This Creamy Green Sauce Is The Trick To Actually Good Grilled Chicken Sandwiches

Whether you're gearing up for a long day ahead and need a filling breakfast, need a recharge at lunch, or just want to indulge during a late night, you can count on a grilled chicken sandwich to sate your appetite. It usually takes no more than an hour to prep. Plus, all the ingredients from the toasted buns, to the smoky chicken breasts seared on the grill, to crisp lettuce, to tomato slices are relatively affordable. (Odds are high that you have all of those in your kitchen right now.) But while the classic sandwich is great, if you're looking for a flavorful change of pace, all you need is a single, fast upgrade: A creamy green avocado, jalapeño, and cilantro sauce.

With this sauce, you get an extra tangy richness to complement the smoky flavor of your grilled chicken, thanks to the lime juice-enriched avocado base. This, along with the jalapeño and fresh cilantro, will give you a far more vibrant-tasting sandwich than the usual grilled chicken-and-mayo fare. And you'll certainly come to love the buttery smooth texture of this blended sauce once drizzled it's over the tender chicken, too.

The base of this sauce is only three ingredients: Avocado, jalapeño, and cilantro. Simply combine them in a blender or food processor and reduce them down into a thick and creamy sauce. The avocado acts as the texture and flavor base for the sauce by offering its creamy texture and flavorful fats.

Jalapeño peppers don't need a lot of exposition. They'll give your sandwich a burst of heat that'll both enliven your palate and keep the sauce from getting too heavy-tasting from the avocado's richness. If you like your sauce with only a mild buzz, slice the chili and de-seed. The seed-filled core is where the spiciness is concentrated, and removing it will allow you to turn down the heat a little (but if you'd like to sweat a bit, you can also keep the seeds in).

Finally, fresh stems of cilantro are the fragrant tie that allows everything to come together by lending the sauce a very herbal scent. While its taste won't be a highlight like the avocado or jalapeño, you should still be able to taste a smidge of its peppery, citrus-like notes when you're chomping down on your sandwich. And if you're one of the many who find cilantro soapy-tasting, you can swap it for basil, too.

That's the super-basic version of the creamy green sauce. The upgraded version has a couple more ingredients that'll give you a fuller tasting experience.

To make the upgraded version, start by adding a dash of lime juice. The tart, zesty flavor will brighten up the taste of the sauce. If you intend to make a big batch for use with other dishes, the acidity of the lime juice will help you keep the sauce fresh for longer by slowing the browning process (which avocados are notorious for.) If you like a creamier green sauce, you can add a little bit of Greek yogurt or sour cream into the mix before you blend it up. The sauce will be emulsified and the result will have double the smoothness as before.

A pro tip: While the sauce is awesome in a grilled chicken sandwich, don't limit it to just that. Instead, you can also use it as a dip or topping for other grilled and roasted meats or veggies (think of it like a creamy guacamole.) So, not only will boring, dry grilled chicken sammies be a thing of the past, but so will other dull eats. A dash of this green sauce will be a cure-all for anything that you'd like to give a tasty makeover to.