Creamy Horseradish Sauce

This Creamy Horseradish Sauce is the ideal companion to roast beef, prime rib, roast beef sandwiches, as salad dressing, with eggs, and more. It brings a burst of bold flavors, and it takes about one minute to mix up in a bowl. This sauce is super versatile, an easy addition to your favorite dishes, and will rival your favorite restaurant versions!

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This creamy horseradish sauce has the perfect balance of ingredients. The spicy tang of the horseradish, fresh lemon zest, chives, and white balsamic vinegar, combined with the rich sour cream base is a subtly delightful combination. It's an easy way to elevate some of your favorite dishes.

This sauce is the perfect condiment to elevate your favorite roast beef dinner. Try it with our melt in your mouth roast beef, beef tenderloin, alongside our decadent slow cooker prime rib roast, or on our prime rib sandwich!

It's also wonderful with wild game, poultry, pork, and seafood. Try it as a zesty new dressing for your salad, with scrambled eggs, or on a baked potato!

Looking for another dipping sauce for beef? Try our fan-favorite cowboy butter dipping sauce!

If you're looking for new dressings and condiments, you may also love our pesto aioli, our honey lemon vinaigrette dressing, and our creamy balsamic dressing.

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❤️Why we love this recipe
🥣Ingredients
✨Substitutions
✨Variations
🔪Prep work
📋Instructions
✨Tips & tricks
💭Frequently Asked Questions
More Recipes To Consider
📖 Recipe
💬 Community

❤️Why we love this recipe

Quick and easy. This horseradish cream sauce recipe is beginner-friendly, made in one bowl in just a few minutes, and is made with simple ingredients that can be found at the local grocery store.
Bursting with flavor. Indulge in its rich taste with a spicy kick, making every bite a memorable experience.
Fit for special occasions. Any Christmas dinner with a prime rib on the table could benefit from this recipe!
Versatile pairing. This creamy sauce is one of our favorite ways to elevate a standing rib roast, a simple roast beef dish, or even other poultry, pork, game, and seafood dishes, this sauce is the perfect accompaniment. It enhances not only the flavors of your favorite beef dishes, but much more!
Diet-friendly. This homemade creamy horseradish sauce is naturally low carb, gluten free, and vegetarian. It can easily be made dairy-free, and vegan if desired.

🥣Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

Prepared horseradish. You can also use fresh horseradish root and grate it yourself (or use a food processor) to get it into a nice paste. It's not as easy to come by around us, so we just use the shelf stable stuff!
White balsamic vinegar. This ingredient is a slightly milder version of traditional balsamic vinegar that really complements this sauce. See substitutions below if you don't have any on hand.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions

Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.

Experiment with different types of vinegar. If you don't have any white balsamic vinegar, this can be easily fixed. We just need a bit of bright acidity to balance out the sauce. You can apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar, red or white wine vinegar, plain white vinegar, and even lemon juice to brighten the flavor a bit.
For a slightly lighter option, you can omit the mayonnaise. We do recommend leaving the mayonnaise in for an extra rich and creamy flavor.
No chives. Finely minced green onions would make a good substitute.

✨Variations

Dairy free. Swap the sour cream with a dairy-free alternative.
Vegan. Follow the steps above to make the recipe dairy free, and use a vegan mayonnaise in place of regular mayonnaise.
Add an extra teaspoon of Dijon mustard for an extra layer of flavor.
Mix in fresh dill for an added pop of color and lovely flavor.
Increase the horseradish for an extra-spicy version, perfect for those who crave that subtle kick of horseradish. You can always use less horseradish if you'd like the sauce to be less spicy.
Extra creamy. Add a splash of heavy cream or half and half for a thinner consistency.
Add garlic. Add a hint of minced or grated fresh garlic, roasted garlic or even garlic powder could give this dip a garlicky flavor.

🔪Prep work

Use a sharp knife to finely chop the chives.
Use a microplane to zest the fresh lemon.
Measure out all other ingredients.

📋Instructions

Add sour cream, mayonnaise, prepared horseradish, Dijon mustard, white balsamic vinegar, chives, and lemon zest to a bowl. (Image 1)

sour cream, mayo, chives, lemon zest, dijon mustard, vinegar, and horseradish in a bowl.

✨Pro Tip: If making this recipe for the first time, you can add less of the horseradish and white balsamic vinegar to start. Once you've mixed everything up, taste, and adjust.

Stir to combine, then add some salt and pepper. (Image 2)

creamy horseradish sauce mixed together with salt and pepper added to the bowl with a rubber spatula.

✨Pro Tip: Add salt and pepper slowly and to taste. Remember, you can always add more, but once you've added too much, it can be difficult to correct!

Stir again, taste, and adjust the seasonings. (Image 3)

If you have time, cover the sauce with plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld together. If you have a few hours to spare, this is preferable.

creamy horseradish sauce stirred together in a bowl with a rubber spatula.

✨Pro Tip: Don't skip the chilling time if you can help it! It really helps all the flavors in the sauce come together.

When it comes time to serve, garnish with more fresh chives. (Image 4)

horseradish dipping sauce in a bowl topepd with chives.

Serve with our slow cooker prime rib, this melt in your mouth roast beef, on our prime rib sandwich, and so much more!

Cooked prime rib on plate and with some thin slices cut away from the roast, with creamy horseradish sauce covering the slices.

✨Tips & tricks

Use quality ingredients. Use high-quality, fresh ingredients. This especially applies to the horseradish, as its potency and flavor can significantly impact the sauce.
Add the horseradish slowly. Horseradish can be quite potent. Start with the lower amount recommended and adjust to your taste. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take it out once it's in.
Add salt and pepper slowly. When it comes to salt and pepper, add slowly and to taste. Once you've added too much, it can be hard to correct. But you can always add more!
Allow the sauce to chill. The flavors of your sauce will meld and intensify the longer it rests. If time allows, let it sit in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight.
Adjusting the consistency. If you prefer a thinner sauce, you can add a little bit of milk or buttermilk. For a thicker sauce, more sour cream or mayo can be added.
Taste and adjust. Don’t be afraid to adjust the seasonings. Add more salt, pepper, or lemon zest, if needed. The lemon zest will add a nice brightness to the sauce.

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💭Frequently Asked Questions

How to store the leftovers?

Keep the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. Do not freeze.

Can I make a large batch?

You can easily adjust the amount of sauce to your preference. Just double or even triple the ingredients for a large batch of sauce to serve guests.

More Recipes To Consider

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