Homemade horseradish sauce doesn’t get better than this! It’s wonderfully creamy, slightly spicy, and the perfect pairing with prime rib, beef tenderloin, ribeye steak and so much more!
Why You’ll Love This Horseradish Sauce
Once you make homemade horseradish sauce, I promise you that you’ll never go back to using any store-bought versions. It just tastes so much fresher when you’re making it from scratch. Plus, if you’re topping this sauce on expensive cuts of meat like prime rib and tenderloin, you want a high-quality sauce for a high-quality piece of meat. You certainly don’t want a sub-par sauce on a premium piece of meat! Here’s what you’ll love about this sauce:
- It’s so easy to make. Only 5 simple ingredients are needed!
- It’s a Christmas favorite. If you’re planning to make prime rib for Christmas dinner (or any cut of beef), this sauce will elevate it!
- It’s a great palette cleanser. It doesn’t mask the succulent, meaty flavors we all want to taste. Instead, it acts as a palette cleanser between each bite.
What Is Horseradish Sauce?
If you’re new to horseradish, it’s a sharp, spicy root vegetable that’s usually grated and turned into a condiment (also known as prepared horseradish). And just a small spoonful can brighten up whatever you’re cooking. But when you blend it with creamy elements such as sour cream or mayonnaise, But when you mix it with creamy elements like sour cream or mayonnaise, it transforms into this deliciously smooth and tangy sauce.
Horseradish Sauce Ingredients
- Sour Cream: This is the creamy base that keeps the sauce light, cool, and perfectly tangy.
- Horseradish: I’m using prepared horseradish for ease (the kind you can find in a jar at the store), but if you want to go the extra mile, you can certainly grate fresh horseradish root yourself.
- Dijon Mustard: A little Dijon adds a touch of spice and depth.
- Mayonnaise: Just a spoonful adds extra creaminess and body to the sauce. And if you have a few extra minutes, homemade mayo takes it up a notch!
- Chives: Fresh chives add a mild onion bite and a pop of color. You know I love a pop of green!
- Salt & Pepper: Just a pinch of each to bring everything together.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below.
How to Make The Best Horseradish Sauce For Prime Rib & Beef Tenderloin
This might be the easiest part of your entire meal. Simply stir everything together in a small bowl until smooth, and that’s it! You’ve got a creamy, zesty horseradish sauce ready to serve alongside your prime rib or beef tenderloin. No blenders or other kitchen appliances needed!
Ways To Use Horseradish Sauce
Although this sauce is primarily used for steak, here are a few other delicious ways I love to use it:
- As a veggie dip: Swap out the ranch dressing for horseradish sauce! It’s delicious with celery, carrots, or cucumber sticks.
- For meaty sandwiches: This is incredible with roast beef or steak sandwiches!
- Other comforting dishes: Speaking of meats, this is also great with slow cooker pot roast during the winter.
Storage & Make-Ahead Tips
I always get asked if you can prep this sauce ahead of time, and the answer is YES! In fact, I recommend making it in advance to let the flavors sit and meld together. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. And while you can freeze horseradish sauce, it’s not ideal, as it can change the texture and flavor. The creamy base (especially when made with sour cream or mayonnaise) may separate once thawed.
More Sauce Recipes
- Tzatziki Sauce: The ultimate sauce for Mediterranean meals!
- Chimichurri Sauce: Perfect for a glossy, herby finish over grilled meats and seafood.
- Basil Pesto: A fresh summer sauce that can be mixed into anything.
- Romesco Sauce: I love this nutty sauce with cod or chicken!
- Marinara Sauce: As we all know, marinara works with almost everything!
- Or give these other sauces and dressings a try!
If you make this horseradish sauce, I’d love to hear how it turned out in the comment box below! Your review will help other readers in the community. And if you’re hungry for more healthy food inspiration and exclusive content, join my free newsletter here.
Description
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together the sour cream, horseradish, mayonnaise, chives, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper.
- Transfer it to a small serving bowl and top with extra chopped chives for garnish.
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.
- For an even fresher taste, make my mayonnaise recipe! It’s really easy and the quality is unmatched.
- Storage & make-ahead tip: Store horseradish sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. For best results, make it ahead of time and keep it refrigerated.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally published December 2021, but updated to include new information for your benefit!
Perfect with the steak and also the horseradish in potato very nice Thankyou for sharing, fresh horseradish had more kick so if you want more bite this is the way to go 🙏
Glad this was the perfect sauce to pair with your steak, Lorraine!
I made this recipe 4 days before Christmas so I had 1 less thing to do then.
I followed the recipe as shown except I used a lightly dried Chopped Chives from Gourmet Garden because fresh wasn’t available.
After preparing i thought it was a little salty and the chives were strong, but by Christmas day the flavors had blended. Myself and the others were so pleased to use it with your Garlic crusted Prime Rib recipe that was a big hit. Thanks
Richard S
Glad this sauce worked out great with your prime rib, Richard!
Absolutely delicious, like all your recipes.
Glad you loved this horseradish sauce, Sonja!
You can’t pin on Pinterest? omg
Hi Betty – yes, you can pin this recipe to Pinterest. Just click the “share” button at the top of the page on in the recipe card and choose the Pinterest icon.
Literally just mixed up this recipe and it’s delicious! We’ll use it for bone-in rib eye steaks tonight! I didn’t have any chives, so I finely grated a little bit of yellow onion. Wonderful! Thank you.
This will be perfect with bone-in ribeye steaks! Enjoy, Megs.
So lovely! I didn’t have fresh chives and just used dried. No big deal, still as delicious.
Glad this horseradish sauce worked out well with dried chives instead!
Can I make this in advance and refrigerate? How many days will this keep for? Thank you.
Yes, absolutely! In fact, I think it’s better made in advance. You can store it for up to two weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!
This is a great twist on traditional horseradish sauce! And I would have never thought to pair it with corned beef and cabbage like you suggested, but it was a huge hit at my St. Paddy’s Day dinner! This is a keeper for ALL holiday meals.
Hi Erika – That’s amazing! Glad this was a winner for your St. Patrick’s Day dinner paired with corned beef and cabbage.
Very helpful 👌. Thanks
Just WOW!!!! I was asked to bring Horseradish Sauce to my friend’s Christmas dinner party to serve with the Prime Rib that she was serving. Not really having made it before, Lisa’s Downshiftology website is always my first “go to” for all recipes (including my favorite – Whole30).
This Horseradish Sauce was the hit of the party! Everyone was asking for the recipe. It was easy, tasted delicious and was made with easy to find ingredients! I made a double batch and my hostess stated that with the little bit of leftover sauce, she was using is on EVERYTHING!
Thank you Lisa, for all of your recipes and a very Happy New Year to you!
Side bar: I’ll be starting a round of Whole30 soon!
Susan
Hi Susan – Happy to hear this horseradish sauce was the perfect pairing with your friend’s prime rib!
This sauce is so good, everyone loved it! We made horseradish au jus with part of it, using au jus from your prime rib recipe, for prime rib tacos! Eating good this week! Thanks Lisa for all the great recipes!
Oh yum, I love that you made a horseradish au jus! I’ll have to do that myself next time!
This was my first time trying horseradish sauce and I wasn’t disappointed. This sauce is tangy but when paired well it’s a welcomed taste difference. I made this with homemade mayo and I feel like that helped the taste since the mayo had a better taste profile too. My mom who isnt a fan oof horseradish by itself liked this sauce too. so I’d say this is a success.
Hi Iyana – I’m so glad your first time making horseradish sauce was a success!
Perfection! This is an easy recipe, but makes a delicious accompaniment to Lisa’s beef tenderloin recipe.
Hi Nicole – I’m glad you enjoyed it! And yes, it pairs beautifully with the beef tenderloin. Enjoy!
Hi Nicole – Happy to hear you enjoyed this horseradish sauce!
Can I omit the Mayo and just replace with Dijon mustard? I’m assuming it’s more of a emulsifier so that the ingredients don’t separate?
Hi Katlan – yes, it helps to emulsify it and adds to the flavor, but feel free to tweak the flavor to your liking. Enjoy!
how do you make horseradish from fresh?
I don’t have a recipe for that yet, but I’ll be sure to keep that in mind!
Awesome
Normally, I make a horseradish sauce with sour cream and horseradish. Not any more. This recipe is far better and just as easy.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
My family loved this! We used it on our Christmas roast and it was a huge hit.
Thanks for sharing.
Wonderful! So happy you all loved it, Lauren!
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!
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!
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.
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!
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. B
How hot is this? Looking for the nice horseradish taste with some heat but not overwhelming.
Hi Cheryl – this is not too hot at all!
Really delicious!
Happy you loved the recipe!
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
I hope you and your family enjoy both the prime rib recipe and this horseradish sauce!
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.
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this horseradish sauce, Penny!
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
Hi Ian – I don’t feel it’s necessary, but of course, recipes are always personal taste preference. :)
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!
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!
Made this sauce tonight for our Chateaubriand Holiday meal. Nice and mild but the perfect touch of horseradish!
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.
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?
You would want the mince rather than the sauce (which usually has dairy already in it).
Fell down when I made this it was so good. Served with filets. Use real horseradish. Heavenly!
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)
I think that could work Yosh!
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!
Glad this recipe introduced you to the beauty of horseradish! It truly is the best paired with all sorts of steaks.
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!
This truly is the best sauce to make with all sorts of steak mains :)
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
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!
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.
Great with the beef tenderloin. Would double the recipe though.
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!
Glad you enjoyed both the beef tenderloin plus the horseradish sauce Emily!
Is it possible to substitute yogurt for sour cream?
Sure, it would just have a slightly different flavor.