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Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

This homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing is unbelievably delicious! Inspired by a salad dressing at Chick-fil-A that I enjoy, but made better using fresh ingredients. I serve this avocado-lime ranch dressing as a salad dressing, as a dip or drizzled over tacos. Incredibly versatile and insanely delicious.

Homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

Homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing Recipe

Busy lives tend to steer us toward convenience items. By the looks of the salad dressing choices at the grocery store, they obviously rank very high on most people’s shopping list. I use them as well, my life is just as busy as yours with a family to take care of so, no shame here. I must admit, making a dressing yourself really shows the love and effort you put into something as simple as a salad and elevates it. When time allows it’s certainly well worth the effort.

  • Vegetables – Place the onion, serrano pepper, garlic cloves, lime juice and cilantro into a blender. Pulse until chopped.
  • Liquid and Seasonings – Add buttermilk, mayonnaise, cup sour cream, ripe avocado, salt, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, sugar, dark chili powder and black pepper.
  • Cover and pulse until smooth. Add more buttermilk, if desired to thin.
  • Refrigerate – Store chilled in an airtight container for at least 4 hours before serving.
  • This can be made up to 3 days in advance, shake well before serving.
  • Serve as a dressing, condiment or dip.
The Best Homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

How to Make the BEST Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

This homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing isn’t limited only to salads. You can use it as a dipping sauce for tortilla chips, drizzled on tacos, burgers, grilled chicken, pork and beyond. Try using it for a dip with vegetables or as a sauce for seafood.

  • Ingredients you’ll need to make easy Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing: One avocado, mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, diced onion, fresh cilantro, serrano pepper, lime juice, cumin, garlic, salt, Mexican oregano, sugar, black pepper and dark chili powder.
  • Kitchen gadgets you’ll need: A sharp knife and cutting board, a stand blender, measuring cups and spoons and a mason jar or airtight container for storing the dressing.
  • You really don’t need high-end equipment to make this salad dressing. A stand blender or food processor is ideal and can whip-up the ingredients with very little effort in a matter of minutes.
  • For the most robust flavor, store it tightly sealed in the refrigerator for several hours prior to serving to allow the flavors to fully combine and come to life. It’s like a fiesta in a jar.
  • This dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance of serving. It will keep for up to 5 days, possibly even longer, but due to the oxidation of the fresh avocado it will not keep it’s bright green color. Use it within 3-5 days for the best results.
Homemade Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

More Dressings and Sauces to Make

There’s nothing like whipping up a homemade salad dressing or sauce using ingredients you already have on hand. More easy recipes you may like to try:

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Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing

Prep Time10 minutes
Chill Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dip, Salad Dressing
Cuisine: American, Southern
Keyword: avocado-lime-ranch, copycat-avocado-lime-ranch, homemade-avocado-lime-ranch
Servings: 40 (2 Tbsp) servings
Calories: 109kcal
Author: Melissa Sperka

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup sweet onion diced
  • 1 serrano pepper seeded and rough chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves peeled
  • 3 Tbsp lime juice
  • 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro rough chopped
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 medium ripe avocado peeled and pitted
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Mexican oregano
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp dark chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Place the onion, serrano pepper, garlic cloves, lime juice and cilantro into a blender. Pulse until chopped.
  • Add buttermilk, mayonnaise, cup sour cream, ripe avocado, salt, ground cumin, Mexican oregano, sugar, dark chili powder and black pepper. Cover and pulse until smooth. Add more buttermilk, if desired to thin.
  • Store chilled in an airtight container for at least 4 hours before serving.
  • Can be made up to 3 days in advance, shake well before serving. Serve as a dressing, condiment or dip.

Notes

This dressing can be prepared with light dairy products and mayonnaise, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 2Tbsp | Calories: 109kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 326mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 113IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @melissassk or tag #melissassk!

98 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I dream about this dressing sometimes. So good you could almost drink it! I usually only do half a pepper though for my spice preference. So glad I ran across this recipe. It is truly fabulous. Thanks!

      1. 5 stars
        Lick the bowl good!!! Just made this dressing and my taste buds are zinging!!!! LOVE!

  2. Just made this today and it’s delicious!! I live overseas and a few of the ingredients are impossible or expensive to find.

    I did the following substitutes and additions for anyone in a similar situation…

    – Jalapeno pepper instead of serrano
    – Instead of buttermilk I used 3/4 cup whole milk, 2 Tbs extra sourcream, and 1Tbs lime juice
    – Instead of mexican oregano I used marjoram (thanks to the person who suggested that)
    – Added another Tbs lime juice (so 4Tbs)
    – Added another Tbs of cilantro (so 3 Tbs)
    – Chipotle pepper powder instead of dark chili powder

    Don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for a salad in my life 🙂

  3. Hi Melissa,

    I liked the chick fil—a dressing so much, that I googled the recipe and yours popped up. It’s really delicious. I use it to make coleslaw. Some time I’ll use it in a pasta salad.

    Thanks so much!

  4. 5 stars
    I have never had Chik-fil-a’s avocado lime ranch dressing, but a friend of mine loves it, and I’m bringing her food after a surgery. It’s her favorite dressing, and I decided to make some for her. I could drink this dressing!! It is so delicious! Thank you for sharing!

    1. This dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance of serving. It will keep for up to 5 days, possibly even longer but, due to the oxidation of the fresh avocado it will not keep it’s bright green color. Use it within 3-5 days for the best results.

  5. 5 stars
    This is a fabulous recipe; much better than Chic-Fil-A avocado Lime Ranch dressing. This is a DEFINITE “keeper” and a recipe I will make over and over. Thank you for sharing.

  6. 5 stars
    OMG!! This dressing is so unbelievably delicious!!! I’m addicted!! It’s better than Chic-Fil-A’s Avocado Lime Ranch. Thank you for this recipe! Now I can make as much as I want when I want!! Keep those recipes coming!!!!

    Patti

  7. 5 stars
    Delicious and so easy to make! Thanks for sharing this recipe! I substituted Stevia for the sugar to make it a little more low-carb friendly and added just a little more of the ingredients that we really enjoy like cilantro. I’ll make this often!

  8. 5 stars
    One word . . . sublime. I substituted smoked paprika for the chili powder. After dipping the tip of my spoon in to taste the dressing, I admit to eating an entire spoonful. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.

  9. Thank you so much for this AMAZING salad dressing!!! I couldn’t find the Mexican oregano in my grocery store so I googled a good substitution…marjoram. It was yummy!

  10. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Had this Salad at Chick-fil-a last week when we were visiting family in the States last week and LOVED it. No Chick-fil-a over here in Germany, so I was a little sad not to be able to eat it again – but now I found your recipe and it’s absolutely fantastic tasting! Definitely my new favourite salad dressing 🙂

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