Five minute, thick and creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing – this fresh, zesty sauce is easy to make while also packing in a punch! Use as a healthy dressing to top off salads, dipping veggies or serve over meats like chicken and shrimp! | Whole30 + Vegan + Low Carb
This Cilantro Lime Dressing is the kind of do-it-all magic sauce you need in your life. Use it as a dressing, sauce, dip – you name it!
Let’s get to it!
How to Make this Cilantro Lime Dressing
There’s really not much to this – simply throw all of the ingredients to a blender or small food processor and blitz until you end up with a thick, creamy mixture.
A couple things to keep in mind when making this Cilantro Sauce:
- You can use both the cilantro leaves and stems to make this. Cilantro stems are soft enough that they usually blend up easily. If you have loads a thick, long stems tear some of them away but you can save yourself that extra step if you’d like.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of water to thin out the dressing if needed.
Quick Questions
How do I serve it?
You can use this as a sauce or dressing. Serve over grilled meats, shrimp, fajitas, tacos or drizzle atop salads. It also makes for a great veggie dip!
How long does it keep?
Keeps for about a week in the fridge in an airtight container, after this point it will start to lose flavour.
Can I freeze it?
Yes! Since this is a dairy free sauce it lends itself well to freezing/thawing. It keeps about a month in the freezer. Once thawed use within a few days
Enjoy this cilantro lime dressing served with:
Other Sauces & Dips You Might Enjoy
- Basil Avocado Dip
- Homemade Guacamole
- Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Chipotle Mayo
- Roasted Red Pepper Miso Dressing
- Creamy Lemon Dressing
Cilantro Lime Dressing
Five minute, thick and creamy Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing - fresh, zesty and packs a punch! Use for topping off salads and dipping veggies. | Gluten Free + Vegan + Paleo + Keto
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro | about 2 cups packed - stems and all*
- 2 large cloves |1 heaping tablespoon garlic
- 3 tablespoons | 45 ml lime juice
- 6 tablespoons | 90 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 avocado
- 1-2 tablespoons water (optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and season with more salt and lime juice as you see fit.
Notes
*Make sure to wash and dry your cilantro well before using.
Keep store in the fridge for up to a week
ANDREA GOLD says
I love this recipe. I made some adjustments for my preferences:
I added honey and a little basil.
I reduced the oil to 1 Tbsp. and increased the water to 1/2 cup or so (I eat pretty low-fat and the avocado was enough fat for my needs). It was still creamy.
I increased the lime juice amount to 1/4 cup. MMM.
It’s a terrific dressing for salads, Mexican dishes, and as a dip, even with crackers.
Thank you for sharing it and all you do!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Andrea! I’m so pleased you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations too – it’s always super helpful to hear all the different ways to play around with the recipe 🙂
Malissa says
This sounds amazing. Im allergic to garlic. Is there an alternative that I can use without losing the flavour? Sometimes I use ginger in other receipts, but I am not sure if that would work? Any suggestions would be great. I cant wait to make this! Thank you so much.
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Malissa!
Are you ok having chives? I actually have a garlic free pesto for people who needing to adhere to a low FODMAP diet and I use chives to get that allium-like flavor. Try 1-2 tablespoons of chives (measured after chopping) if you can. 1-2 spring onions or about 1/2 a shallot would also work in a similar way but they’re more onion-y than garlic, but the general flavor is close enough and still complimentary to the other ingredients. Hope this helps!
Diana says
Thanks for sharing this recipe! It served a great inspiration as I riffed on it with great success. I used some pepitas and cashew bits instead of the oil, along with some warm water (too underprepared to soak). I also subbed in half a jalapeno pepper in place of the red chili pepper. Ended up with more of a gremolata in my very small and weak food processor. But wow what flavor! I’m sure it’s really delicious as written, and I’ll give it a go the next time I haven’t already used a bunch of oil for the rest of my meal.
Sarah Nevins says
Oooh I love the sound of that! So glad you enjoyed it – I’m glad this recipe could be used as inspiration for your sauce 🙂
Amy says
This was sooooo good and incredibly easy. I love that you can leave the stems on the cilantro. I added twice the garlic (because I love garlic) and twice the red pepper flakes, and did not add water to keep it thick. Other than that, exactly as written and it turned out amazing. Could be used on so many different things too!
Sarah Nevins says
Thanks Amy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Amy says
I love this dressing so much and have made it several times. I am wondering if it can be made without the avocado? I live in southern California, so we basically have them year round, but I don’t always have a ripe one available. TIA!
Sarah Nevins says
Hi Amy! I’m so glad you like it! You can definitely make this without the avocado! The final consistency will be more like a vinaigrette than a dressing, but that might be ideal depending on how you’re using it.
Other possible alternatives: you could try adding plain yoghurt, full fat coconut milk or tahini in place of the avocado (I’d do 1/4 cup at most). These substitutions will maintain that creamy consistency, but each option will end up changing the overall flavor quite a bit. Just something to keep in mind if you want to play around with the recipe. Again though, leaving out the avocado altogether will still totally work!
Caroline says
Can I use Lemon instead of lime?
Sarah Nevins says
That’s totally fine!
J says
Just made this. Holy sh*t it’s good. Much better than the Greek yogurt versions. I’ve made a few and this is the best recipe of this dressing I have ever made. No way can someone eat just 2 tbsp tho. You’re gna need to set the serving to 4 tbsp min. Soooooooo good.
Sarah Nevins says
That makes me so happy to hear!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and to leave a review!