Creamy, delicious vegan Cilantro Lime Dressing with avocado! An amazing pairing with Southwestern-style salads. (Gluten-free with an oil-free option.)
I've wanted to make my own creamy cilantro dressing ever since we tried the one from Trader Joe's last year.
Store-bought dressings are convenient, but making your own brings a whole new level of flavor and freshness that is hard to beat. Plus you can control the ingredients and adjust the flavors exactly how you want.
Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Fresh cilantro
- Avocado (or plain vegan yogurt)
- Fresh lime juice
- Garlic
- Olive oil (or water to thin)
- White wine vinegar
- Salt
- Agave and/or cumin (optional, but recommended)
Either serve right away or refrigerate for later.
This dressing is also great on salads, wraps, drizzled on tacos for an extra flavor boost, and as a vegetable dip. My favorite is using on this Southwestern Chopped Salad (pictured above).
Customize
This recipe is very versatile depending on your favorite flavors:
- A dash of cayenne pepper or jalapeño (for spiciness)
- Cumin or more garlic
- More lime juice or zest
- Agave to sweeten (and help balance and tone down the tartness)
For more inspiration, also browse all salad dressing recipes!
Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup loosely packed cilantro (stems removed and roughly chopped)
- 1/2 avocado (or 1/2 cup plain vegan yogurt)
- 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice (about 1 lime or more to taste)
- 1-2 garlic cloves
- 3 Tbsp. olive oil (can omit or replace with water as needed)
- 1 1/2 tsp. white wine vinegar
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Optional but recommended:
- Agave to sweeten
- Cumin to taste
Instructions
- Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
If you are enjoying this vegan Cilantro-Lime Avocado Dressing, also check out:
Please leave a review and rating if you make or adapt this recipe - thank you!
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Sheila
I made a version of this tonight. Omitted a couple things though as I didn't have them on hand, but it still came out amazing. Its kinda thick, but really creamy. I will definitely be making this again. Even my four year old loves it.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Glad you were able to adapt it. Thanks for sharing!
Unknown
I just made this, and it was amazing. Don't think I can have a burrito without it again. Thank you!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear!
Rosa Beaty
Made the recipe with the Southwestern chopped salad & grilled chicken. The whole family loved it! Thanks for adding to my recipe box.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous
Just made this today with vanilla Greek yogurt and it turned out delicious! Both on salad and on grilled salmon!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thank you for sharing!
Erika Layne
I made this twice now and both times it got an amazing response. My sister loved it and I did not at all think she would. I never use a recipe to its entirety, I always modify it like crazy. With this one, I added more cilantro (about 1 1/4 cup), cumin, paprika, honey, a couple shakes cayenne pepper sauce, juice & zest of 1/2 lime and 1 oz of tequila. The paprika and cayenne pepper sauce added a subtle kick at the end and the tequila added a unique flavor. Still stuck with the 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt, 2 cloves garlic, and 1/4 (ish) EVOO. I omitted the vinegar because I didn't have any and I am not a huge fan anyway. Thank you for sharing this!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
I love that you made this your own! Thanks for sharing!
Linda
I made this today, and thought it needed a little something extra so I added 1/2 teaspoon each cumin, red pepper flakes and Vegeta seasoning, so yummy!!! Gave it a spicy kick!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great idea!
jamileena
This turned out great. Here are my tweaks according to what my pantry and fridge had: I used Meyer lemon (just squeezed about 2 quarts last weekend) added about one Tablespoon of oil to help emulsify, apple cider vinegar and.. this is the best part - as well as 1 clove of garlic, I added 1 teaspoon of GARLIC JELLY. Yes, Garlic Jelly! It added some sweetness to the acidic lemon/vinegar and more garlic flavor. I got the jelly as a travel gift to myself while driving thru Gilroy, CA (the Garlic Capitol) To give this gift to anyone else, I would include a recipe card or two - this recipe being one of them. Thanks for being here and posting this great, totally tweakable recipe! Have a great day.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
I loved reading your message and am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. Your version sounds incredible! Thanks for sharing!
Deuce
Just made this tonight and it was so easy but with big bite. I may have put in too much garlic for my hubby's liking but I LOVED it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear, thank you for the feedback!
Anonymous
This looks delicious! Any idea how long it keeps? I have some cilantro that is about to go bad, and I am wondering if I might be able to preserve its life by turning it into salad dressing... thoughts?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! We've kept this in the fridge for about 4-5 days before it gets eaten up (so anything past that I'm not sure.)
Anonymous
I don't like cilantro - what can I substitute?
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! You could use parsley or basil!
Cameospot
I cook weekly dinners at church, and this is my most frequently requested recipe. Everyone loves it! I always add some honey, though, the tartness is just too much without it. Excellent recipe.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear! And how sweet of you to cook dinners for people at church! Thanks for the message - take care.
kgh9283
I made this dressing last night. We were going to have the Southwestern Chop Salad with it but my back crapped out. The dressing was WAY too tart for both of us and I added some honey to even the flavors out. Worked great! It's really thick but I'm guessing it will get thinned out a little by the juices/wetness of the ingredients. It's now going to be dinner for today.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Glad you were able to work out the flavors to suit your palette - thanks for sharing!
Lgb
Very good!!! I added some honey. Will definitely make again!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
So great to hear!
Anonymous
I used Vegenaise (a vegan mayo) in place of the yogurt and it turned out really well. Thanks for this dressing recipe -- I poured it over a "southwestern quinoa" dish and it's yummy!!!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Such a great idea! Thank you for sharing!
Suzanne
Has anyone compared this recipe with the awesome Cilantro Dressing from The Cheesecake Factory Restaurant? I know theirs is dairy free and I believe was told has a little orange juice in it in addition to Lime and maybe even a little pineapple juice. It has no preservatives. I purchased a bottle at a rest. recently and it had to be refrigerated on the way home from out of town. It did last over a week.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi Suzanne! Thanks for the message. I've never tried The Cheesecake Factory's cilantro dressing - that sounds amazing. I love the addition of other citrus flavors and pineapple juice!
Anonymous
Has anybody tried freezing this? I can't go through it all before it goes bad. thanks!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Hi! I haven't tried freezing this, so unfortunately I'm not sure how well it would hold up. You could definitely cut the recipe in half if you don't want to waste any though! Hope you enjoy!
Anonymous
the southwest chopped salad with cilantro lime dressing was DELICIOUS - thank you for sharing it!
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
My pleasure! Glad you gave it a try and enjoyed!
Anonymous
EXCELLENT salad! Very light and refreshing for summer, but the beans give it some substance.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Thanks! So glad you're enjoying the salad!
Daisysix
This is so good on tacos and fajitas.
Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer
Great to hear!