Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing is bold, bright, and light, made with fresh herbs, lime juice, garlic, and sour cream. It’s the condiment you need for everything from salad to tacos!
A Zesty Herbal Salad Dressing, Ready in 5 Minutes!
One of my favorite kitchen tools is the food processor. Well, blender/food processor/immersion blender! They all make it so easy to create flavorful sauces and soups with wonderful texture! And this creamy cilantro lime dressing is one of the best.
If you are hankering for something refreshing, herbal, and tangy, this is it. Made with plenty of fresh cilantro, rich sour cream, and lime juice, it’s a wake-you-up sauce that’s equally good for dressing up a salad, tacos, dipping chicken strips, or serving over a burrito bowl. Seriously, add this to just about anything and see for yourself!
What Is Cilantro Lime Dressing Made Of?
My version of creamy cilantro lime dressing is ultra-simple. Every ingredient is there to boost the flavor and texture, and all of them are easy to find at most grocery stores. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fresh Cilantro: stems included!
- Sour Cream: For a rich, full dressing.
- Olive Oil: Extra virgin olive oil has the boldest taste, but you could use regular olive oil if you prefer.
- Fresh Garlic: For a little bite and pungency.
- Ground Coriander: This is a fragrant spice made of the seeds of the cilantro plant.
- Salt
- Jalapeño: Remove the seeds and membrane, and then mince the jalapeño if you want to have a little texture in your dressing. If you want it fully smooth texture wise, add the jalapeño to the food processor instead.
- Lime Juice: Fresh is best, but bottled is fine, too.
Can You Eat Cilantro Stems?
While it’s often more common to use cilantro leaves, the stems are also totally edible! However, tougher, thicker stems may not be as tasty as thin, tender stems. So keep that in mind, and feel free to trim away any old, thick stems.
How to Make It
Really, creamy cilantro lime dressing is so simple, you hardly need instructions! It’s a blend-and-serve recipe.
- Blend the First Five Ingredients. First, combine the cilantro, sour cream, olive oil, garlic, and coriander in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
- Add the Remaining Ingredients. Stir in the salt, lime juice and minced jalapeno. Taste the dressing, and adjust the seasoning as needed.
- Done! Serve or refrigerate the dressing.
Tips for Success
So there you have it: practically the perfect summer condiment, made in just five minutes. Cilantro and lime are such a dreamy combination! And these helpful tips will help guarantee a mouthwatering result.
- Sour Cream Substitutions: You could use plain yogurt, Greek yogurt, or a combination of cream cheese and milk to make this dressing creamy.
- Use It as a Marinade: Can you imagine how great some chicken, pork, or beef would taste marinated in this? Make your next grill out even better with creamy cilantro lime dressing.
- Add Avocado: Everyone’s favorite healthy fat goes perfectly in this recipe. Blend it right in for extra nutrition and flavor.
- Jalapeño: I like to mince the jalapeño and add it to the sauce after pureeing to give the sauce a little texture. If you want the sauce to be completely smooth, just add the jalapeño to the food processor with everything else! Remember to remove the seeds and membrane out of the jalapeño if you don’t want it super spicy!
- Use Dry Ingredients: Since this is not a cooked recipe, you can’t count on cooking out any extra water. Instead, make sure to pat your herbs and jalapeño dry to avoid mixing excess water into the dressing. This is a good tip for any salad or dressing recipe! You can always add more liquid to thin it out, but it’s a lot harder to thicken a dressing our sauce!
Yummy Serving Suggestions
You could serve this over so many things, but I think it really shines as an accompaniment to bold, fresh items like garden salads and grilled meats. These recipes are perfect examples of how to serve creamy cilantro lime dressing.
- Salad (of Course!): Upgrade a fresh garden salad, like Chicken Fajita Salad, with this bold, creamy dressing.
- Appetizers: Serve creamy cilantro dressing as a dipping sauce for all your favorite appetizers and snacks, including Homemade Chicken Empanadas and Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos!
- Steak: Grilled steak is amazing with a zesty sauce, so why not drizzle it over your next ribeye, or over these Grilled Steak Kebabs? Or how about my favorite juicy Grilled Flank Steak.
- Tacos: We also use this sauce a lot on tacos. I love it drizzled on my Blackened Fish Tacos or Carne Asada Tacos!
How to Store Cilantro Lime Dressing
You probably won’t use the whole batch of dressing in one meal, but no worries! This stores well in the fridge. Just keep it in a clean jar or airtight container, and refrigerate for up to 7 days.
Can I Freeze This? No. Sadly the sauce does not freeze well, it can separate once thawed.
More Flavorful Dressings and Sauces
Sometimes all a great dinner needs is a really good sauce! Here are a bunch of my very favorite sauces I use to take an easy dinner from good to great:
- Easy Homemade Tzatziki Sauce
- Greek Salad Dressing
- “Oh My!” Steak Sauce
- Basil Pesto Sauce
- Enchilada Sauce
- Easy Béarnaise Sauce
- Best Alfredo Sauce
- Best Honey Mustard Sauce
Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups fresh cilantro, stems included
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 small jalapeño, seeds/membrane removed, minced (optional)
- 2 limes, juiced
Instructions
- Place the cilantro, sour cream, olive oil, garlic, and coriander in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth.
- Add the salt, lime juice and minced jalapeño. Stir to combine.
- Use as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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