Healthy Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing
Southwest flavors in a healthy and delicious homemade ranch dressing… Healthy Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing uses fresh, healthy ingredients to complement your fresh salad ingredients, and gets its creaminess from nonfat Greek yogurt and lowfat buttermilk.
Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.
~~ Pablo Picasso
👩🏻🍳 Tamara Talks – About Homemade Ranch Dressing
Recipes are great, and learning to follow a recipe is a necessary first step in becoming an accomplished home cook. One of the main focuses of Beyond Mere Sustenance, however, is to encourage my readers to “learn the rules like a pro,” to facilitate moving beyond a recipe to using flavor profiles and a well-stocked pantry along with seasonal and fresh ingredients to create new and wonderful dishes.
Homemade salad dressings are one of the easiest and most forgiving places to start. This homemade ranch dressing takes only minutes to prepare, and you can take the basic “recipe” and customize it with different herbs and flavorings to complement whatever seasonal and fresh ingredients find their way into your salad bowl on a given night. Given the buttermilk and nonfat yogurt in the ranch, it’s a lightened up and healthier way to make ranch dressing.
So in reading through this post, and then in looking at the recipe, keep in mind that it is more instructional in nature, and the recipe is more of a template.
Lastly, I am now cooking for two most of the time. I usually cut the recipe in half. Creamy salad dressings don’t keep as long as vinaigrettes. On photo day, however, I had a couple of menus lined up that could use it, so this is the full recipe. It makes about 12 fluid ounces.
🎥 Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing Video
Enjoy my amateurish video!😂 This was my first video – way back in 2015. However, it does get the point across…
📋 Ingredients Notes
- buttermilk – Either lowfat or nonfat will work. If you don’t have a carton, add a tablespoon of lemon juice to the cup of milk.
- mayonnaise – I use olive oil mayonnaise. Use the mayonnaise you prefer.
- plain Greek yogurt – I use nonfat. The choice is yours.
- lime juice – Please use fresh!
- garlic – When I have time, I use roasted garlic. I’m not a fan of raw garlic. However, you can use minced raw garlic, smushed garlic, or even a little garlic powder.
- jalapeño – Serrano peppers will bump up the heat, but you can use them as well. Omit or reduce if spicy heat is an issue. If you’re fortunate enough to have Hatch green chile, use it! You’ll probably want half of a pepper.
- cilantro
- fresh chives – Shallot is the best substitute.
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
- So. Simple. Put the ingredients in a blender until smooth. It will keep for a few days in the refrigerator (if it lasts that long)!
❓FAQ
Creamy dressings will keep in your refrigerator for up to 5 days, but don’t last as long as vinaigrettes.
On photo day, I kept it simple – spinach, tomatoes, orange bell pepper, crumbled cotija, and toasted pepitas. I have added jicama, radishes, red onion, and avocado.
💡 Tips
A small food processor or a blender makes quick work of this easy salad dressing recipe! I love my Ninja for homemade vinaigrette and dressings!
I keep glass bottles on hand for my salad dressing recipes
Keep basic ingredients on hand for making great homemade salad dressings… things like plain Greek yogurt, lowfat buttermilk, olive oil, mayonnaise, and a couple of good vinegars. I typically have sherry, apple, wine, and rice vinegars.
This cilantro ranch dressing is featured in some of my other posts. Recently, I did Mexican bento boxes, and it’s great with fresh veggies or on a salad. Taco salad bowls, chorizo stuffed mushrooms, roasted pumpkin wedges, and a spinach salad with salmon patties pair well with it as well.
Cool? Have you made your own homemade salad dressings? If not, go look at the back of a bottle of dressing in your fridge. The list of ingredients may convince you!
Cilantro Lime Ranch Dressing Recipe
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Ingredients
Dressing
- 1 cup low fat buttermilk
- 2 tbsp. olive oil mayonnaise - (see notes)
- ¼ cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp. lime juice
- ½ tsp. minced garlic
- 1 jalapeno - stem and seeds removed, cut in chunks
- ½ cup cilantro leaves - stems removed
- several snips of fresh chives or 1 minced shallot
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- several grinds pepper
Instructions
Dressing
- Add all dressing ingredients to the bowl of your blender.
- Pulse 2-3 times. Give it a good shake. Repeat until smooth.
- Either toss with the salad, or serve in a cruet alongside the salad.
Salad
- Combine ingredients either in a large salad bowl, or divided among 4 salad plates. Garnish with pepitas.
Notes
Nutrition
NOTE: Macronutrients are an approximation only using unbranded ingredients and MyFitnessPal.com. Please do your own research with the products you’re using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
LOVE this recipe. Just shared as part of my Ranch Dressing Round Up today: http://teaspoonofspice.com/2015/05/ranch-dressing-recipe-round-up/
Thanks for including my recipe in your roundup! I do keep a bottle of commercial dressing on hand for when I’m extra short on time, but making dressings is so quick and easy, I rarely rely on it. Instead, I rely on a well-stocked pantry and refrigerator 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Home made dressing is the best! Can’t wait to try this one 🙂
Cool! I think you’ll like it 🙂