This Cilantro Lime Dressing is a blend of sweet, sour, and tart. You’ll love the mix of flavors, and it goes great on almost any salad.
You’ll definitely want to try this dressing on our Cilantro Lime Salmon Salad and this Spinach Salad.
Table Of Contents
Recipe Details
This Cilantro Lime Dressing is perhaps the tastiest dressing I’ve ever had. It has such a unique flavor that will complement any spring salad. After making this recipe, I actually kept tasting it straight out of the bottle… Yeah, it’s that good!
- TASTE: This dressing blends tart, sweet, and sour flavors together to make a truly flavorful addition to your salad.
- TEXTURE: Smooth and thin, this dressing will perfectly coat your salad ingredients.
- TIME: It takes 5 minutes to make.
- EASE: This is a simple recipe that is so easy to prepare. You can even make extra to store in the fridge to save time later.
What You’ll Need
Ingredient Notes
- Garlic- Fresh garlic adds great flavor that really goes well with the lime and cilantro
- Limes- These add a citrusy flavor. They can’t be substituted with lemons.
- Vinegar- This adds a little tartness. White vinegar has the most neutral flavor.
- Honey- The sweetness of the honey balances the sour/tart notes.
- Cilantro- This makes the dressing taste so fresh, so no dried herbs here.
- Grapeseed Oil- It acts as a binder for all the ingredients.
Add-ins and Substitutions
- Add avocado- By blending in a ripe avocado, you add another dimension to the flavor and a creamy texture that goes great in salads.
- Substitute the honey- Make this Cilantro Lime Dressing vegan by using maple syrup in place of the honey.
- Add some heat- Adding jalapeno or cayenne pepper to the dressing will give it a spicy flavor.
- Add plain yogurt- Making this dressing with plain Greek yogurt adds protein and gives it a tangy flavor and thicker consistency.
How to Make Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Combine garlic, lime, honey, and vinegar. Add these ingredients together in a small beaker and stir.
- Add the cilantro. Chop the cilantro and add it to the other ingredients. Blend well with an immersion blender, or whatever tool you prefer.
- Slowly add the oil. While blending on low speed, slowly add the oil in, whisking briskly as you do.
- Season. Once all the oil is well-blended, season the cilantro lime dressing with salt and pepper to taste.
Pro Tip: By adding the oil while quickly whisking the other ingredients, the oil is able to emulsify and bring everything together, so keep that whisk going.
Recipe Tips
- Use good-quality oil– Oil is an important factor in flavor here, so make sure to use a high-quality, light-tasting oil, like grapeseed, avocado, or olive oil.
- Don’t refrigerate the limes– Keep the limes at room temperature since the fridge strips them of their incredible flavor.
- Use chopped cilantro– Chopping the cilantro before adding it into the blender makes it blend better and faster.
- Don’t overmix the oil– Emulsify the oil gradually (in a thin stream) or it will mix too fast and thicken up.
FAQs
There is a sweetener in cilantro lime dressing, though it’s not always sugar. This recipe uses honey, but you can also sweeten it with maple syrup, agave syrup, or orange juice.
Extra virgin olive oil has a slightly bitter aftertaste, but if you use a neutral tasting oil, such as avocado oil or grapeseed oil, your dressing should lose its bitterness.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious and fresh Cilantro Lime Dressing is great on salads, sandwiches, pastas, and with proteins. Serve it with all your favorites, or try some of the recipes below.
- Meats: Marinate or drizzle on top of different proteins, such as this Juicy Air Fryer Chicken Breast, Garlic Butter Steak Bites, Air Fryer Pork Chops (VIDEO), and Baked Breaded Chicken Cutlets.
- Salad: Add this to a Spinach Salad, Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad, Antipasto Salad, or Smoked Salmon Spinach Salad.
- Sandwiches: Drizzle this on your favorite sandwich, like this Turkey Croissant Sandwich, Caprese Sandwich, Leftover Turkey Sandwich, or Classic BLT Sandwich.
- Pasta: Toss your favorite noodles in this Cilantro Lime Dressing. Or try it on dishes like this Asparagus Pasta, Chicken Pasta Salad, or Easy Pasta Primavera.
Make This Recipe in Advance
Make ahead: You can make this dressing a few days ahead and store it in the fridge. It’s really convenient to have on hand when you feel like a salad.
Storing: This Cilantro Lime Dressing will last for 5 days in the refrigerator. Keep it in a tightly sealed container so that the flavors stay fresh.
Freeze: While you can freeze this dressing for up to 2 months, the color changes and it’s not as appealing.
More Tasty Salads and Dressings!
Full Recipe Instructions
Cilantro Lime Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 4 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 3/4 cup grape seed oil or any other light tasting oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- In a small beaker, combine minced garlic, lime juice, vinegar, and honey.
- Give it a quick stir, then add in the roughly chopped cilantro and blend well. (I used an immersion blender).
- As you blend the dressing over low speed, slowly add in the grapeseed oil. Adding the oil in while briskly mixing will help properly emulsify the dressing. Once the oil is well blended, add in the salt and pepper.
Notes
- Use good-quality oil– Oil is an important factor in flavor here, so make sure to use a high-quality, light-tasting oil, like grapeseed, avocado, or olive oil.
- Don’t refrigerate the limes– Keep the limes at room temperature since the fridge strips them of their incredible flavor.
- Use chopped cilantro– Chopping the cilantro before adding it into the blender makes it blend better and faster.
- Don’t overmix the oil– Emulsify the oil gradually (in a thin stream) or it will mix too fast and thicken up.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on May 28, 2015, but we have tweaked it a bit since then.
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Elizabeth Lewis says
This dressing is one of a kind delicious. Will be adding avocado one time.
simplyhomecooked says
Thank you, Elizabeth. Its truly addictive and goes well with so many different salads.
Laura says
This is AMAZING. Yum!!! My husband made this the first time a few weeks back and I just made it again. We don’t have an immersion blender so we just mixed it in the traditional blender we have on low speed, which works perfectly. This is sooooo delicious! I’ve served it on salads with other friends or gatherings and everyone loves it.
simplyhomecooked says
I’m so happy to hear that Laura! I always love to hear feedback like this on my recipes 🙂 I am glad that this cilantro dressing is now part of your regular recipes at home 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to write this review!
Jenya says
Hi Dina!
Do you think it would be ok to sub the grapeseed oil with olive oil for example?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Jenya, you can most definitely substitute the grapeseed oil with olive oil.
Liz says
Hi, I recently came by your site not long ago and everything looks so good. I made 3 things from your list already and am very eager to try more! This dressing tastes pretty amazing I got to admit, I have so much left over still and just wondering what salads you pair with this dressing. Hope to hear soon.
simplyhomecooked says
Liz, you are so sweet, thank you! I pair this dressing with a variety of salads. It can go with almost anything. I like it with romaine lettuce, red onion, corn, and red bell peppers. Its super simple, but so delicious!