herby chimichurri doubles as a marinade and sauce in this recipe. We suggest pairing the steak with an heirloom salad, grilled corn on the cob, roasted potatoes, or sautéed vegetables.
Grilled Shrimp Tacos
You'll want to add these tacos made with cilantro-lime slaw and spicy-smoky shrimp to your "make again" list after you try them. Jalapeño, radish, lime, cilantro, and avocado all make for great toppings.
Breakfast Enchiladas
Morgan Hunt Glaze, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
Say goodbye to bland cereals and oatmeal for breakfast and hello to these hearty, flavorful breakfast enchiladas. Packed with ground sausage, egg, cheese, tomatoes, and tortillas, breakfast enchiladas are so delicious you'll want to eat them every day.
Spicy Pineapple Slaw
This spicy, fresh slaw can be used as a topping, side dish, or dip. This combination of pineapple, jalapeño, cabbage, and chiles comes together in under 25 minutes.
Beef Flautas With Buttermilk-Avocado Crema
You don't need to take a trip to your favorite Mexican restaurant to enjoy delicious, crispy beef flautas. You can make them right at home in under 40 minutes. They're not complete without our homemade buttermilk avocado crema for dipping. Feel free to add a side of guacamole, salsa, and/or pico de Gallo.
Texas Caviar
This is one of our favorite appetizers because it's a no-cook recipe that's ready in minutes. Black-eyed peas, hominy, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro are mixed with a creamy Italian dressing to make this fan-favorite dip. Try it with tortilla chips, paired with a quesadilla, atop nachos, or mixed into eggs.
Smoky Black Bean Soup
Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
There's nothing quite like this smoky-spicy black bean soup to warm you up on a chilly night. Chopped chiles and adobo sauce add a little heat to this dish but a dollop of sour cream and chopped avocado will mellow it out. The leftover beans can be used to make tostadas the next day.
Cantaloupe Salad With Chile-Lime Dressing
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Prop Stylist: Lydia Pursell
This vibrant, fresh summer salad is inspired by the flavors of Mexican fruit cups. Ribbons of juicy cantaloupe, crunchy jicama, and shaved zucchini, paired with a spicy dressing make for the perfect summer side dish or appetizer. Cotija cheese, cilantro, and tajín sit on top of this bed of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Charred Zucchini-And-Halloumi Kebabs With Lemon-Tahini Sauce
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Tender zucchini and halloumi cheese are paired with creamy, zesty lemon-tahini sauce in this traditional Lebanese dish. Make use of fresh zucchini while it's still in season and grill these fresh summer kebabs.
Cheesy Chorizo-Stuffed Chiles
Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Christine Keely
These meaty, cheesy, peppers are hot appetizers that all spice-lovers will devour. Mexican chorizo, Monterey jack cheese, and sour cream are combined and stuffed into Fresno and Jalapeño chiles and garnished with cilantro.
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
A good chili shouldn't have to take hours to cook. We've made this recipe extra fast in the Instant pot so you can enjoy your chili as soon as possible. Smoky chicken, Northern beans, cream cheese, and plenty of toppings come together to make one of our favorite chilis.
Jalapeño Popper Dip
Jennifer Causey; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray; Prop Stylist: Kay Clarke
We've turned everyone's favorite appetizer at parties and tailgates into a dip. Jalapeño poppers are delicious but this dip takes it to a whole other level. This creamy, spicy, cheesy dip is the perfect topper for chips, crackers, or mini toasts. Veggies can work too!
Zesty Corn-And-Squash Salad
Greg Dupree; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely; Food Stylist: Melissa Gray
This salad will brighten up any summer main you put on the table. Packed with fresh vegetables like corn, zucchini, and yellow squash and topped with a zesty dressing, it's the perfect no-cook side dish for any occasion.
Barbecue Jackfruit Sandwiches
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
Would you believe us if we told you there's no meat in this recipe? It's true! These barbecue sandwiches are made out of jackfruit, seasoned with paprika, garlic powder, and a touch of brown sugar. A layer of crunchy cabbage slaw pulls it all together. It's not your traditional sandwich, but it sure is delicious.
Austin Diner-Style Queso
Everyone needs to learn how to make queso at home. Whether you're making a big batch to serve to guests or a small serving to enjoy on Taco Tuesday, this is the perfect recipe. We make ours a little spicy by adding a variety of chopped chiles.
Leafy Green Salad With Sunflower Seed Dressing
Victor Protasio, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
Any main dish could use a side salad and this recipe pairs well with just about everything. This leafy green salad is packed with spring vegetables, tender herbs, and salad greens, and tossed with a vibrant dressing.
Walking Tacos
You might recognize these walking tacos from food stands at baseball or football games. If you ever got the chance to try one, you know how good they are. Versions of walking tacos can also be found on the streets of Mexico. Our recipe includes all classic taco ingredients such as ground turkey or beef, cheese, beans, and chiles, plus a variety of toppings, all served in a bag of Fritos. This is a fun, build-your-own dinner that the whole family will love.
Black Bean And Corn Salsa
Jen Causey; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Daley
This dish doubles as a dip and topping. Packed with black beans, corn, tomatoes, and chiles, this dip can be paired with chips, chicken, tacos, and more.
Doritos Casserole
We've found a way to incorporate one of our favorite snacks into a quick and easy dinner. A layer of ground beef and melty cheese sits on top of a bed of crushed Doritos and is topped with fresh cilantro. What else could you want in a casserole?
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