Ocopa Sauce substitute

Best substitute

Mint, basil and tarragon blend (for the huacatay)

Use 2 tbsp mint + 2 tbsp basil + 1 tsp tarragon for every ¼ cup fresh huacatay leaves

Best for papa a la ocopa

Different taste

The problem is almost never the sauce, it is the huacatay, which is nearly impossible to buy fresh outside Peru. Make the sauce as written and replace each quarter cup of fresh huacatay leaves with 2 tablespoons fresh mint plus 2 tablespoons fresh basil plus 1 teaspoon fresh tarragon. If you need a finished sauce instead, huancaina sauce is the closest thing to buy at 1:1, and blending 2 tablespoons of toasted peanuts and a handful of mint into a cup of it gets you most of the way to ocopa.

Other ocopa sauce substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Huacatay paste, frozen or jarred
Close match
Use 1 tsp paste for every ¼ cup fresh leaves
This is the actual ingredient, just concentrated, and Peruvian groceries and online sellers carry it far more reliably than fresh leaves.
What changes
Best for
papa a la ocopa, homemade ocopa, marinades
Much darker and stronger than fresh leaves, so the sauce turns a deeper green and can taste medicinal if you overdo it. Start with a teaspoon per cup of finished sauce, blend, taste, then add more.
3Huancaina sauce, upgraded
Different taste
Use the same amount plus 2 tbsp toasted peanuts and a small handful of mint per cup
Huancaina is ocopa's sibling and shares the same base of aji amarillo, fresh cheese, evaporated milk and crackers, so it is the shortest route to a credible ocopa.
What changes
Best for
papa a la ocopa, boiled potatoes, cold sauces
Plain huancaina tastes cleaner, cheesier and yellower, with none of ocopa's nutty depth or herbal lift. Blend in the peanuts and mint and it turns the right shade of pale green and gains the roundness ocopa has.
4Aji verde (Peruvian green sauce)
Different taste
Use the same amount
Fills the same role at the table, a cold creamy green sauce spooned over potatoes and grilled chicken, and is easy to make from cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, lime and mayonnaise.
What changes
Best for
boiled potatoes, grilled chicken, dipping, sandwiches
Sharper, more garlicky and much more limey than ocopa, with no peanuts and no cheese depth. It is a good sauce and a poor imitation, so serve it as itself rather than calling it ocopa.
5Toasted pepitas or sunflower seed butter (for the peanuts)
Different taste
Use the same amount by volume
Replaces the peanuts' job in the sauce, which is fat, body and a toasted savoury depth, for anyone avoiding peanuts.
What changes
Best for
peanut-free ocopa, nut-free cooking
Pepitas make the sauce a shade greener and slightly grassier; sunflower seed butter is closest in richness but a little sweeter. Toast whichever you use in a dry pan until fragrant or the sauce tastes raw.
6Peanut sauce thinned with evaporated milk
Different taste
3 parts peanut sauce to 1 part evaporated milk, used 1:1
The desperation option that still works on a plate of boiled potatoes, because it keeps the essential function of a cold, thick, nutty, mildly spicy sauce.
What changes
Best for
boiled potatoes, quick weeknight version
A Southeast Asian style peanut sauce is much sweeter, often coconutty and usually soy-forward, so this tastes distinctly of satay rather than of Arequipa. Add lime juice and a little aji amarillo paste to steer it back.

What is Ocopa Sauce?

Ocopa Sauce is Ocopa sauce, also called salsa ocopa or ocopa arequipena, is a cold, creamy pale-green Peruvian sauce blended from huacatay leaves, aji amarillo, toasted peanuts, fresh cheese, evaporated milk and crackers, and it is poured over boiled potatoes as papa a la ocopa.

Cooking tips

Understand which part you are actually replacing. In ocopa the peanuts and cheese supply fat and body, the crackers or stale bread supply thickening, the aji amarillo supplies mild heat and the yellow-green colour, and the huacatay supplies the aroma that makes it ocopa rather than huancaina. Only the huacatay is genuinely hard to substitute.
Toast the peanuts before blending, and toast them properly until they smell nutty and take colour. Raw peanuts make the sauce taste chalky and flat, and this single step does more for the finished sauce than any herb substitution.
Ocopa is served cold or at room temperature over hot or warm potatoes, never hot. If you heat it, the cheese and milk can split and the sauce loses its silky body. Blend it, chill it, and let the potatoes provide the warmth.
The sauce thickens noticeably in the fridge as the crackers absorb liquid. Blend it slightly looser than you want it, then check the consistency after an hour of chilling and thin it with a splash of evaporated milk if needed.
This sauce contains peanuts and dairy, which matters if you are serving guests. Swapping toasted pepitas for the peanuts at 1:1 and a firm plant-based cheese for the queso fresco makes a version that is still recognisably ocopa, though slightly leaner.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the huacatay out?

You can, and the result is a good sauce, but it is not ocopa any more. Without huacatay you have essentially made a nutty huancaina. If you want it to taste like ocopa, use the mint, basil and tarragon blend, which gets you a long way for the price of three herbs you probably already have.

What is the difference between ocopa and huancaina sauce?

Both are cold Peruvian sauces built on aji amarillo, fresh cheese, evaporated milk and crackers, and both go over boiled potatoes. Huancaina stops there and is yellow, cheesy and clean. Ocopa adds toasted peanuts and huacatay, which makes it pale green, nuttier, deeper and distinctly herbal.

What can I use instead of huacatay?

A blend of fresh mint, fresh basil and a little fresh tarragon, in roughly a 2:2:1 ratio by volume, replacing the same volume of huacatay leaves. Frozen or jarred huacatay paste is better still if you can order it, at about a teaspoon of paste per quarter cup of fresh leaves.

Can I make ocopa without aji amarillo?

Aji amarillo paste is easier to buy than huacatay and is worth seeking out, since it provides both the gentle heat and the colour. If you truly cannot get it, blend a roasted yellow bell pepper with a small piece of habanero, roughly 3 parts pepper to a sliver of habanero, and add a pinch of turmeric for colour.

How long does ocopa sauce keep?

Three to four days covered in the fridge. It will thicken as it sits, so loosen it with a spoonful of evaporated milk before serving. It does not freeze well, because the cheese and milk go grainy once thawed.

Related substitutes

More sauces & condiments substitutes

Ocopa Sauce substitute

Other ocopa sauce substitutes

2Huacatay paste, frozen or jarred

3Huancaina sauce, upgraded

4Aji verde (Peruvian green sauce)

5Toasted pepitas or sunflower seed butter (for the peanuts)

6Peanut sauce thinned with evaporated milk