Copycat Cafe Rio Creamy Tomatillo Ranch is the creamiest ranch dressing seasoned with fresh cilantro, zesty lime and, of course, tomatillos!
Serve up this copycat Cafe Rio dressing with my Cafe Rio Sweet Pork, Sweet Pork Enchilada Stacks (enchilada casserole), Tomatillo Ranch Chicken, Sweet Pork Enchiladas, and Easy Mexican Rice. Looking for more delicious dressing recipes? Check out my popular posts for Olive Garden Salad and Dressing, Cilantro Avocado Dressing and Creamy Honey Mustard.
Why This Recipe Works
It’s a Cafe Rio specialty — It’s no secret that I adore Mexican food. Both the truly authentic and the American-ized. But my favorite is Cafe Rio. And, I’m obsessed with their Creamy Tomatillo Ranch dressing. Make this once and you’ll be obsessed too!
Easy — This Cafe Rio copycat recipe is so simple and quick to make. Truly, it’s as simple as throwing all of the ingredients in the blender, giving it a few good pulses, and popping it into the fridge. Just like that, you have the most amazing dressing.
Great on more than just salads — I especially love to pour this Creamy Tomatillo Ranch on tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and our favorite copycat Cafe Rio Sweet Pork!
Time and money saver — No need to leave your house to get your fill of this creamy ranch dressing seasoned with fresh cilantro, zesty lime and tomatillos! Plus, when you make it yourself you can make as much as you want, and for much less.
Ingredients
- Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix — Use the dry mix. You can find it in packets and also in larger shakers.
- Buttermilk — Responsible for making the dressing creamy and thick, you’ll not want to skip on this step. Purchase a smaller container of buttermilk if you don’t think you’ll use the whole thing or want any leftovers. You can use the store brand, it works just fine.
- Mayo — I use reduced fat mayo to lighten it a little bit. You can also use regular mayo or even the avocado oil mayo.
- Water — Helps to thin out the dressing. I use the water from my fridge or tap.
- Tomatillos — You can’t have this tomatillo ranch dressing without the tomatillos. Take the husks off first and then rough chop them tomatillos before putting into the blender.
- Cilantro — Just the leaves, give them a rough chop as well before blending.
- Minced garlic — Mince your own garlic or use the minced garlic from a jar.
- Jalapeño — I de-seed mine and chop it up a bit before blending with the other ingredients.
- Lime juice — Fresh lime juice is always best but you can use bottled if that’s all you have.
Here’s How You Make It
I almost feel as though there should be zero directions for making this Cafe Rio copycat dressing. It’s so easy! Are you ready for it? Here goes:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and pulse 2-3 minutes or until the tomatillo ranch is smooth and creamy. Stir in any extra water you may need 1 tablespoon at to reach desired consistency. (photo 1-2)
- Chill at least one hour before use and store in the fridge in an airtight container. (photo 3)
Expert Tips & Tricks
- This Cafe Rio creamy tomatillo ranch dressing recipe makes about 2 cups of dressing. To make more, double or even quadruple.
- If you’ve purchased too many tomatillos, don’t worry. Tomatillos are easy to keep. Simply put any you have not husked in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or keep ones that still have the husks on in the fridge for up to a month.
- If you’d like to add a little spice to this dressing, leave the seeds in the jalapeno, or add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- This Cafe Rio creamy tomatillo ranch dressing will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. It will not freeze well as ingredients can separate.
If you don’t live in the Utah area or in the more western states, I’m so so so so sorry. Because that means you probably haven’t gotten to experience Mexican restaurant Cafe Rio’s anything, muchless their delicious creamy tomatillo ranch dressing.
The good news is, by making this dressing, you’ll get one step closer to enjoying one of my favorite restaurant’s best condiments!
Although raw tomatillos will taste sour, and have a dry, firm texture, it’s okay to eat them. Cooking them helps to eliminate that sourness. Most tomatillos are imported from Mexico. They’re easy to grow in warmer climates though if you want to try growing your own.
Because homemade ranch dressing doesn’t contain any of the preservatives of store-bought ranch (especially the kind that’s shelf-stable in the dressing aisle and not the dressing that’s already in the fridge), it definitely goes bad a lot sooner than the bottled ranch dressing.
If you notice a sour smell, this dairy product is most likely spoiled. A couple weeks in the fridge is about as long as these types of dairy dressings will last.
More Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Best Easy Enchilada Sauce
- Chipotle Chicken
- Homemade Buffalo Sauce
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Easy Taco Casserole
- Mexican Salsa (great for canning!)
Did you make this recipe? FANTASTIC. Please rate the recipe below and be sure to tag me on social when you share a photo of your CDLC creation – I love seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Cafe Rio Tomatillo Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 packet Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix - (dry)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup mayo - I used reduced fat
- 2 medium-sized tomatillos - husked and chopped
- ½ cup packed cilantro leaves - roughly chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 small jalapeño - seeds removed, finely chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons lime juice
- ½ cup water - as needed
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to your blender and pulse 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
- Add water a little at a time if needed to reach desired consistency.
- Chill at least one hour before use and store in fridge in airtight container.
Notes
- Makes about 2 cups of prepared dressing.
- For added heat, use a second jalapeno and include a few seeds.
I made this with the sweet pork last night. I followed the recipe, except only 1 tablespoon of garlic. We loved it! It was amazing. For the people that say it was runny, it needs be made in advance so it has time to set up. I used it on taco’s with white corn tortilla’s & the sweet pork after sitting for 45 minutes, it was about the consistency of bottled dressing. Today I made a salad with the leftover pork, onions, tomatoes, chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, some crushed mini doritos & sliced black olives. A dab of sour cream on top, and then the dressing, which was much thicker.
Sounds delicious! So glad it all turned out well!
Hey Tiffany! I’ve been making this recipe along with you taquitos for years. We absolutely love them both. However, every time we make this Creamy Tomatillo Ranch it is more watery than creamy. We have even omitted the water but it’s still not creamy. Any suggestions?
for thicker dressing, reduce buttermilk + add sour cream
There has to be something missing in the ingredients, I made this and it is way too watery. Needs to be thicker. What is missing?
This is my go to special sauce recipe for any Mexican dinner I make. My family loves and expects it every time. I did adapt the recipe to my family’s taste- I leave out the water and replace the buttermilk with sour cream. I also add more tomatillos and jalapeño depending on how I’m feeling. Also I always try to make it a day ahead to give it time for the flavors to meld together .
Never heard of Cafe Rio, but the recipe looked delicious. Taste is amazing but is extremely watery and thin – nothing creamy about it, even after 2nd day in fridge. Should have started with 1/4 c buttermilk and gone from there.
I forgot to put the ranch packet on my grocery list. Can i signature with a bottle of ranch dressing? And if so how much should i use? I’m thinking mix everything else and then add A little bit Of ranch.
Substitute not signature
It will def be different with ranch dressing itself! but it’s maybe worth a try. I just don’t know how the consistency will be.
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Luckily i read the comments fIrst and left out the water. Used 1/3c greek yogurt + 2/3c milk in place of buttermilk anr it was perfect. Great flavor.
Thanks for your input!
I made this tonight, and it was like water! Im hoping that it thickens in the fridge. I read through the comments (should have done That first) and i’ll add sime avoc tomorrow if its still wateRy.
Delicious and really flavorful. Definitely a make-again recipe for me. (not sure why this is in all caps?)
So great! Glad you loved it. Thanks for the great feedback!
This is a family favorite. I also found the sauce to be delicious, but runny. Here are my modifications: I use ranch dressing from a bottle instead of the dry mix. I use dry buttermilk (can’t string together enough buttermilk recipes to keep it from going bad) so I add the appropriate amount of buttermilk powder but not all the water. After the taquitos are gone, the sauce makes a delicious salad dressing.
I wonder if using a ranch Dip vs dressing packet would make a difference. I’m totally going to add avocado!
the dip packet won’t change the flavor but it will change the consistency of the dressing. The Dips don’t have anything in them to thicken since you’re supposed to mix them with sour cream which is already thick. the dressing packets do have a thickening agent. hope this helps 🙂
How are you? Excuse me when it says 1 cup may (I used reduced fat) which is May? thanks
To everyone having the ‘watery’ problem. Let me tell you what I do to get it perfect! First, make the buttermilk ranch according to the packet’s instructions. (one packet, 1 c mayo & buttermilk). Then let it sit in the fridge for 20-30 min. While it is sitting I like to personally roast the tomatillos and jalapeno to give the dressing some depth. Tastes a lot better I think! Then what I did was blend everything EXCEPT for the buttermilk ranch. When it is smooth and a little chunky I just stir it in to the ranch with a spoon and voila! Nice and thick. Oh, and OMIT the water also unless you find the dressing to be a little too thick. But I think it is exactly like Cafe Rio’s consistency. Then you can also let it sit 20-30+ more min to let the flavors mend :]