I love this this Cafe Rio Copycat Mexican Ranch Dressing.  It is very easily made and so delicious it’s a wonder I haven’t tried to just drink it.  I do however love dipping fresh cut up veggies in it.  And of course poured over a fresh-Mex style salad.  I first made this recipe about 4 years ago for a family gathering.  I also made fresh-Mex chicken in the crockpot and my own guacamole. (See the links to the Bolero Chicken and Guacamole below.)  Oh yum.

The Cafe Rio Copycat Mexican Ranch Dressing is a toss-it in-and-spin-it in the blender recipe. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the little tomatillo veggie. I think they are cute. They are probably located somewhere near the cilantro at your grocery store. They have a paper-like husk that you peel off to reveal a vegetable that looks like green tomato, but has a natural waxy shine. You just peel off the husk and rinse them before cutting them up.

I’ve adapted the recipe from several I’ve found and tried. The one thing I chose to do differently was to simply use a few drops of Green Tabasco instead of a fresh jalapeno.

Warning Warning: Green Tabasco is very hot to the taste! But using the Green Tabasco made it easier to control the heat than coring and cutting up a jalapeno pepper which doesn’t have a ‘hotness level’ label on it.

Find the recipe for Bolero Chicken (soup) here.

Get the recipe for the  easy  Guacamole here.

Cafe Rio Copycat Mexican Ranch Dressing Recipe

Laura Hickman

A delicious, spicy and tangy fresh-Mex dressing that is after the style of a populat Mexican Restaurant.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course condiment

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 24 2 Tbsp each

Ingredients

  

• 1 pkt ranch dressing 3 T.of dry mix
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2-3 tomatillos (paper-like cover removed washed & quartered)
• ½ bunch cilantro chopped (woody stems removed below leaves)
• ¼ tsp. chopped garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2-4 drops green tobasco sauce

Instructions

 

• Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend 30 seconds to 1 minute until all ingredients are emulsified. Serve it immediately or pour into covered container and keep refrigerated. It lasts up to a week in the refrigerator.

Keyword Mexican salad dressing