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.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Ranch dressing mix – Just the dry packet of mix, ignore the directions on the package. 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.
- Mayonnaise – I personally use Best Foods/Hellmann’s. 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.
- Buttermilk
- Fresh 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.
- Fresh garlic
- Green salsa
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce
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!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 5-7 days for best results.
- This dressing is obviously awesome on salads, but 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Use salsa verde or tomatillo-based green salsa. In a pinch I’ve even used green enchilada sauce!
Yep. In fact, the flavors develop even more after a few hours in the fridge, making it an ideal dressing to prep a day in advance.
Only if you want it to be! You determine the level of spice with the spice rating on your salsa and any additional hot sauce you might add.
Dairy based recipes like this usually do not freeze well and separate upon thawing. This one is best enjoyed fresh!
Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1- ounce package ranch dressing mix ignore directions on package
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ 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
- ¼ cup green salsa
- ½ 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).
Notes
- Store finished dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 5-7 days for best results.
- This dressing is obviously awesome on salads, but 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.
Questions & Reviews
Have you ever made this with your own ranch dressing? (which we're newly addicted to, btw. I used to make my own ranch with fresh herbs but yours is SO much easier–and way tasty!) And if so, how much? I have a newly made batch o' ranch in the fridge and would like to try this sans using a packet mix. I guess I'll just experiment, but wondered if you had already! Planning on making the taquitos tonight!
This is so funny that I found this recipe on your blog today. I make a similar one, but with buttermilk instead of milk. I'm glad to see that regular milk works.
I've tried a lot of knock-offs of Cafe Rio's dressing, and this one is by far the closest… almost hard to tell the difference! Not to mention the green salsa is a HUGE convenience factor.
Amazing.
Thank you!
Shayla- so glad I'm not the only once addicted to this! To answer your questions:
1. don't pick off the leaves of the cilantro, just bundle it all up and cut it stems and all. Just stop cutting when you get about 2/3 of the way down, or when you start seeing more stem than leaf. There's a good picture (of parsley, but same concept) in this chimichurri post:
https://fit-over50.news/2009/07/pork-tenderloin-with-chimichurri.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
2. You are welcome to use our pictures, as long as you say they came from our site and you place a link back here. Steal away!
I can't get enough of this stuff. Seems like I'm making it every other week. Question about the cilantro: Do you mostly try to use only the leafy part, or are the stems equally as good if you're gonna blend it all up anyway?
Another question. How do you feel about people stealing pictures from your blog? I'd like to put a link to this recipe on my own blog and thought a picture would be nice. I could easily take one of my own, but it's not going to look nearly as yummy as this one of your pitcher of dressing sitting on a blanket lime and cilantro goodness!
Fantastic dressing!! I couldn't believe the restaurant taste 🙂
Wow, this dressing is so good! My husband wants salad every night just so he can eat more of this dressing!
I did make one small adjustment because I'm weird about large amounts of mayo- I subbed half of it with fat-free plain greek yogurt and it was so amazing, and a tiny bit better for us. 🙂
Thanks for the great recipe; it is already a new staple in my kitchen!
oops, I didn't mean to call you Olivia- you just told me you were Sara! lol
Oh ya Olivia, it's definitely good for a week, even longer actually. Although I can't tell you how much longer because it doesn't last very long in our house! I'm so glad you like it.
hi sara! i'm a sara too and i love LOVE this dressing! i have finally been able to get my picky family to eat salad! two nights in a row even! :O amazing! lol
Question – how long does the salad dressing last once it's made? I would like to make a double batch and eat it at the beginning of the week and then the weekend… any ideas?
Thanks!