Cafe Rio dressing – A homemade version of the Cafe Rio tomatillo dressing.  So good, and great for topping just about anything! 

Have you ever been to Cafe Rio?  It is one of my favorite places to meet a friend for lunch.  They are a quick service Mexican restaurant and have the best salads, tacos and burritos.  My staple order is a Taco Salad with the Cafe Rio Sweet Pork and then this Cafe Rio house dressing on the side. 

The creamy tomatillo ranch dressing is the perfect blend of flavors that goes so well on salads, you can even use it as a dip or sauce for tacos!

 

When you go to Cafe Rio they have two dressing choices, this creamy tomatillo dressing or a Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette that is also very good.  But I am partial to the tomatillo dressing, it is just so tangy and full of flavor. 

What You’ll Need

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.

• Ranch Dressing
• Tomatillos
• Cilantro – if you don’t like cilantro you could use parsley instead
• Garlic
• Lime Juice
• Jalapeno

The base of this Café Rio dressing is ranch. You can start with your favorite bottle of ranch dressing or use this Homemade Ranch Dressing if you want to start from scratch.

What Are Tomatillos

They are a Mexican plant that is related to the gooseberry. Lots of people think they are small green tomatoes, but they aren’t. They are a green fruit that has a papery husk on the outside.

You can find tomatillos in the produce are of your grocery store.  They are usually near the jalapenos and other peppers. To use them, just remove the husk and wash them.  There will be a sticky residue after you take the husk off, just rinse that off.  We love the flavor of them, and they are a big part of my Instant Pot Pozole recipe, if you are looking for more ways to use them.  

How to Make Cafe Rio Dressing

This recipe is pretty darn simple, hopefully will be able to follow along with the instructions.

1. Add all of the ingredients to a blender or food processor. 
2. Process until smooth.  

That is it, you are done.  The blender does all the work, so you really can make this in about 10 minutes.  I like to roughly chop some of the ingredients before adding them to the blender to make sure it gets nice and smooth.  But it really is ready in no time!  

I do like to make it a few hours before serving, so the flavors have time to come together and have it taste the best.

Storage

Store the dressing in an air tight container for up to 2 weeks.  You will want to shake or stir well before serving, but it will last and be great for just about anything you want to serve it with. 

Recipe Tips

This is a super versatile dressing you can use on so many things.

• As a dip for Tacos
• Make Cafe Rio Chicken for burrito bowls
• To your Mexican Chopped Salad with it
• Drizzle over Cilantro Lime Chicken

How To Use Cafe Rio Dressing

• Use full fat ranch. I know, I almost always have the light stuff in the fridge for dipping. But for this dressing, you really want to use full fat. It will blend the best, be the most creamy, not watery, and you will just have the best tasting dressing.
• Let the dressing stand for at least a couple of hours before serving. The flavors blend together and intensify as it sits, so if you eat it right away it can be a little bland.
• There is just a little bit of jalapeno called for in this recipe, it is definitely NOT spicy! It just gives it some flavor, if you want spice leave the seeds in or add more.
• If you don’t like cilantro you can use parsley. It will change the taste, but if you are one of those people who don’t like it, you won’t like it as written anyway.

More Great Copycat Recipes to try

• Cheddar Bay Biscuits
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake
• Panera Mac and Cheese
• Granite City Idaho Nachos
• Chili’s Salsa
• Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• Olive Garden Breadsticks
• Chicken Fil-A Chicken Nuggets

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