Horseradish Sauce

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This is the best homemade horseradish sauce! Spoon it over meat, spread it onto bread, or dip it with chopped veggies. However you use it, it’s a well-balanced sauce that’s wonderfully creamy, slightly spiced, and perfectly flavored with fresh Dijon mustard and chives.

Horseradish sauce in a small bowl with a spoon

What Is Horseradish Sauce?

If you’re not familiar with horseradish – it’s a pungent root vegetable that’s typically grated and preserved into a condiment (also known as prepared horseradish). Just a small spoonful of this can brighten up whatever you’re cooking, from homemade vinaigrettes to slow roasted salmon.

But when you blend it with creamy elements such as sour cream or mayonnaise, it becomes this sensational horseradish sauce. The perfect accompaniment to impressive beef tenderloin and prime rib during the holidays!

The best part is that this sauce doesn’t mask the succulent, meaty flavors we want to taste. Instead, it acts as a palette cleanser between each bite. It’s no wonder why creamy horseradish sauce is always served with the best cuts of meat!

Ingredients for horseradish sauce on a table.

Horseradish Sauce Ingredients

Since horseradish itself is quite potent (almost like wasabi), it just needs a few fresh additions, like tangy sour cream, Dijon mustard, and chopped chives. Once you do a taste test, you’ll know what I mean when I say that the flavors are simple yet complex.

  • Sour Cream: This makes up the majority of the sauce to create a cooling, light, and creamy effect.
  • Horseradish: To keep things simple, I’m using a store-bought bottle of prepared horseradish. But you most certainly can make your own at home.
  • Dijon Mustard: This mustard is perfectly spiced and adds a little oomph to the sauce.
  • Mayonnaise: Just one tablespoon is needed to enhance the light, creamy flavors. And if you’ve got time – it’s super easy to whip up your own mayonnaise!
  • Chives: When it comes to creamy sauces, chives always add a fresh, herbal touch.
  • Salt & Pepper: A pinch of both ties all the flavors happening in this sauce together.

Find the printable recipe with measurements below.

How to Make The Best Horseradish Sauce For Prime Rib, Beef Tenderloin, and More!

Lucky for you, this sauce doesn’t require any kitchen appliance. All you need to do is stir everything together in a small bowl and voila! You have a horseradish sauce ready to serve immediately.

Ingredients for horseradish sauce in a bowl.

Ways To Use Horseradish Sauce

I think I’ve raved enough about how well this sauce tastes with all sorts of beefy mains, but it doesn’t stop there. Here’s a few more reasons why you should make two (or three) batches of this special sauce.

  • Spread onto bread. Just toast up some slices, spread a layer of horseradish sauce, and make a meaty sandwich out of it.
  • Serve with fresh veggies. Swap out ranch with creamy horseradish sauce instead on a veggie platter! This tastes great with fresh cut celery, cucumbers, or carrots.
  • Serve with beefy meats. When serving to guests, I’ll normally spoon it over the sliced meats for a stunning presentation. Or you can dip each bite into it!

To Store

This is a great sauce to have on hand in the fridge. And if you have a little extra, here’s how you store it:

  • To store: Store the sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
  • To freeze: You can freeze the sauce in an airtight container for up to 3 months. But just note that it may lose a bit of its pungent taste over time. And when you’re ready to use, let it defrost in the fridge or at room temperature, then give it a stir before serving.

More Delicious Sauces For Meats

While horseradish sauce tastes amazing with beef, here’s a few other sauces that are delicious with chicken, pork, or seafood!

Needless to say, this horseradish sauce needs to be a part of your Christmas dinner recipe list, along with prime rib and beef tenderloin. If you make it, let me know how it turned out in a comment below!

A small bowl of horseradish sauce.

Horseradish Sauce for Prime Rib and Steak

5 from 44 votes
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Lisa Bryan

Description

The best homemade horseradish sauce to serve with beef tenderloin, prime rib, and other succulent meats! It's wonderfully creamy, fresh, and perfectly spiced. Watch the video below to see how I make it in my kitchen!

Video

Ingredients 
 

Instructions 

  • In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, horseradish, mayonnaise, chives, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
    Ingredients for horseradish sauce on a table.
  • Transfer it to a small serving bowl and top with extra chopped chives for garnish.
    Horseradish sauce in a serving bowl.

Lisa’s Tips

  • Want to make this dairy-free? Just swap in a dairy-free sour cream! You can use a store-bought option or make my cashew sour cream

Nutrition

Calories: 56kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 42mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 143IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: sauce
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Horseradish Sauce, Horseradish Sauce For Prime Rib
Did you make this recipe?Mention @downshiftology or tag #downshiftology!

Recipe originally published December 2021, but updated to include new information for your benefit!

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About the author

Lisa Bryan

Lisa is a bestselling cookbook author, recipe developer, and YouTuber (with over 2.5 million subscribers) living in sunny Southern California. She started Downshiftology in 2014, and is passionate about making healthy food with fresh, simple and seasonal ingredients.

5 from 44 votes (29 ratings without comment)

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41 Comments

  1. Normally, I make a horseradish sauce with sour cream and horseradish. Not any more. This recipe is far better and just as easy.5 stars

      1. I now never eat beef without this sauce! Only change is I sub 2 tbls of freshly ground horseradish for the prepared stuff. If I’m feeling frisky I go with an entire tbls of dijon!

        Delicious!

    1. This is sooo good!
      Made a couple of deviations.. used Miracle Whip instead of Mayo, because that’s what I had on hand. Added a few sprinkles of garlic powder (we love garlic!), and a splash of lemon juice (low salt diet) to trick the taste buds.
      Thank you for this scrumptious sauce recipe!5 stars

  2. I was wanting to know if this is something that could be made the day before? Also, for the ingredient of prepared horseradish sauce, I have a friend who made me homemade horseradish. Is that something I could incorporate into this sauce and how? I’ve never made horseradish sauce.

    1. Yes, absolutely. And I think it’s even better as the flavors all meld together overnight. It sounds like your friend made the prepared horseradish, so you can swap that in for that ingredient in the recipe. Enjoy!

  3. Fantastic recipe for the tenderloin on Christmas Eve. Can you send me an email with the entire recipe from start to table of butter application and horseradish sauce? Many thanks in advance. B5 stars

  4. I can’t wait to try this prime rib. My boys are visiting for the holidays & that is their favorite meal, they were never big on turkey. It makes my mouth water just reading the ingredients

  5. I wanted to use this recipe because I have a roast in my crock pot and I love horseradish. I was so disappointed, at first, because the chives I was going to use were spoiled. So, instead, I just added a little onion powder. Girl!! I had to cover it quick and put it in the fridge to meld before I just ate all of it out of the bowl with the spoon!! Sweet Jesus in heaven this is good sauce!! Thank you for sharing it.5 stars

  6. I expect to make your horseradish sauce (in lieu of my chimichurri sauce) next weekend – when I grill my (homemade)-marinated flank steak. Your horseradish sauce recipe peaked my interest. However, most other recipes for such call for a tsp. of either apple cider vinegar, champagne vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. So, dare I alter your recipe? Your thoughts?

    Ian
    Morristown, NJ

    1. Hi Ian – I don’t feel it’s necessary, but of course, recipes are always personal taste preference. :)

    2. Ian, I saw those recipes, too. I thought they sounded good. The difference is they don’t use Dijon mustard like in this recipe. I’ve never tried champagne vinegar but it sounds delicious and I also like white vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. But I thought the pairing of horseradish and Dijon and the other ingredients sounded really good! And it is!5 stars

  7. This is downright delicious! Best horseradish sauce ever! Served with beef tenderloin roast. Made an excellent me for my family and guests! Thank you for sharing!5 stars

  8. Delicious and SO easy/fast! This is our favorite horseradish sauce recipe by far. Because we like it spicy, I added an extra tablespoon of horse radish, and one tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce. For salt, we used a smokey SF Fire sea salt. It definitely cleared our nostrils! Happy Holidays to you and yours.5 stars

  9. I’m confused- the “prepared horseradish “ in your recipe looks like horseradish sauce you can buy because it looks creamy compared to the Prepared horseradish I buy which is like “minced “ 
    Which one do I get?

  10. Hi, this recipe looks lovely! But do you think I can substitute the “prepared” horseradish with freshly grated one?
    (I’m not keen on the store bought ones I can find here)

  11. This sauce is delicious, I made it for Christmas and we had on beef, chicken and veggies, even my toddler loved it. I’m not sure I ever would have tried horseradish if it weren’t for your recipe, so glad I follow your posts Thanks for another great recipe Lisa!5 stars

    1. Glad this recipe introduced you to the beauty of horseradish! It truly is the best paired with all sorts of steaks.

  12. Even as Asian-American, I am not a huge fan of wassabi and horseradish, but I loved this sauce!! It paired perfectly with the beef tenderloin just as you said and I definitely plan to make more to eat with veggies and other cuts of meat. Thank you for sharing!5 stars

  13. Hello! Looking forward to making your Garlic Crusted Prime Rib and just stumbled upon this sauce. I bought horseradish sauce and it’s overwhelming. I’d love to serve this alongside it instead, but I don’t have sour cream😕 Can I use buttermilk and double the Mayo? Or do you have any other suggestions

    1. Hi Candice – I do think sour cream is pretty important in this recipe. I don’t think mayo or buttermilk will give you a similar texture or flavor. But hope you enjoy my prime rib recipe!

      1. When I can’t find sour cream I use double cream and stir in a bit of lemon. It thickens cream and gives it the sour hint too.

  14. Made this with the beef tenderloin last night for a dinner party, and it was seriously the perfect pairing! Also.. for those who haven’t made the beef tenderloin yet, it’s a must! 5 stars