Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing is as close as it gets to the original. I’ve made this copycat Cafe Rio’s dressing times and would drink it if I could but I usually pour it over Mexican dishes like salad, tacos, and burritos.
I may earn commissions for purchases made through links on this post.
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.
OTHER MEXICAN RECIPES:
- Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
- The Best Bean Dip
- Mini Chicken Chimichangas
- Grilled Chicken Tacos with Feta Cream
- Baked Chicken Chimichangas
- Taco Pizza Rolls
- Horchata
- Taco Lasagna
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.
Notes
My grandsons are in love with this dressing! They now want it thicker so they can use it more as a dip than as a dressing. Have you tried with reducing the buttermilk and subbing sour cream? Do you think it will still taste as good, and maybe be thick enough for the boys to dip their veggies and chips into? They want more to “stick” to the food.
Yes I would up the sour cream and reduce the buttermilk! I don’t know the exact proportions.
Great recipe! I read through the comments before making it and saw some tips and tricks which i incorporated- subbing 1/2 cup sour cream for 1/2 cup of the buttermilk & measuring garlic with my heart (3 cloves!) Came out perfect just like Cafe Rio! It did thicken up in the fridge to just the right consistency, but i did leave it overnight so patience is key~
Delicious. However, it was really runny – same consistency as buttermilk. We are going to try making it again, but with 1 cup of sour cream instead of the buttermilk. The flavor was perfect!
Update – 1 cup sour cream, plus a little more lime juice worked perfectly! We also roasted the tomatilos and jalapeño beforehand as well….super yummy. Thank you for sharing this recipe! Love all your recipes so much. 🙂
Do you put the tomatillo in raw? I always boil or roast them first when I cook with them.
I do put them in raw but you’re welcome to roast them!
You are an answered prayer!
I love the taste! I started my 100 salads a year challenge and Cafe Rio’s dressing is my favorite!
Thanks
Thank you!
Before making this dressing I read the comments and noticed people saying it was runny. So I followed the recipe exactly using a Kraft mayonnaise. Mine turned out runny too even after allowing it to sit in the refrigerator 8 hours it didn’t thicken up. I added another cup of mayo and it was still the same. Too thin for a dipping sauce. Very disappointed that I wasted my money buying the ingredients for this recipe.
I’m sorry! I’ve never had it runny. I use Best Foods Mayo usually
I love this recipe! Instead of putting in all the mayonnaise, I use half daisy sour cream half olive oil mayonnaise and leave out the jalapeño. I also add a little extra lime juice. Tastes so good every time! Thank you for the recipe 🙂
Great idea!
I followed the directions to the letter, double checked everything because I was so excited to find this recipe (I live in Oregon, originally from Utah) and have been dying for some Cafe Rio! I found the dressing to taste more like the ranch packet and it was incredibly runny. Super disappointed…
If it was really runny you might have use the wrong size?
I love this recipe and am even happier to have it now because I can’t even get it at cafe rio anymore! Has anyone else noticed that cafe rio’s recipe has changed? It is thick and goopy and tastes like chunky Mayonnaise now. Yuck! I have tried 3 differ Cafe Rio restaurants trying to get my hands on the good stuff and it appears to be gone!
I haven’t noticed that.
I used sour cream instead of the mayo and measured the garlic with my heart (3 cloves) and it came out so close! Definitely will make again
Glad you liked it and I like the way you measure.
I made this and I’m not sure what I did wrong it was pretty tangy, I used Dukes Mayo could that be the issue? Thank you! Our cafe rio closed recently and I really missed the dressing !
It’s definitely Dukes! I’ve tried all the mayos and that one definitely has a distinct taste that can alter the overall taste.
This has been a family favorite for years. It is great on salads, tostadas, and tacos (or if you’re my 9 year old, on a spoon). Long after my family has tired of Cafe Rio, we are still loving this dressing. It has earned a special place in my recipe book. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!
Super novice question—-but, do you peel the tomatillos? Also, I hope all is well for your family in Utah! I completely disengaged from social media, but I do miss following your Instagram feed. Your family is amazing!
No need to peel them. There is a papery outside sometimes on it so if that’s on it take it off. And thank you!
Do I slice the tomatillo before putting it in the blender?
You don’t need to. It will all blend up.
Can you tell me how long this stays good for in the fridge? I love the dressing, but I keep thinking we can’t eat it all before it will go bad.
I saw the other post asking this question–after I posted this. Haha. Never mind. 🙂
How long does this last in the fridge??
Actually quite a while. I’ve had it up to two weeks.
In the Blendtec, we blended two cups of BYU Creamery Ranch dressing as a base, your recipe ingredients, added more lime juice and 1/2 of a small avocado. It was perfect (for us)!
Thanks Christy!
Yum!
This was super easy to make in our vitamix. The ranch flavor was a little strong for my liking. Not sure I would use the whole packet next time. I’ll have to play around with it.
I just made this and it is amazing. You need to make this now
How much is a serving size? It says it makes 10 servings but just wondering how much a serving is 🙂
Yeah that’s the tricky part. I just divided it into how many people it serves,
Oh my, I am in love! With this dressing! I had to stop myself from drinking it, it was SO good :-D. I didn’t mince the garlic nor chop the cilantro, just threw it all in the blender and it turned out perfect. Eat your heart out Cafe Rio! Thanks so much for this recipe! <3
You’re welcome!
What’s the best way to store this? Can I freeze small jars of it or how long will it last in the fridge? I live alone and won’t be able to use all of it with one meal 🙂
I usually leave it in the fridge for about a week and a half. I haven’t tried freezing it but I don’t see why not?
How cool it’s quite similar.
I don’t normally bother to rate recipes that I try, but I couldn’t help it this time. I have tried other copycat recipes of this dressing because I love the original from the restaurant so much, but none of them have come close to the real thing. This one is AMAZING! After my first taste, I couldn’t stop dipping my spoon in for another. This will become a permanent fixture in our fridge.
Yes!! That makes me so happy!
Awesome recipe! I roasted the tomatillos and jalepeño pepper for 20 minutes on 400 degrees. Squeeze out most of the seeds from the tomatillo before adding it to the blender. This will make it less runny and add a Smokey flavor. I also add a little less buttermilk and used a buttermilk ranch packet.
Thanks for the tip HEather!
Now this dressing is really delious❣ It is company good! It has earned a place in my oft used recipe box. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
I make this dressing also and LOVE it….we moved to Nebraska from Utah and sadly, no cafe Rio no Costa Vita……so its my homemade that is the best ! Have you ever used light mayo? do you use Hellmans or Best Foods?
I have used light and don’t find a huge difference between Hellemans or Best Foods.
They are the exact same mayo, just have a different name depending on which part of the country you live on. 🙂 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellmann%27s_and_Best_Foods
Hellman’s is the same as best foods. I used to live in CA and that’s best foods they often change the names from different coasts. Like we have dryers ice cream and they have eddys Carl’s Jr. Is called Hardies(?) I believe is how it’s spelled. 🥰
Hellmans and Best Foods are the same mayo. Best foods is on the west coast area, and Hellmans is east. Its like Hardee’s and Carls Jr. Same company, but different names.
Awesome recipes for the Cafe Rio dishes we love the most! Thanks for publishing this for all of us to enjoy!!!
how many people will it serve?
How much does this make? I need to make enough for 100 people.
We made it for a group of 100 and I made 4 batches and it was plenty.
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!
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.
Family favorite!! I actually buy creamy ranch salad dressing instead of using the packet. It keeps it nice and creamy. And add half the mayo. Super easy and so tasty! My son keeps begging for Cafe Rio salad…lol. Huge plus so much cheaper then actually eating there. I think it even tastes better homemade.
I have loved this recipe and often wondered if I could duplicate it. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
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.
Did you ever can this dressing? I’m curious if it worked out ok.
How many servings is this?? Thanks!
It makes enough for about 12 people.
One of my favorites! Thank you for sharing!💕
It’s seriously drink worthy.
Thanks for finally writing about >Cafe Rio’s Creamy Tomatillo Dressing <Loved it!
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.
L O V E ALL the recipes thanks a 1,000,000,000 for sharing
You’re welcome!
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.
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?
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!
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!!
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.
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!!
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.
Tried this and LOVED it!!! Thanks for sharing.
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
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! 🙂
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 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 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!!
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.
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!
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.
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’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.
Oh how I have missed this dressing! We moved from Utah three years ago and I dream of this dressing some times. YUM!
Sounds yummy!
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
My mom was just telling me yesterday how tasty the salad dressing was! I’m definitely making it — I love Cafe Rio!
Oh my, this sounds delicious…thank you for sharing!