This tangy cilantro lime dressing is destined for your next taco salad. Enjoy it as a vinaigrette, or add avocado or Greek yogurt to make it creamy!
This cilantro lime dressing is the perfect summer salad dressing – it’s tangy, it’s herbaceous, and it’s so yummy drizzled over summer salads, grilled veggies, and more. The best part about it this dressing? It can be made 3 ways! Once you make the cilantro lime dressing, serve it as-is, add Greek yogurt to make a creamy ranch-like dressing (pictured in the middle above), or add avocado to make a thick, creamy sauce (pictured left above).
Let’s get started!
Cilantro Lime Dressing Ingredients
I make this dressing in the food processor so that the cilantro gets finely chopped and the dressing becomes emulsified. It takes minutes to blend together, and these 7 ingredients make it zesty & bright:
- Cilantro is the star of the show. It makes the dressing super fresh and green.
- Garlic adds a little bite.
- Lime juice makes it tangy.
- Maple syrup or honey calms and balances the sharp, tangy flavors.
- Ground coriander is one of my go-to ingredients when I’m using cilantro & lime, and it gives this dressing extra depth of flavor.
- Sea salt makes the flavors pop.
- And extra-virgin olive oil adds richness and ties it all together.
That’s it! Just pulse it together (I try not to blend it too long so that it still has pretty flecks of green), and your dressing will be ready for salads, burrito bowls, tacos, and more.
Variations of cilantro lime dressing:
I while I love the vinaigrette version of this dressing, I like to change it up from time to time, depending on what I’m craving and what I’m making. I like to make creamy cilantro lime dressing two different ways: with yogurt and with avocado.
A creamy Greek yogurt variation has a similar consistency to ranch or a buttermilk dressing – it’s lightly creamy and not too thick. To make it, simply add 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt to the food processor along with the other ingredients.
A creamy avocado cilantro lime dressing is thicker than the Greek yogurt version. I love to serve it alongside burritos as a dipping sauce or put big, thick dollops on a taco salad. To make it, add 1 avocado to the food processor with the base dressing recipe, and blend!
Make it spicy by adding a bit of jalapeño or a few pickled jalapeños.
What to Serve with Cilantro Lime Dressing
This dressing is a great one to keep on hand in the fridge. It adds a bright, zesty pop to simple green salads as well as DIY burrito bowls made with cilantro lime rice, black beans, veggies, pico de gallo, guac, and mango salsa.
It would also be delicious drizzled or scooped onto:
- Portobello Burrito Bowls
- Breakfast Burritos
- Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowl
- Vegetarian Tacos (use in place of the tomatillo sauce)
- Breakfast Tacos (use in place of the salsa)
- Grilled Vegetable Kabobs
- Avocado Toast
- Oven Roasted Potatoes
- Veggie Fajitas
- Quesadillas
If you love this cilantro lime dressing recipe…
Try more of my favorite sauces like these tahini sauces, this citrus salad dressing, this chipotle sauce, tomatillo salsa, pesto, tzatziki, healthier Caesar dressing, or the carrot ginger dressing in this recipe.
Cilantro Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cilantro
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Make it creamy (optional):
- 1 avocado or ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
Instructions
- In a food processor, place the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, maple syrup, coriander, and salt and pulse to combine. With the blade running, pour in the olive oil and process until smooth.
- Make it creamy (optional) - blend with 1 avocado or ½ cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
How do you measure cilantro in a cup? Can you tell me how much 2 cups of cilantro weighs?
Hi Marilyn, we loosely pack the cilantro leaves and stems into the cup. We don’t have a weight measurement now, but we can follow up the next time we’re making this dressing.
I have made this dressing without any avocado or yogurt. I had a 30 gram packet of fresh cilantro and estimated that it was about a cupful, so I halved all the other ingredients except the garlic. It was delicious. I will save this recipe to make again in the future.
I’m so glad you loved the dressing! Thanks for letting us know how it came out.
Do you trim the stems from the cilantro? I see a few comments on here complaining of bitterness. I’m wondering if they are using the cilantro with the stems and that’s what’s making it bitter.
Hi Sheldon, I don’t trim them, I use the stems all the time and I don’t find them to be bitter.
So good!
I added some jerk seasoning instead of the ground coriander. Busha Browne’s traditional jerk seasoning rub I found at Wegman’s. Adds a little spicy aftertaste.
I do not have limes available this time of year. Could I use Meyer lemon in this recipe to substitute?
Hi Lisa, yep, you could, though the flavor profile will be a bit different. We also have this lemon dressing recipe on the site that you might enjoy!
Looks delicious! How long would you say it woul keep for in the fridge?
Hi Katherine, I keep it up to 5 days.
I have made this dressing and just eaten it with a spoon… With nothing else… That’s just how good it is!!
Ha, I’m so glad you loved it!
This recipe is SO GOOD! I used avocado oil instead of olive oil (substituted it just 1:1) and I didn’t have any bitterness with it, and could eat this by the spoonful! I will never buy dressing again for Mexican salads / tacos / dishes that we make. This is fantastic!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This was a lovely way to use my cilantro bunch from my farm box, thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you loved it!
I haven’t made the sauce yet, but wondering if it freezes well.
Hi Gillian, I think it would freeze fine – the regular recipe, not the yogurt or avocado versions.
Such a delicious dressing! i added greek yogurt to make it creamy. it was a bit pungent when i first tasted it with a spoon but once i added it quite liberally to a corn/black bean salad – woah!!!! all the flavours came together and it was soooo good! 5 🌟
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
i am cuban and puerto rican so i measure with my heart rather than actual measurements lol BUT this turned out absolutely phenomenal. i had everything except coriander, it is so fresh and light and tasty. definitely will be making again! i am very picky with dressings since most are mayo based so finding this recipe was a gem!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
How long will it last in fridge?
up to about 5 days.
About 5 days! Not in my house, unless I make it by the gallon. LOL Delicious!! All 3 variations! Double the star ratings. And wait until you use it to marinate chicken or fish!!
Ha, I’m glad to hear it doesn’t last long 🙂
Hi, I love this recipe. I’m always an adder. I added 2T of fresh toasted peacans. It made it a little crunchy and brought out all of your flavors. It was a little bitter at first, could have been older limes. I added avocado for the creaminess. Thanks for this wonderful recipe.
Hi Nichole, it can be the oil, not that it’s bad, but some are more fruity than others. I find the bitterness disappears once I put the dressing on something vs. tasting it with a spoon. I’m glad you enjoyed!
If adding the avocado in , does it need to be used immediately? Will the avocado turn if not used right away?
Hi John, I used it within 1 to 2 days. The lime will keep it from turning brown right away but it won’t last super long.
Looks like a great recipe but I’m wondering if I could replace the Cilantro with parsley? As much as I would love to like Cilantro my tongue just won’t let me!
Hi Carol, I haven’t tried with parsley – I would go make our chimichurri instead: https://www.loveandlemons.com/chimichurri-sauce/
I am so glad I found this recipe! I have made it twice in the last week for salads. So delicious served over greens with peppers, tomatoes, sweet corn and black beans. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This sauce was great!! I added avocado as suggested to make it creamier. It was a hit with all of my housemates! I made this to go along with burrito bowls (rice, black beans, corn, etc) and the cilantro lime sauce really brought it all together. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m so glad everyone loved it!
Thanks Lydia for the cilantro-lime dressing. Great idea!
Dad
I loved this and it was a hit at a party. It was too salty for my taste, so I fixed it with a bit more maple syrup. Next time I would probably use half the salt, especially if adding salty things to the salad like cheese, corn chips, olives, etc.
Turned out a bit bitter Was it the lime or the use of dark maple syrup ?
Hi, it could be the oil. I would either add more sweetness to fix it, or just try it on the dish you’re serving it with vs. tasting it on a spoon. It can be pungent before it’s mixed with other things.