Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing is quick and easy to make, made with simple ingredients like sour cream, mayo, avocado, and buttermilk blended with spices, lime juice, and fresh herbs, ready in only a few minutes!
Making salad dressing at home is easier than you think! For more ideas check out my Greek Salad Dressing, Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing, and Orange Strawberry Salad Dressing!
Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing is my favorite dressing to make when I’m in the mood for something creamy, savory, and tangy. It’s perfect to make for a big dinner night on a chopped salad or romaine, or even as a dipping sauce for chicken! I like to put it on top of a salad of romaine, corn, black beans, and chopped bell peppers with grilled chicken.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Sour Cream. This adds a creamy, smooth, tangy texture that helps with the consistency and flavor of your dressing.
Mayo. Mayo is mostly for flavor, it adds a creamy tangy flavor and mouthfeel to the dressing. It’s a little bit different from the sour cream, and they both work together for a fuller flavor.
Buttermilk. Buttermilk gives the dressing an acidic (in a good way!) dairy flavor, and you can also use this to thin the dressing out to any consistency. Just add it until it’s as thin as you’d like. Because it’s a ranch dressing, I do like to keep it on the thicker side. Make sure you add a small amount at a time, to avoid thinning it out too much.
Avocado. Avocado adds a lot of flavor and a beautiful color to the dressing. It also helps thicken up the dressing, adding a nice creamy texture.
Spices. This is what’s going to make it taste like ranch dressing. If you want a spice-only mixture, try my Homemade Ranch Seasoning Blend.
You can use fresh dill, or dried dill. The ratio is 1 tablespoon of fresh dill = 1 teaspoon of dried dill.
Lime Juice. This adds a key flavor to the dressing! Plus a fresh burst of acidity that is really nice against any vegetables you dip in it.
How to Make Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and process until smooth.
- If you’d like a thinner consistency, add more buttermilk. Use a small amount at a time and mix until smooth.
Jacqui’s Tip! Wait to add the buttermilk until last, then add a few tablespoons at a time. Watch the consistency until it reaches your preference.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Refrigerated. Store this dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
I don’t recommend freezing this dressing, because the dairy won’t defrost right and it might get gritty.
When you’re picking out a ripe avocado, you want one that feels soft, but not too squishy. The general rule is to remove the top stem piece and look at the color. If it’s bright green and your avocado is soft to the touch, then you have a fresh avocado!
If it’s hard, then you need to wait a few days for it to ripen. The softness is what adds to the creamy avocado texture in the dressing.
It would work, but it won’t taste as much like true ranch dressing. Buttermilk helps give the dressing its “ranch” flavor because of its acidic dairy notes. I don’t recommend substituting the buttermilk for this recipe if you’re looking for ranch.
Jacqui’s Tip! Add a handful of fresh cilantro to your dressing for a different cilantro lime flavor!
Tips and Tricks
- If you don’t have onion flakes, you can just stick to the onion powder. The onion flakes might be a little bit crunchy until it has time to hydrate in the dressing.
- If you want to lighten up this recipe (it won’t be as ranch-y), use 2% milk, and light sour cream and light mayo. You can also try replacing the sour cream or mayo completely with plain greek yogurt. It should still give you a nice smooth consistency, but the flavor will change.
- For a different twist, try replacing the lime juice with lemon juice.
- You can replace the garlic powder with 1/2 clove of fresh, minced garlic. Add to taste.
- You can add another 1-2 tablespoons lime juice if you want more lime flavor. Keep in mind that the liquid will thin out the texture, so use a small amount at a time to keep the texture like a creamy dressing.
- 1 lime will give you about 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Try to pick heavy ones for more juice. You can also press down and roll them on a hard surface to break up the juice before cutting them open. You can also substitute fresh lime juice for bottled.
- Use this avocado lime dressing as a topping for tacos or nachos, or as a dip for veggies or tortilla chips! You can also use this as a base for some pasta salads or chicken salad.
If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!
Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado, ripe
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon onion flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth. Add additional buttermilk if needed until desired consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
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