Cafe Rio Dressing

No wonder Cafe Rio Dressing is all the rage here in the States — is there anything better than this creamy cilantro-lime dressing?! Our flavor-packed restaurant copycat version is ridiculously easy to make. (Throw it all in the blender and let it whirl!)

Our Favorite Copycat Cafe Rio Dressing

 Cafe Rio is an American casual restaurant chain started in Salt Lake City, Utah, and has branched out all across the country. Its specialty is Mexican cuisine and it is known (among other things) for sweet pork and creamy cilantro ranch dressing. The pork with saucy black beans and Mexican rice on a bed of lettuce with loads of this dressing is unbeatable — one of my favorites! (If you know about Chipotle, but haven’t heard of Cafe Rio, the two are very similar.)

As far as I know, there isn’t anywhere you can buy Cafe Rio Dressing, and so I’ve resorted to creating my own. This one gets the stamp of approval from the kiddos and my husband and everyone I’ve served it to says it tastes identical — score!

Cafe Rio Dressing Ingredients

The ingredients in this Cafe Rio Cilantro-Lime Dressing are fairly straightforward, but I’ll break them down below, along with a few specific ingredient tips:

• Packaged ranch mix. We love the original Hidden Valley® ranch seasoning mix best (not the buttermilk mix which tastes a little different). Other brands just haven’t lived up to the flavor of Hidden Valley (not sponsored).
• Mayo. A good, high-quality, full-fat mayonnaise is going to deliver the best flavor. Hellmann’s/Best Foods® is hands-down my favorite brand.
• Sour cream. We’ve used both low-fat and regular sour cream — there’s not too much of a flavor difference. Greek yogurt is too tangy for our preference.
• Cilantro. Fresh cilantro stems — just pinch off half a bunch and loosely measure — are great and have loads of flavor as well.
• Garlic. Use already minced for a quicker prep time
• Lime juice and zest. Use a microplane and a citrus reamer or this citrus juicer to make getting lime zest and juice quick and easy.
• Jalapeño. If you’re sensitive to spice, leave out the seeds; and if you love heat, add them in! 
• Salsa verde. Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing has tomatillos in it, but salsa verde adds tomatillo flavor without extra prep. Plus, you can use the leftovers in this salsa verde soup!
• Buttermilk. This is the perfect finishing touch to this dressing. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use regular milk (or a “DIY” buttermilk) instead– but promise me you’ll try it with real buttermilk at some point! 🙂 

How To Make Cafe Rio Salad Dressing

This recipe is as easy as throwing everything in a blender and letting it whirl. That said, the secret to a creamy, thick dressing is to blend the ingredients in stages. If the mayo and sour cream are blended with everything else, it will make the dressing much too thin.

Break up the blending into three different phases and be amazed by the results!

More Mexican-Inspired Favorites

• Mexican Zucchini Boats with ground turkey
• Loaded Sweet Potatoes with a Mexican street corn-inspired topping
• Pozole made in 30 minutes or less!
• Chicken Tacos with a tasty avocado-corn salsa
• Mexican Quinoa made in the slow cooker

SaveSaved Pin Print

5 from 10 votes

Cafe Rio Dressing

By Chelsea Lords

Cafe Rio Dressing is a copycat version of the restaurant famous creamy cilantro-lime dressing.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Equipment

• Blender or food processor

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons ranch seasoning mix
• ▢ 3/4 cup lightly packed cilantro
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1 lime
• ▢ 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped jalapeño see note 1
• ▢ 1/4 cup salsa verde see note 2
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup mayo
• ▢ 1/2 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

Instructions 

• Zest lime with a zester to get 1 teaspoon zest. Juice lime using a citrus juicer to get 2 tablespoons lime juice. Set aside. In a blender or food processor, combine the dry ranch mix, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, zest, jalapeño, salsa verde, salt, and pepper. Blend until well combined.
• Add in mayo and sour cream. Blend until incorporated, don't over blend or mix. Finally, add in the buttermilk and pulse just enough to mix through. If you'd like a thinner dressing, add a few additional tablespoons of buttermilk until you reach desired consistency.
• Taste and add any additional seasonings to preference. Chill until ready to serve. As you chill the dressing the flavors intensify!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: If you're sensitive to spice, leave out the seeds of the jalapeño, and if you love heat, add them in! Add slowly; you can always blend in more if you'd like more heat.

Note 2: Salsa verde is made from tomatillos, but the tomatillos are typically roasted or browned to get more flavor before being blended into a salsa. By using the salsa, you can have a superior tomatillo flavor with no extra work on your end. Alternatively, coarsely chop 1 tomatillo and throw it in the blender for this dressing.

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 5–7 days and give it a good stir or shake before using it again. It will thicken as it sits in the fridge, so thin it with additional buttermilk.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 96kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 181IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this? Leave a comment below!