Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
This version of Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing is as close as it gets to the original.
I’ve made this Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing 100 times and would drink it if I could but I usually pour it over salad, tacos, and burritos.
Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
I was away last weekend at the Fins annual Fishing Tournament down in South Beach.
While my husband was fishing in the tournament, I took the kids to the beach and pool.
If you’ve never been to South Beach just know that a surprising amount of people consider swimsuits optional.
I can see why tan lines could be annoying but I would think sand in your naughty parts would be even more annoying.
I tried to cover my kid’s eyes but thankfully they were too busy in the waves to notice.
My husband caught a huge Tuna that we cooked up for dinner tonight!
Last night I hosted Bunko and made the whole Cafe Rio meal for the ladies. Cafe Rio is a restaurant that we loved when we lived in Utah. The copycat recipes are one of the very first recipes I ever posted on this blog so I thought I would dig them out of the archives for those of you who are new.
The famous Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing is part of the whole Cafe Rio Meal. Start with this Cafe Rio Barbacoa Pork, Cafe Rio’s Cilantro Lime Rice, and this Pico de Gallo.
Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 (1 ounce) package Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 large or 2 small tomatillos (they are green and by the tomatoes)
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 1/2 bunch cilantro , chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon lime juice
- 1/2 to 1 small jalapeno , seeds removed
Instructions
-
Blend all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and store in the refrigerator to let the flavors meld. Beware that the dressing tends to get hotter the longer it sits.
-
Serve over Cafe Rio's Sweet Barbacoa Pork Salad or burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice.
Recipe Notes
Source: Sheri Denney
Oh my, this sounds delicious…thank you for sharing!
My mom was just telling me yesterday how tasty the salad dressing was! I’m definitely making it — I love Cafe Rio!
Hi Christy
Your Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing looks tasty
You can submit your Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing pics on http://www.foodporn.net It is a food photography site where members can submit all food pictures that make readers hungry 🙂
I am already hungry to see these photos btw, LOL
Sounds yummy!
Oh how I have missed this dressing! We moved from Utah three years ago and I dream of this dressing some times. YUM!
I’ve never been to Cafe Rio but have heard mad reviews of it! I guess I’ll be making your copycat recipes at home to see what all the fuss is about since I don’t plan on going to Utah any time soon.
Wow – that dressing looks unbelievable. I’ve been dying to find the right dressing for a taco salad – voila, there it is! Thanks for sharing!
I moved away from Utah four years ago and u have been making this ever since. It is fabulous. The recipe I have doesn’t have the lime, so I will add that next time.
Thank you for sharing this delicious tomatillo salad dressing! I absolutely love Café Rio, especially the sweet barbacoa pork salad that this dressing pairs perfectly with. I made the dressing the other day and had pork salads last night and they tasted just like the real thing! Thanks again for sharing!
hey, I have been making your recipe a lot lately, but I always end up with extra dressing. Do you know how long it lasts in the fridge?
It’s good for a while. I would say at least two weeks…
I would go by the use by date on the buttermilk you use, thats probably what would go bad first.
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I just made this dressing to go along with a tortilla soup and I just had to come on here and say how spot on this recipe is. It tastes just like the cafe rio dressing and it’s just plain delicious.
Thanks! Glad you liked it!!
I use this same recipe..it’s great but you have to boil the tomaillos whole for 2-munutes..before you use them in any recipe
Why?
I love the cafe rio dressing! I don’t have regular access to fresh tomatillos since I moved back to Alaska. Would canned ones work just as well??
Colleen. I don’t see why not? It should work with canned.
Whole foods carries tomatillos if you have one near by!
I am soooo going to try this ASAP! 🙂 My 17 year old niece works at Cafe Rio up here in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and she happened to bring some of this dressing and tortilla chips over when she stopped by my house after one of her shifts. It is THE best dressing I have ever tasted but it’s too expensive ($6.00 for a 16 oz styrofoam container) for me to buy when it barely lasts a few days when being devoured by three people, lol. Thanks for the post; I can’t wait to see how it turns out! 🙂
On your ingredients It says 1 (1 oz package) hidden valley ranch dressing mix. They only had 16 oz packages. Do I only put part of the package in or the whole thing?
@April
Did you buy a single packet of the dry mix, or did you buy a bottle of the dry mix? The packets are only 1oz, but on the front down in the left corner it says it “makes 16oz.” of dressing. Perhaps you just misread it? However, if you have a BOTTLE of the dry mix it DOES weigh 16oz. In that case 3 Tablespoons of the dry mix from that bottle is equal to one packet. Hope this helps! 🙂
I found this chart online that tells you how much to use from the 16 oz. bottle of dry mix. As you can see above, the tomatillo dressing calls for 1 Cup buttermilk and 1 Cup mayo and this handy chart shows that when using those amounts you need 3 Tablespoons of the mix 🙂
Hidden Valley – The Original Ranch Dressing
Dressing Mixing Directions:
To Make Hidden Valley® Mix Milk Mayonnaise*
4 Servings 2 1/2 tsp 1/4 cup 1/4 cup
8 Servings 1 1/2 tbsp 1/2 cup 1/2 cup
16 Servings 3 tbsp 1 cup 1 cup
Here’s the site I found it at:
http://www.spiceplace.com/hidden_valley_ranch_dressing_mix.php
Tried this and LOVED it!!! Thanks for sharing.
this was easier than making a sandwich. i cant believe how spot on it is! thank you thank you, this will change my life. SOOOOO good! now i have to try not to drink it all.
I LOVE this dressing from Cafe Rio. I don’t know what it is but I can never get enough and it goes well with so many things. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Thanks!!
I made the recipe and it came out just a bit more sour than the one at cafe rio. Any ideas what might have gone wrong? I followed everything precisely. Thanks!
Hmm. Sour? I guess it could depend on your tomatillos. You could add some sugar if you felt it was sour.
Raw tomatillos taste sort of sour. We roast ours first….it doesn’t take long.
An interesting discussion is worth comment. I think that you ought to write more about this topic,
it might not be a taboo matter but generally
people do not discuss such topics. To the next! All the best!!
This is a good tip particularly to those fresh
to the blogosphere. Short but very accurate information… Thanks for sharing
this one. A must read post!
Thanks for the recipe! I don’t know why mine ended up being way too runny, so I added extra mayo and a whole avocado. It is in the fridge now “resting”. I’m excited to see how it turns out!
There are 2 sizes of dry dressing mix. Did you happen to use the smaller one (.4oz) and not the 1 oz one?
I’ve made this and it was some yummy! only problem I had was mine was not nearly thick enough. I followed the recipe exact so I have no idea what went wrong.. any idea’s?
oh nevermind, I see the person before me had the same issue!
You can use less buttermilk to make it thicker.
The technique I use to thicken is to put the vegetables (tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro, garlic) in a food processor and process to desired consistency. Then strain the juices or squeeze them out on a paper towel or cloth. Then dump it all back in and add the mayo, buttermilk, lime juice, and dressing seasoning.
L O V E ALL the recipes thanks a 1,000,000,000 for sharing
You’re welcome!
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Thank you for this recipe. I made it and was really pleased with it. I’m really frustrated with Pinterest though because it ruined my pin of it. It says the link has been marked as spam!! That’s crazy! And it won’t let me re-pin it now for the same reason. It said the address is blocked. 🙁
They had a bug the last couple of days but they’ve cleared it up now.
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Thanks for finally writing about >Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing <Loved it!
One of my favorites! Thank you for sharing!💕
It’s seriously drink worthy.
How many servings is this?? Thanks!
It makes enough for about 12 people.
Have you ever tried canning it? Or only fresh. I have tomatillos from my garden this summer and I’m trying to find yummy ways of canning them. Thanks!
I haven’t but I’m not a canner sorry.
I have loved this recipe and often wondered if I could duplicate it. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
This salad and dressing is one of our favorite meals. I have made your recipes many times. Every time, my dressing turns out very runny, so much so that it doesn’t stick to the lettuce. I’ve tried draining the tomatillos before mixing, but the dressing still is very thin. Am I doing something wrong? Both the barbacoa and dressing are delicious, but I would like the dressing thicker.
Jan, I made it for the first time last night and left out the jalapeno because I’d forgot to purchase at the store.. but I used 3 small tomatillos and the whole package of ranch. It seemed to be pretty runny last night, but left overnight, it is nice and thick this morning. Maybe just letting it ‘gel’ a bit before use?
Are you sure it was the 1 ounce packet? There are two different sizes (a smaller one) which would make it runny.
So Christy!! I made the recipe last night (minus the jalapeno because I forgot to pick one up at the store) and yes it is a MARVELOUS recipe!! My question is: Do you use the whole 1 oz package of Ranch dressing? I did and it’s fine, but I just wanted to make sure. I let it sit in the refrigerator for several hours and then tried some on a Chick Fil A tender and mmmmmmmmmboy…deeelish!! This morning I’m using it on my scrambled eggs. I thought my husband was going to drink down the batch I made, I had to stop him.
Anyway, great recipe (and yes, it’s my favorite on the steak salad at Cafe Rio!!) – but do you use the whole packet of Ranch?
Yes, you use the whole packet of ranch otherwise it will be runny!
How much does this make? I need to make enough for 100 people.