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This chipotle ranch dressing recipe is creamy, tangy, and a little smoky! It’s a versatile southwest sauce that’s the ultimate topping for salads, tacos, wraps, and more.
Looking for regular ranch dressing? Try my Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing instead.
Why you’ll love it
This easy twist on ranch dressing is so good. You get so much flavor in under 10 minutes! Boring salads and tacos are a thing of the past. If you’re a fan of Mexican-inspired recipes, I think that you’ll like this chipotle sauce with fresh lime a whole lot.
This creamy, gently spiced, and irresistible cilantro lime ranch dressing works with so many dishes, from salads to tacos to grilled vegetables. It’s ranch dressing with a kick that you didn’t know you needed in your life.
What you’ll need
- Sour cream and mayo – the slightly tangy, cooling, and creamy base. It helps to create that signature ranch flavor.
- Cilantro – make sure it’s as fresh as possible
- Chili pepper in adobo sauce – I like things on the milder side, so I started with just one chili, but you can add even more for heat if you prefer
- Lime juice – for citrusy freshness
- Worcestershire sauce – the umami flavor it adds to dressings and sauces is a must
- Garlic powder and onion powder – for even more savory depth of flavor
- Smoked paprika – my not-so-secret ingredient! It adds a subtle smokiness.
What is adobo sauce?
- It’s the sauce that comes in those little cans of chipotle chili peppers. It’s tangy, smoky, a tiny bit sweet, and typically includes vinegar, garlic, and various fragrant spices. Canned chipotles in adobo sauce are normally readily available in the Mexican/international aisle of most major grocery stores, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding them.
How to make chipotle sauce
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Put all the ingredients in your food processor, and blend until it’s the desired consistency! Easy peasy. It’s tasty right after you whip it up, or you can chill it for a bit and it’ll thicken up. I prefer to chill it for an hour or so. Chilling it will give it more of a dip consistency, so it’ll be perfect for dipping vegetables.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the food processor I use for this dressing.
- Store leftover salad dressing in these glass jars with lids.
- I use these handy measuring spoons for dry ingredients.
Substitutions and variations
- If you’re not a fan of sour cream, feel free to substitute with Greek yogurt. I tested with 2% plain Greek yogurt, and it still tasted great.
- I used one smallish chipotle chili pepper and a teaspoon of the adobo sauce. That was enough kick for me, but I know that others may want it much hotter! Feel free to add in more to suit your tastes.
- You could add some chipotle chili pepper powder too while you’re at it if you want to set your mouth on fire. 😉
What to serve with chipotle ranch dressing
- Make a simple green salad, toss it with this dressing, and serve it as a side dish to pair with my Santa Fe Chicken Skillet, this Beef Taco Skillet, or Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup.
- It’s also wonderful on nachos, Fish Tacos, burritos, steak, as a dipping sauce for vegetables or chicken tenders… the possibilities are endless, and you’ll want to drizzle it over just about everything.
- You can also just make it the star of a taco salad as a main meal. Jazz it up with your favorite toppings like tortilla strips and avocado.
Leftovers and storage
- This dressing will keep in an airtight container for 5-7 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- If you need to make your salad ahead of time, just store the components individually until you’re ready to assemble and eat it.
Let me know if you tried this southwest ranch dressing! Questions or comments? Let’s talk below. You can also tag me #saltandlavender on Instagram.
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayo
- Juice from 1/2 lime
- 1 chipotle chili pepper in adobo sauce + 1 teaspoon adobo sauce see note
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 cup (lightly packed) cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a food processor. Process on high for about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust if needed.
- Serve immediately or chill for an hour (or longer) prior to serving. It will keep in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.
Notes
- I realize that the size of the chipotle chili peppers vary depending on the brand you buy. I would suggest using a SMALL pepper unless you want this recipe really spicy.
- The recipe makes about a cup of dressing.
- You can also find this recipe in chapter 7 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on May 4, 2016. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
Is this similar to Panera’s chile lime rojo ranch dressing?
Hi! I’ve never tried that one so I’m not sure.
Great dressing! I used up a pile of cilantro stems & used fresh garlic instead of powdered. Your proportions were just right, thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
Fantastic recipe with a great kick. Thank you for sharing!
You’re very welcome! 🙂
This is one of the best dressings I have ever had!
Yay!! 😀
This dressing is delish! I just happened to google chipotle ranch recipe and this popped up with everything I had the in fridge. I used Greek yogurt and followed Recipe as is and it is so good! Thank you for sharing
Wonderful! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Jordyn!
I added juice of a while lime just because I’m a lime lover, otherwise followed exactly, using as dressing for a southwestern style Cobb salad and taco salads.
I didn’t add the extra adobo sauce and it was spicy enough with out it in my opinion
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Megan!
So good… made it with Greek yogurt! Thanks for the recipe!
Excellent!! You’re very welcome!
I’m wondering how this dressing would taste like on lamb tacos…
Pretty awesome I’m thinking!!
Made this recipe tonight for a TexMex salad, amazing dressing!!! I had to substitute tube cilantro for fresh cilantro, regular paprika for smoked paprika, AND chipotle chili powder seasoning for fresh chipotle chili peppers and it STILL turned out amazing. My limes were super small so I used the juice of 1 whole lime. Thanks so much for such an easy and delicious dressing!
I’m so happy that it worked out!! You’re very welcome!
Can I just say that this is THE MOST DELICIOUS dressing EVER!!! Thank you for sharing your recipe. This makes whatever I put it on star quality! Salads, tacos, nachos, seafood, steak, chicken, veggies, endless possibilities. I keep a batch of this dressing in the fridge weekly. I cannot get enough of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you and num, num, num!
Awww you’re so sweet!! I’m so glad you like the dressing so much! XO 😀
Oooooh what a good idea to make a batch weekly, will definitely be doing that!