Homemade salad dressing doesn't come much easier than this! All you need is 5 minutes and 6 ingredients for the best creamy cilantro lime dressing.
Get ready for this easy creamy cilantro sauce! This dressing is bursting with the fresh flavors of cilantro, lime, and garlic!
When in a pinch, I'm all about store-bought salad dressing (I'm partial to all things Primal Kitchen), but sometimes life just calls for homemade! Plus, homemade dressing always tastes fresher and it's healthier for you!
Looking for more homemade dressings? Then you should for sure try this balsamic vinaigrette, homemade ranch dressing, lemon maple tahini dressing and maple Dijon vinaigrette.
How to Make Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Step 1: Add all ingredients to a food processor.
Step 2: Pulse on high for about 30 to 45 seconds, or until ingredients are fully blended. Note: you will still have some small pieces of cilantro in the finished dressing.
And there you have it.... easy creamy cilantro lime dressing/creamy cilantro sauce (call it what you will 😊)! Enjoy!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Dairy-free Greek Yogurt - you'll want to use plain and unsweetened Greek yogurt for this cilantro lime dressing recipe. And if you aren't dairy free, you can sub regular Greek yogurt.
I use Kite Hill dairy-free Greek yogurt, but any brand will work. I like Greek yogurt because of the thicker consistency, but regular yogurt will work too.
Avocado Oil - I use avocado oil, but you can sub extra-virgin olive oil in it's place if desired.
Limes - I definitely recommend using limes for fresh lime juice. Fresh lime juice tastes better and doesn't have any unnecessary preservatives👍
Sea salt - I like using fine sea salt for anything that requires salt, but regular table salt works too.
Why You'll Love this Dressing
DAIRY FREE - I use dairy-free Greek yogurt to get a nice creamy texture without the dairy.
EASY - seriously, all you need is 5 minutes, a food processor (or a blender), and 6 basic ingredients for this dressing!
MANY WAYS TO ENJOY - It's perfect for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, fajitas, quesadillas, salads, grilled chicken, grilled veggies... the list goes on!
Recipe FAQs
You can, but due to the small amount of liquid in this recipe, it might not blend up as well. You may end up with some larger pieces of cilantro in your dressing, but if you don't have a food processor, a small blender will work.
Store finished dressing in a mason jar, or other airtight container, in the fridge and it will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
Notes & Tips
Yogurt - If you don't have yogurt on hand, you can use a small avocado in place of the yogurt to keep the consistency of this creamy cilantro sauce.
Spice - If you like a little spice in your life, add in ¼ to ½ of a jalapeño (seeds and stems removed).
Sweetener - I think this dressing is so flavorful as is that I don't add any sweetener, but you could add 1-2 tsp. of honey to sweeten it up if desired.
More Recipes for You to Try!
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Eat Clean.Be Well!
-Sara
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (dairy free)
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Equipment
- food processor (or blender)
Ingredients
- 1 bunch cilantro (stems removed)
- ½ cup non-dairy Greek yogurt (plain and unsweetened)
- 1 large garlic clove
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 large limes)
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse on high for 30-45 seconds, or until ingredients are fully blended.
- If dressing is too thick for your liking, you can add additional oil to reach desired consistency. Taste and add more salt and/or garlic if needed.
- Pour into a mason jar, or other airtight container, and store in the fridge. Dressing will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you aren't dairy free, you can use regular Greek yogurt (plain/unsweetened).
- Remove cilantro from the larger stems. If a few of the smaller stems remain, that's okay.
- If you don't have a food processor, a blender will work. You may end up with some larger pieces of cilantro in the finished dressing when using a blender, but it will still work.
- Some of my favorite ways to enjoy this dressing is with tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, fajitas, quesadillas, salads, grilled chicken, and grilled veggies!
Nutrition
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Sean says
Can you use water instead of the Avocado oil?
Sara says
You could definitely try, but I don't know if it will turn out the same. The oil helps to tame the sourness from the lime juice as well as "suspend" the ingredients so they are evenly mixed. Since water isn't the same consistency, you may end up with a slightly different result, but I don't think it would be bad. If you do try, please let know how it turns out. Thanks!
Jaimee Young says
This would probably also be great with a little chopped/seeded jalapeno for a refreshing kick.
Sara says
Oh, it absolutely would!