Cilantro Lime Dressing is packed with flavor, a little heat, and lots of creaminess. Use it on salads, in burritos, or as a dip! This dressing is sure to take your meal to the next level!
This Cilantro Lime Dressing is one of my very favorite salad dressings! It’s a copycat recipe of the dressing served at Cafe Rio and Costa Vida. Since we no longer live by one, I had to my my own.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
The flavor of this dressing is amazing! It’s a ranch dressing made 958 times better. The cilantro and lime add so much bright freshness and the jalapeno adds a hint of heat that really elevates whatever it is you’re putting this dressing on.
INGREDIENTS FOR CILANTRO LIME SAUCE:
- Ranch Dressing Mix– This packs in a lot of flavor as well as thickens the dressing.
- Mayonnaise– I love the flavor of mayo in dressing. For a lower calorie dressing you can use the canola version, Greek yogurt, or sour cream.
- Milk– This helps thin the dressing to make the perfect consistency. Use a diary free substitute if needed.
- Cilantro– It’s my favorite herb! So bright and fresh!
- Salsa Verde– This adds tomatillo flavor. A tomatillo can be substituted.
- Jalapeno– I love a good kick and this gives the dressing just that. For a milder dressing, remove the seeds from the jalapeno.
- Garlic– Flavor! Do we ever not want more garlic?
- Lime juice– Adds a refreshing and bright citrus flavor.
HOW TO MAKE CILANTRO LIME DRESSING:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Pour into a 16 ounce jar and refrigerate for at least an hour or until ready to use.
- Drizzle over salads, add to burritos and tacos, or use as a dip for taquitos or quesadillas.
HOW TO MAKE A LOWER FAT VERSION?
To cut down on calories, use a lower calorie mayonnaise like the canola oil version. You can also use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.
You can also decrease a few calories by using a low fat milk.
HOW LONG DOES IT LAST?
This dressing is good for about 4 days. If you know you won’t eat it all in that time you can freeze half of it. Thaw it out by placing it in the fridge the night before you want to use it.
I like to plan a few meals in a row that use it like Baked Chicken Taquitos, Cafe Rio Pulled Pork Salad, and then quesadillas.
LOOKING FOR MORE SAUCE/DRESSING RECIPES? CHECK OUT THESE:
- Poppy Seed Dressing Is my go-to dressing especially for spinach salads. It’s easy to make and everyone LOVES it.
- Avocado Dip is so yummy for any type of bowl dish or dipping shrimp or chicken in.
- Tatziki Sauce is a must if you’re making anything Greek. It’s so refreshing!
- Caesar Salad Dressing is better than the bottle! So creamy with fresh garlic, dijon mustard, mayonnaise, and seasoning.
TOOLS USED TO MAKE THIS CILANTRO SALAD DRESSING:
- Small Blender– I love using this for making dressings, sauces, or smoothies for one. It’s the perfect size!
- High Powder Blender– Having a high power blender is life changing. No more big chunks. This does its job!
- Ranch Seasoning– We use a lot of ranch seasoning so I like to buy it in bulk.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1 cup mayonnaise, (Greek yogurt or sour cream also work)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup salsa verde
- 1/2 jalapeno, (remove seeds for mild heat)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
- Place in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving to let it thicken.
- Drizzle over salads, tacos, or use as a dipping sauce for taquitos.
Can I use ranch dressing in the bottle like the store bought kind or does it need to be the packet?
Packet.
I make this and it is so good! I love the jalapeños in it. My other recipes didn’t call for that. One thing I add to it, is several small tomatillos. It adds a lot to it. Thanks for sharing.
This recipe is closer to the real deal and very delicious in its own right. I made tei batches of this dressing and a batch from a recipe that calls for two tomatillos instead of green salsa. This recipe produced a much tastier dressing (I used buttermilk). I also made a third batch using Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch, and that was tasty too. Soccer team dinner. I have a big family, but not that big, and all dressings were put to good service.
Yum! What kind of milk is thr nutrition information based off of?
Alexandra- It’s calculated based on using 1% milk
This looks great, do you know how long it stays good for?
Thanks Heather! It will last for about 10 days… if you don’t eat it all before that time.
I thought it was so neat that Rebecca had her baby on your mom’s birthday. I didn’t know there was another grandchild with her birthday too!
Just curious – what are trackbacks???
Yeah, one of Meri’s was born on her birthday. And trackbacks are links from other pages on my site that I have linked on that post or when random people (usually spam) links my post on their site. I have a program that is supposed to catch all those but sometimes they slip through. I just went through them so hopefully I weeded them all out.
Saved as a favorite, I love your website!|
I love cilantro lime dressing! This looks so yummy! Why can’t cafe rio be nation wide?
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
Paige- I ask that exact question all the time! I’m going back to Utah this summer and definitely have Cafe Rio on my list of places to go while there.