Easy way to make Cilantro Lime Dressing (Perfect for Tacos)

• Food: Cilantro Lime Dressing 
• Writer: Lizzie Green
• Content-Type: Food Blog

This zesty cilantro lime dressing is perfect for taco salads. Serve it as a vinaigrette or make it creamy by adding avocado or Greek yogurt.

This  is the ideal summer salad dressing: it’s zesty, herbaceous, and delicious drizzled over salads, grilled vegetables, and more. What’s the nicest thing about this dress?

It can be prepared in three different ways! Serve the cilantro-lime dressing plain, with Greek yogurt for a creamy ranch-style dressing, or with avocado for a thick, creamy sauce.

Let’s get this party started!

Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Dressing

This vinaigrette is made in a food processor, which finely chops the cilantro and emulsifies the dressing. It only takes a few minutes to put together, and these seven ingredients give it a zesty, brilliant flavor:

• Cilantro is the show-stopper. It gives the dressing a really fresh and green appearance.
• Garlic lends a little zing to the dish.
• It’s tart because of the lime juice.
• The harsh, acidic flavors are calmed and balanced by maple syrup or honey.
• When I use cilantro and lime, I use ground coriander as one of my go-to spices, and it adds a layer of flavor to this dressing.
• The flavors are brought to life by the addition of sea salt.
• Extra-virgin olive oil provides richness and unifies the dish.

That’s it! Simply pulse it all together (I try not to blend it too long so that the green specks remain) and your dressing is ready to use on salads, burrito bowls, tacos, and more.

Variation of Cilantro Lime Dressing

While I prefer the vinaigrette form of this dressing, I like to experiment with it from time to time, depending on what I’m eating and what I’m making.

Creamy can be made in two ways: with yogurt or with avocado.

• The consistency of a creamy Greek yogurt dressing is similar to ranch or buttermilk dressing — it’s softly creamy and not too thick. To create it, simply combine 1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt with the remaining ingredients in a food processor.
• The avocado cilantro lime dressing has a thicker consistency than the Greek yogurt variant. I like to use it as a dipping sauce for burritos or to put big, thick dollops on a taco salad. To create it, mix 1/2 avocado with the base dressing recipe in a food processor.
• Add a little jalapeno or a few pickled jalapeos to make it spicy.

Serving Suggestions for Cilantro Lime Dressing

This is a nice dressing to have on hand in the fridge. Simple green salads, as well as DIY burrito bowls made with cilantro lime rice, black beans, veggies, pico de gallo, guac, and mango salsa, benefit from its bright, zesty flavor.

It’d also be fantastic drizzled or scooped over:

• Burrito Bowls with Portobello Mushrooms
• Burritos for Breakfast
• Rice with Cauliflower Vegetarian Tacos in a Burrito Bowl (use in place of the tomatillo sauce)
• Tacos for Breakfast (use in place of the salsa)
• Kabobs of Grilled Vegetables
• Oven Roasted Potatoes with Avocado Toast
• Fajitas de Veggies
• Quesadillas

Cilantro Lime Dressing

This simple it is perfect for sprinkling on salads, tacos, or burrito bowls. Add 1/2 avocado or Greek yogurt to the base recipe to make it creamy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup lime juice
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 garlic clove
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Make it creamy (optional):

• 1 avocado or ½ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

Instructions

1. Place the cilantro, garlic, lime juice, maple syrup, coriander, and salt in a food processor and pulse to mix. Pour in the olive oil while the blade is running and process until smooth.
2. Blend with 1 avocado or 1/2 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt to make it creamy (optional).