This Creamy Lime Cilantro ranch dressing is a great Cafe Rio Copycat for their Creamy Tomatillo Dressing. There are a lot of recipes out there for this type of thing and a lot of the good ones call for fresh tomatillos. However, after experimenting quite a bit, I decided, in this instance, I didn’t like the fresh tomatillos. For one thing it’s not something I have laying around my kitchen on a regular basis, so I have to plan in advance to buy them. Then I didn’t like the weird, watery texture they added to the dressing. So I started using a much easier substitution: green salsa. This dressing takes just minutes to buzz up in a blender and it’s perfect on salads, drizzled on nachos, as a dip for veggies or taquitos, or Latin-themed grain bowls.
Ingredient Notes
- Ranch Seasoning: I only use Hidden Valley brand, personally. That’s not to say another brand might be just great, but that’s the brand I always use! Grab the buttermilk recipe packet if you can, but the regular will work just fine as well.
- Lime Juice: I suggest using juice from fresh limes here, as opposed to pre-bottled lime juice, which tends to be bitter. If you don’t have access to fresh limes, I suggest using one of my pantry staples- True Lime. It’s granulated fresh lime and absolutely wonderful. You’ll notice it in my photo below.
- Mayonnaise: I personally use Best Foods/Hellmans. I suggest using a mayo that you like the flavor of otherwise. I’m not a fan of most light mayo so I don’t think the flavor is optimal, but as long as you like the flavor on its own, it will work just fine here.
- Green Salsa: Look for one that has tomatillos listed in the top ingredients.
How to Make Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch
This isn’t difficult, you literally just blitz everything up in a blender! It’s so simple, and so fast. Feel free to adjust liquid for consistency and remember that dressing usually thickens a bit after standing. This copycat Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing will be your favorite condiment!
It’s obviously awesome on salads, and also as a dip for things like chicken fingers, veggies and steak fries. If you’re making our Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos, this is pretty much required to go along with them.
Related Recipes
If you love Cafe Rio/Costa Vida-type salads, you’ve got all of the ingredients to make an Our Best Bites version right here. Start with a fresh homemade tortilla, layer on some lime-cilantro rice (pineapple optional) and black beans, then some crispy romaine lettuce. Top with either taco chicken or lime-chili steak, some fresh Pico de Gallo and guacamole and quickly fried tortilla strips for the big finish. Smother it in this salad dressing or this vinaigrette and you’ve got a salad ready to send you to food heaven!
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Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: about 2 cups
Description
This Lime Cilantro Ranch is a tangy, flavorful must-have for all sorts of Latin food! From salads to taquitos to everything in between, this dressing (made from fridge and pantry staples) will become a favorite!
Ingredients
1-ounce package ranch dressing mix (ignore directions on package
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk (plus more if necessary to thin out the dressing)
1–2 limes (enough for 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice)
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/4 cup green salsa
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
Place buttermilk, mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and ranch mix in a blender. Add the garlic and green salsa and blend until smooth. Add the cilantro and pulse until the cilantro is well combined. Add hot sauce to taste. Chill for several hours before serving (if possible.)
- Prep Time: 10
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Latin
Questions & Reviews
This cilantro lime dressing is the best and the perfect compliment to your chicken taquitos! I have been making both of these recipes for years for family and friends, ALWAYS a favorite!!!!
Can you use reconstituted powdered buttermilk to make the buttermilk for this reciipe?
I’ve never tried it but I think it would be okay!
I’ve been using this recipe since you first published it, Sara. Always my go to when I do copycat Cafe Rio. It tastes eerily close to the house dressing, which my hubby and I always get when we’re able to go to a CR.
I sub the herbs from your homemade ranch dressing in this, and it tastes amazing every single time!!
I made this for probably the 10 time and realized that the recipe tells you to add garlic and cilantro and blend till smooth. Then add cilantro and pulse. I think you meant to write “ garlic and salsa” because salsa isn’t listed in the recipe but it’s in the ingredients.
Hi your directions are a little off and I didn’t notice until the next day when I forgot to add the salsa…. you say to add cilantro twice. Might want to fix that one. Great recipe though! I’m also wondering how much garlic as my cloves are giant and it still tasted so garlicy.
I love this recipe! I just use regular milk though and sometimes sub half the mayo for plain greek yogurt but it’s always delicious.
Can this be frozen? It makes a lot, and I hate wasting it!
No, but you can always cut the recipe in half.
Any substitutions for mayo???
I know some people use Greek yogurt instead of mayo. 🙂
You had me at La Victoria Salsa Verde’.. Love that stuff…
I make a copycat recipe for Taco Bell Meat.. like the old days.. and have Enchiritos, BellBeefers, Mexican Pizza’s, Etc…
I Love TB’s Green Sauce.. Most have it.. heard some dont.. :0)
La Victoria Salsa Verde tastes exactly like their Green Sauce..
I LOVE Bean Burritos with Green Sauce, and Sour Cream…
AND.. MAKING THIS DRESSING RIGHT NOW…
I tried this as it is written and have gotten rave reviews from everyone who has tried it. Have also tried it with kefir instead of part of the buttermilk and cottage cheese for the other part of the buttermilk and added a little chipotle pepper powder. It is great!
I just came upon this recipe last week (can’t believe I hadn’t discovered you guys until now) and I am already about to make my third batch. Thank you so much for sharing and can’t wait to try your other recipes!
Yaaaaay!! So glad you found us!!
Can I just kiss you ladies??!! I used this sauce on homemade steak street tacos tonight and it was beyond amazing!! Best tacos of my life because of this stuff ?. We’re making chicken tacos in a few days to use up the sauce- it’s sooooo good!!!
Yes! So glad you loved it!
Very very good ranch dressing. Puts the store bought ones to shame.
Love baking with little foil packets and especially with salmon. Copper River Salmon goes pretty quick as it’s season is gone before you can blink, but Costco usually carries it. This looks sensational. Thanks!
I just made this and it’s the best!!!! I never leave any comments but this really tastes just like the cafe rio ranch and I love it and want to eat with everything, thank you for sharing!!!
Very good article! We will be linking to this great post
on our site. Keep up the great writing.
Oh by the way I used skim milk and it still tasted fine
So happy to find a recipe that doesn’t involve me getting tomatillos myself! I love this recipe for the simplicity. It tastes very very very similar to the cafe rio tomatillo ranch dressing. Love it!
yay! finally a recipe that doesn’t call for fresh tomatillos! I love this dressing and sorely miss Cafe Rio but way out in the Atlantic where I now live no one has ever even heard of a tomatillo, let alone sells them.
I was just planning on trying to use the green salsa as a substitute and I’m so relieved to know it works 🙂
The RS sisters in my branch will be so happy when they eat this at our RS birthday dinner next week.
I love love love this dressing but it does make a lot. How long will it last in the fridge? Do you think I can freeze it?
Happy 2014! Do you have any dairy free recipes for creamy salad dressings? Thanks.
Just vinaigrette style dressings, you can find all of our dressings in our recipe index. Link is at the top of the page!
Oh my goodness! I prepared the creamy lime cilantro ranch dip this evening. It was so delicious!!
I had to stop myself from eating it. I also prepared ahead of time the creamy chicken taquitos, to have for dinner the next day. I thought preparing it the day before the ingredients would really make the dish more flavorful. A friend shared the recipe on Facebook, her son had made it. It looked so good I had to try it for myself. The dip/dressing could go with just about anything. I had something similar at a restaurant. This dip/dressing wins hands down! It is so good!
Does it matter if the ranch dressing mix is original buttermilk or milk recipe?
It doesn’t matter, but if you’re using the buttermilk mix then I’d use buttermilk in place of milk in this recipe as well.
I made this today n it was soooo yummy, instead of the hidden valley powder mix I just used hidden valley Ranch dressing n all the ingredients as follow n turned out great..I will also be trying this creamy cilantro sauce when I make some fish taco ill keep you posted!
We have made this twice now. It’s so yummy on the chili lime steak salad. All the family members raved about it including my toddler and almost five year old.
Made it. It was tasty. Very similar to the original.
I made this tonight with the Baked Tequitos – YUM!!!! Even my picky 5 year old ate it up! This is totally going on the rotation! :D…. I think I’m going to go get some of the sauce and try it with carrots, and maybe some chips… 😉