Name: Creamy Horseradish Sauce With Roasted Garlic
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 300 min
Ingredients: 1 garlic (small head (whole) (see notes)); ½ tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (or to taste); 1 pinch kosher salt; 1 cup sour cream; 2 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 2 tablespoons milk (or more, for thinning the sauce); ¼ cup horseradish (or more, freshly grated (see notes)); 1 teaspoon white vinegar; Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

Facebook Pinterest X Email

Jump to Recipe Pin Recipe

Nothing quite wakes up the palate like a good zesty and creamy horseradish sauce. I really like the kick!

This horseradish sauce is similar to a traditional light and tangy horseradish cream sauce but gets an extra-rich and creamy flavor from sweet caramelized roasted garlic.

David and I wanted to explore different sauces to put on smoked chuck roast last summer. This recipe and the Honey-Mustard BBQ Sauce I shared with you were two amazing recipes that came from our trials.

This sauce is versatile and the sauce can be put on just about anything you want to put it on. From smokey beef, chicken, pork, and seafood to dips for vegetables or as a spread on sandwiches. This sauce is good on it all!

What is Horseradish?

Horseradish is a large white root vegetable native to Russia and Hungary, known for its strong taste and odor. It comes from the same family of plants like mustard and wasabi, which are a cousin to broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts.

What Is Prepared Horseradish?

Horseradish is typically sold as a condiment in one of two forms: pickled or creamed. Pickled horseradish is grated horseradish root preserved in vinegar and salt, also known as “prepared” horseradish.

In contrast, creamed horseradish has already been turned into a sauce with added ingredients, such as mayonnaise or sour cream which weakens the potency of the horseradish.

It’s important that you use “pure” horseradish when making this recipe or you can buy the root and grate it yourself. I love buying it fresh and grating it myself. However, buying a horseradish root is not always practical. You can buy really good prepared horseradish from any grocery store.

Look for jars of horseradish that say “prepared” and list only salt and vinegar as ingredients. You don’t want to use an already creamed horseradish with other ingredients. If you do, this sauce recipe will not have the same outcome.

Heat and Pungency

Too much horseradish can heat your tongue and bring tears to your eyes! If you like horseradish, but don’t truly love it. I recommend you start this recipe by adding a couple of tablespoons of horseradish at a time and tasting between each addition. Remember, it will get a little hotter after it sits for a while, so use caution.

How To Make Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Roast the Garlic:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel and discard any loose papery outer layers of the garlic bulb, leaving the skin fully intact with the cloves.

Use a sharp knife to slice off about ¼ to ½-inch off the top of the cloves to expose the individual cloves of garlic.

Tear off a square piece of aluminum foil large enough to wrap up the clove (see note). Place the garlic clove onto the aluminum foil. Drizzle the garlic with olive oil and season with salt. Wrap the foil around the garlic. Bake in the preheated oven until the garlic is soft, golden brown and caramelized; about 35 to 50 minutes.

My friend Beth gave me a cast iron garlic roaster with a squeezer for Christmas LIKE THIS ONE. Unfortunately, I did not have it when roasting garlic for this recipe, so I cannot wait to try it out the next time I make this recipe.

Alternatively, if you are smoking meat on a grill or smoker, you could place the foil-wrapped cloves on the grill. However, you may need to adjust the time you cook it based on the temperature on the grate.

Garlic: If you really don’t have time to roast it and you really love garlic, I highly recommend using one fresh clove of grated garlic instead. This gives the sauce a little more spunk and zippiness.

When the garlic is ready, remove it from the oven. Allow it to cool enough so that you can touch it. Opening up the foil will help it cool faster, but be careful; the garlic is hot!

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, use your hand to squeeze the garlic cloves from the skin into a medium-sized bowl. If the garlic is cooked properly, the cloves should ooze right out without any trouble. Use a small fork to get any bits that may get stuck.

ingredients ready to make creamy horseradish sauce

Combine the Creamy Horseradish Sauce:

To make the sauce, use a spoon to smash up the garlic inside the bowl, then stir in the sour cream, mayo, dijon mustard, horseradish, milk, and white vinegar into the bowl with the garlic. Continue to mash up any large pieces of garlic. Stir in kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste.

creamy horseradish sauce in jar with mountain view

Cover the sauce and refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight so that the flavors meld together.

When ready to serve, give the creamy horseradish sauce a good stir and pour it into a gravy boat or serving dish with a spoon.

creamy horseradish sauce poured over smoked chuck roast

Cutting Calories?

If you are looking to cut a few calories, feel free to use light sour cream and mayonnaise. I am funny about “light” ingredients, but with sour cream, I find that there is only a slight texture difference and not much difference in taste. More than likely I used light sour cream for this recipe, so feel free to use it also.

Storage

Refrigerate any leftover sauce in an airtight container for 2 to 3 weeks. It is best to check the date on the sour cream used to judge how long you should keep it.

Ways To Use Creamy Horseradish Sauce

There are no limits on the ways you can use this creamy horseradish sauce. Here are some of our favorite ways to use creamy horseradish sauce to help get you started:

SMOKED CHUCK ROAST
ROASTED PORK TENDERLOIN
AS A DIP FOR VEGGIES OR CHICKEN WINGS
SMASHED POTATOES
SEAFOOD
GRILLED STUFFED FLANK STEAK
GRILLED SPATCHCOCKED CHICKEN
HICKORY-SMOKED PORK LOIN
AS A SANDWICH SPREAD FOR FRENCH DIP SANDWICHES, BURGERS OR BRISKET
STIR IT INTO MAC AND CHEESE

beef dipped in creamy horseradish sauce with mountain view

I’m curious to know what you think about this sauce and what you will put it on. Rate this recipe and comment below. We’d love to hear from you!