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
Try this to make it healthier! i made these substitutions and no one was the wiser 🙂
Silken Soft Tofu instead of milk and only 1/8 a cup of mayo. 10X’s healthier and equally as tasty!!!
Thanks for the recommendation on the green salsa – I went looking for green salsa both for this and your creamy taquitos and couldn’t figure out what to get – I am also a wuss and they didn’t have any labeled as mild and I didn’t want to pay for something that I wouldn’t be able to eat. So excited to try this dip now (lol – I couldn’t wait for the taquitos and just ended up making it with regular salsa – still good – and they froze really well – I made a triple batch and ate the rest for lunches for the next month! Plus my kids really loved them too)
Thanks again for this great site and great recipes!
I have been missing Cafe Rio since moving to the east ( ok Utah a bit ;), and have made this dressing before..the harder way with the tomatillo’s and all that. The green sauce and the packet of ranch is not only easier, it tastes the same if not better!! Love it! Thanks!
My husband classified this with my chicken spaghetti and nothing has ever compared to that! This is so good and I have made 2 batches in 4 days! It is so delish on everything! We rubbed it on corn on the cob and dipped our green beans in it. I’m even guilty of putting it on my hotdog! It is so addictive!
WOW!!! I have eaten at Cafe Rio several times and I can’t ever get enough of their dressing. This recipe is the closest recipe to the Cilantro lime ranch at Cafe Rio. Thank you!!!
Not sure if I missed this somewhere…but is there any idea how long it will keep? I’m only one person!! But it’s not worth wasting the cilantro to make a smaller batch!
A week or two? There’s no exact time- you’ll just have to eyeball it 🙂
I just wanted to say I love your blog! I’m planning to make the lime chile steak salad and the apple pecan gorgonzola salad this weekend! Your tips and recommendations/comments are very helpful as well!
Thanks so much!
Kelly Shinton, Registered Dietitian
I made this last night to go on my homemade Cafe Rio-style taco salads and it was fabulous! I have to say I was a bit skeptical that it would taste the same as the real thing, but it was every bit as good, if not better. I’m definitely keeping this recipe around. Thanks!
I had some leftover homemade buttermilk ranch dressing that I made a couple of days ago. I simply added the same amounts of cilantro, garlic, lime juice and green salsa and blended it. My family stuffed themselves on the Fish Tacos that I served it over tonight. LOVE this. Thanks so much!
I didn’t have enough mayo so I added cream cheese with it an yummy!!I was out of fresh cilantro but I had some y’all may see in tubes that is like a paste you squeeze out. Not as flavorfull as the fresh but way better than dry. LOVE this dressing! I had it with southwestern chicken wings.