This is my knock-off version of a Costa Vida/Cafe Rio style dressing. I'm always getting asked for this recipe, so I finally wrote down what I do! There's millions 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 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 subtitution: Green salsa. Green salsa is made primarily from tomatillos and other things like jalapenos, limes, etc. And it's different than "green sauce" like Pace for example. Make sure to check the ingredient list and see that tomatillos are listed as the top ingredient. See my note below about the different brands. This is stuff I always have around so I can whip it up any time the craving comes along. And it comes along often! I love love love this dressing. I totally dip my finger in it when it sits around in my fridge. But don't worry- if I ever invite you over for dinner I'll make a fresh batch. I promise :)
Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing
Recipe by Our Best Bites
click to print recipe text only
1 pack (1oz) Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
ignore directions on the packet
1C mayo
1/2 C milk
1 lime
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 C roughly chopped cilantro
1/4 C green salsa*
hot sauce
This is tough folks. Place milk, mayo, and ranch mix in a blender. Juice the lime in there too, you should get about 2T juice. Toss in the garlic, cilantro and green salsa. Blend 'er up. Sample it and add hot sauce to taste. Make it several hours ahead of time to allow it to thicken.
*A note about green salsa:
There are several brands of green salsa available in most supermarkets and they have various degrees of heat. One of the most commonly seen brands is Herdez. Herdez brand is a lot spicier than any of the others I've tried. Even their medium green salsa is way too spicy for my liking. There's no way I could put the whole 1/4 C in my dressing like the recipe calls for (but then again, I'm a wuss.) I like to buy La Costena (pictured below) because their medium is actually really mild. That way I get all of the flavor of the tomatillos but I control the level of heat with the hot sauce. If you're not used to buying green salsa, make sure to sample it first before you put it in the dressing so you know what you're getting into!
I use this on salads, and also as a dip for things like chicken fingers, veggies and steak fries.
Do 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 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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I know that I would love this! I plan on giving it a try.
Thanks for posting that you use green salsa instead of tomatillos- I'm in a part of the world where there seems to be no tomatillos, so yay- now I can make this dressing!
This looks so good. Thanks I have dinner planned for tonight!
Mmmmmmmm I LOVE this dressing. Word to the wise... don't bother trying to make it with light mayo... it RUINS it!
I love it on salads and as a dipping sauce for flank steak... YUM!
I love this dressing at Cafe Rio and have tried other versions of the recipe. I like the substitution you made with the salsa and no tomatillos - can't wait to try it! Thanks!
I completely understand why you would want to drink this stuff - pour me a glass!
Oh, yum. Gotta try this.
Do you have a fresh salsa recipe? I bet it's amazing.
I've made the dressing with tomatillos and love it, but this does look much easier.
I'm making 20 pounds of Bajio chicken for a RS dinner tomorrow, so I might just have to buy some of that green salsa-thanks for the idea!
That is one tasty dressing!
Mmmm, Cafe Rio! Any ideas on their enchilada sauces? Like the medium green sauce that they do? I need that so I can make me a smothered burrito.
Kara, I have a recipe for the sauce that's pretty similar! Shoot me an email and I'll send it to you! :)
This sounds perfect for a good ceviche!!
I'm going to keep this in mind! It looks awesome.
I've seen several recipes for this type of dressing--yours could be the winner! I haven't had luck with tomitillos so this could be the answer! Thanks!
I'm totally with you when it comes to using tomatillos! I'm excited to try this version of it. Sure sounds good!!
Just wanted to say that I found your site through foodgawker- and I LOVE THIS DRESSING- I put it on a salad of romaine, red onions, and oven roasted grape tomatoes and fresh jalepeno slices- it was absolutely heavenly. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Do you actually use a 1 oz. pkg of dressing or a 0.4 oz. pkg?
Melanie-
It's just the normal ol' pack of ranch dressing. Is it .4oz?? I swear I looked at the package when I wrote out the recipe! I may have made a typo- I'm not home right now to double check, but you could totally be right. If it's just the normal sized one from the grocery store (I think it only comes in one size) then you've got the right one! I'll double check that and fix the recipe when I get home again.
okay, I think I figured out this little conundrum! The different "styles" of Hidden Valley Ranch packets have different weights/volumes. So it doesn't really matter, you just need one regular packet. The instructions should call for 1 cup liquid (either milk or buttermilk) and one cup mayo. It looks to me like the regular ranch mix is 1 oz and the buttermilk mix is .4
I LOVE this! It was a hit at my party! Thanks so much.
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!
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.
oops, I didn't mean to call you Olivia- you just told me you were Sara! lol
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!
Fantastic dressing!! I couldn't believe the restaurant taste :)
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!
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:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2009/07/pork-tenderloin-with-chimichurri.html
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'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!
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.
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!
Anne-
I have been meaning to try it with my ranch, but I have yet to do so! I'm sure it will work great. If I were you, I would just cut the buttermilk down a bit, maybe in half, and then add more in if the dressing is too thick. Let me know how it turns out, I'm interested to know!
Hello, I was just googling for the medium enchilada sauce recipe from Cafe Rio, and it brought up your blog. I see here you may have a recipe. May I have it? That would be awesome...my email is gelasattetc@hotmail.com. Thanks!
If someone does have the recipe for Cafe Rio's medium enchilada sauce, I would be SO SO SO happy if you could send it to me! my e-mail is srglause@yahoo.com
Hi, Sica! The link to the green enchilada sauce is here:
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/03/green-enchilada-sauce.html
Hope that helps! :)
YUMMY! Any chance of a recipe for the vinaigrette?
I made the dressing it came out great. I also made for dinner shrimp scampi with linguine.. I forgot the salad fixings at the store so I thought I could pour some of the dressing over the shrimp pasta dish. It was AMAZING....
This dressing is AMAZING! I didn't use the hot sauce, however, because the green salsa that I was able to find at my grocery store was pretty hot. I will never stop making this, thanks for the recipe! :)
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