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
Does this recipe freeze well; and if so for how long?
Shawna, I don’t think ranch dressing freezes very well, but who knows- I’ve never tried it!
Is this recipe similar to El Pollo Loco’s recipe? I’ve never eaten at Cafe Rio (where is it BTW?) but it sounds delish! I love El Pollo Loco’s recipe but the only one who claimed they were close was charging for the recipe and I’m just not willing to pay, even if its only $0.79.
Not sure Kelly, never eaten there. Sorry!
Since this is one of my favorite salad dressings ever, I “healthified” it so I can have it guiltlessly on my salads all the time. I use 1/2 cup of mayo and 1/2 cup of plain 2% Greek yogurt. It is just as creamy and delicious, and quite a bit lower in calories and fat without having that nasty taste that some low fat dressings can have. I haven’t dared to go 100% Greek (and no mayo) yet, but I’m thinking I’ll give it a try with my next batch.
This is the best dip I have ever had. It is so versatile; I use it for tacos, chips, veggies and I’m guilty of eating it just by the spoonful. I would highly recommend this dip!
Using this dressing with your Taco Chicken is excellent. Have you come up with anything similar to Cafe Rio’s pork barbecoa? (I think I spelled that right) I just LOVE that stuff!
This is a random question, but is it possible to make this with dried cilantro? As strange as it is, I am allergic to fresh, but can eat dried cilantro. Thanks for you help and all your great recipes!
Miriam, you certainly could. It definitely will taste different, but if you have an allergy to the fresh stuff, go for it. Generally the rule of thumb is to use 1 part dry for every 3 parts fresh. I would start with that and then add more if you need to for flavor (and I suspect you will need a bit more).
YUM! I wanted to point out to anyone who might make the same mistake I did the first time…it’s important to use DRESSING mix & not the ranch DIP mix. The 1st time I made this recipe I grabbed the dip mix, which has 1 oz. in the envelope & is typically mixed w/ 2 cups sour cream, instead of the DRESSING mix, which has .4 oz & is typically mixed w/ 1 cup mayo. The DIP mix made it WAY TOO salty, and I love salt. Go with the dressing mix as stated in the recipe & it’ll be a HIT!
P.S. I think it would be great made as a dip with the DIP mix, but use 2 cups sour cream or mayo mixture to dilute all that salt in the DIP mix. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your awesome recipes!
when you say to juice the lime in there too. Do you mean to just throw the whole thing in? Do I fish out the rind? Help!
No Jennifer, just extract the lime juice and add it to the dressing 🙂
has anyone tried this with sour cream. i HATE mayonnaise. can’t eat anything that contains it! thanks.
I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to make this (I’ve made the chicken tacquitos numerous times) but Oh My. I had to exert some serious self control to drink this from a glass. This is definitely one if my faves on your site!