Quick Cilantro Lime Sauce

This easy cilantro lime sauce is a zesty spin on ranch with bright lime and fresh cilantro! No blender needed: just stir it up and drizzle on grain bowls, tacos, and more.

Hello, and welcome to my new favorite sauce: this quick cilantro lime sauce! It’s is perfect for dolloping grain bowls, drizzling over tacos, and more. It’s a zingy version of ranch dressing meshed with the Mexican flavors of lime and cilantro.

The best part: no blender required. Because here’s the thing: when I’m making a fast dinner recipe, the last thing I want to do is get out the blender. (Yep, I’m lazy.) So here’s a fast and easy sauce: all you have to do is chop a few ingredients and stir!

5 Star Reader Reviews

“This was so, so good. I am totally addicted to this sauce and now put it on everything!” -EMM

“Love love love this cilantro lime sauce on our blackened fish tacos! Super creamy, nice flavor and compliments a spicy dish perfectly. Thank y’all for sharing!” -John

Ingredients You’ll Need

I created this cilantro lime sauce to go with my Easy Rice Bowls. I wanted a drizzle that would add lots of flavor to the bowl without being too time consuming. Here’s what you’ll need:

Greek yogurt + mayonnaise: This sauce uses our famous combo of Greek yogurt plus mayo to make a light and flavorful creamy sauce. The yogurt offsets the richness of mayo. You’ll see the same idea in many of our recipes, like our tuna salad, egg salad, and homemade ranch.
Cilantro: Here you’ll chop it as finely as possible.
Lime: The lime brings a bright zing to the sauce.
Garlic powder and onion powder: These bring the ranch-like savoriness.
Dried dill: This is the element that completes the ranch flavor! You can omit if you want more straightforward Mexican flavors: it’s still good.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Sauce

The best part of this cilantro lime sauce: you don’t need to dirty a blender! When I’m making a fast and easy dinner, it seems like a big obstacle to get a blender dirty. Of course, you can use a blender if you’d like a creamier texture and a light green color. Here are a few notes on the two processes:

Stirring method: Chop the veggies as finely as possible. Because you won’t be using a blender, you’ll need to chop that cilantro as finely as possible so the sauce is relatively smooth. The sauce will be white with green flecks, as you see in the photos.
Blending method: Immersion blend for a light green sauce. Want a light green sauce that’s fully creamy? You can blend it to get a more uniform texture. It’s easiest to use an immersion blender or food processor, due to the small quantity of ingredients.

Sauce Variations To Try

Looking for a different type of cilantro lime sauce? We’ve got lots of variations. Here are some of our other favorite cilantro lime sauces:

Cilantro Lime Dressing (a favorite!) — A bright green, blended dressing that adds big flavor to any salad or burrito bowl.
Easy Cilantro Lime Dressing (vegan) — More of a punchy lime-and-olive-oil vinaigrette than a creamy sauce.
Creamy Cilantro Sauce (vegan) — Made with cashews; sweeter, milder, and less herby.
Cilantro Lime Crema — A more traditional Mexican-style sauce made with sour cream or crema (try easy lime crema for a simplified take).

Rice bowl — Cilantro lime sauce is ideal for grain bowls

Ways to Use Cilantro Lime Sauce

You can use this cilantro lime ranch sauce in a multitude of recipes! It’s inspired by Mexican flavors fused with ranch dressing, which makes it work in lots of ways. Here are some ideas:

Rice bowl: Try it in our Easy Rice Bowls.
Tacos: Use it on Shrimp Tacos, Fish Tacos or Avocado Tacos.
Fries: Try it with Crispy Sweet Potato Fries, Sweet Potato Wedges or Avocado Fries.
Burritos: Drizzle on a Black Bean Burrito.
Sweet potatoes: Top a baked sweet potato with black beans and this sauce.
Roasted veggies: Take veggies over the top, like Epic Roasted Broccoli or Roasted Carrots.

How to Store It

Leftover cilantro lime sauce lasts up to 1 week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’s best within a few days. Give it a quick stir before serving.

Dietary Notes

This recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, see the Variations section above.