Be prepared to make this fantastic and delicious Chick Fil-a copycat recipe, Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing. You can make this dressing at home and top any salad, grilled chicken, or tacos to enhance the meal. We all love this quick and easy dressing.
This Chick Fil-a Avocado Lime Ranch dupe recipe is the perfect summer dressing or side dish. It goes great with any bbq or cookout, especially around memorial day, and 4th of July. I've made it many times and it's become a staple in our home.
Be sure to try our other avocado inspired recipes and cremas like Avocado Crema, Cilantro Lime Crema, and Smoky Red Pepper Crema. Dip our Arepa Con Queso in this crema. You can even use Frozen Avocados.
We love a good copycat recipe, so be sure to try our Wingstop Ranch recipe, and our Chick Fil-a Mac and Cheese.
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Ingredients
This recipe uses tasty fresh ingredients. You can find most of these at your local grocery store.
- Avocado- A ripe avocado will make for a smoother and tastier recipe.
- Mexican Crema- This is found in most dairy sections of many grocery stores. You can also substitute it with Greek yogurt, sour cream or mayo. While testing this recipe, we found that if you leave the Mexican Crema in the blender too long it started to thicken and wanted to turn into butter, so be careful with that!
- Ranch mix- Use either a hidden valley ranch packet, or use all purpose ranch seasoning. While recipe testing we found that brand didn't matter much and didn't have a favorite.
- Lime- Fresh lime has the best flavor. You can absolutely used bottled lime juice.
- Cumin- This spice is the perfect flavor to add to any Mexican flavored dish.
- Salt- Regular table salt
- Minced garlic- A fresh minced garlic clove adds the perfect punch of flavor
- Water or milk- If your dressing isn't thin enough, milk and water will help you get that consistency you are wanting.
- Jalapeño- This is optional, but levels up the taste
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Avocado Lime Ranch
Use these process shots to help get the results you are wanting. The pictures can help with presentation and texture.
- Start by zesting the lime.
2. Add a sliced and peeled avocado to a food processor or blender. Next add the Mexican Crema, garlic and spices.
3. Blend until smooth. There shouldn't be any chunks remaining.
4. If you'd like a thinner consistency, add 1 Tablespoon of milk or water at a time until desired consistency is reached (I added 2 Tablespoons).
Hint: Transfer the ranch into a bowl and stir in the milk until desired consistency is reached. I tried to make it thin using the blender, which ended up thickening the Mexican Crema as it tried to turn to butter. Stirring it in is a much better option.
Variations
We love switching things up when we're in the kitchen. Try any of these variations for something a little different.
- Spicy - Add red pepper flakes at the end, ½ teaspoon at a time to add extra spice to the dressing.
- Jalapeño- This optional pepper is a perfect way to add flavor and spice.
- Cilantro- If you love the taste of cilantro, then you will want to add a small bunch of cilantro to when blending together.
- Greek Yogurt, Mayo or Sour Cream - these can all be used instead of the crema at a 1:1 ratio
Learn From Us
The first time I made this, I was adding water trying to thin it, but still mixing it in the blender. It wasn't getting thinner and it took me a few times of adding more and more water to figure out the Mexican Crema was getting whipped and trying to turn into butter. Oops!! Make sure you transfer your dressing to a bowl before trying to thin it.
How to Serve Chick-Fil-A Ranch
- This copycat Chick Fil-A salad dressing tastes so good on veggie packed salads or taco or southwest salads. Add shrimp, chicken, steak, or hard boiled eggs for some added protein. It pairs great with the dressing.
- Try making this with our sweet potato black bean burritos, or drizzling it on enchiladas.
Storage
You can refrigerate this recipe for up to 2 weeks.
Freezing is not recommended! Dairy does not thaw well. If you do freeze, before serving, thaw and then re-blend to help maintain the right texture.
Top tip
Stir in the extra liquid by hand or with a wire whisk if you need to thin the dressing. We found this to be the easiest way to control the texture of the dressing.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing:
Recipe
Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor or blender
Ingredients
- 1 avocado ripe
- ½ cup Mexican Crema or Greek yogurt, sour cream or mayo
- 2 Tablespoons ranch mix
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 1 zest from one lime
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼-1/2 cup water or milk
- 1 jalapeno optional, with or without seeds, depending on heat preferences.
Instructions
- Peel and pit the avocado. Zest and juice limes. Place all ingredients in a food processor high speed blender. Blend until smooth. Serve cold. See photos above for a great visual on how to make this.
Video
Notes
- the Mexican Crema can be substituted by any combination of all or part plain Greek yogurt, sour cream and mayo.
- Refrigerate up to 2 weeks. Freezing is not recommended. If you do freeze, allow to defrost then mix it up to combine.
- We highly recommend making with the jalapeño. It adds the perfect flavor and a little kick of spice
- This is also great with a small handful of cilantro.
- For a quick and convenient dish, use frozen avocado. Make sure to thaw before using.
- I found the best way to thin this dressing is to add a tablespoon of milk at a time. Whisk together until it is the consistency you want. Don't blend it in the blender again, it actually thickens it more.
- We loved eating this on vegan tacos! Try making it with a vegan yogurt substitute to make this a vegan style dish.
- If you need to, use a mixture of sour cream, Mexican Crema, and greek yogurt.
Nutrition
FAQ
Unfortunately, you can't buy this yummy dressing at local grocery stores. Fortunately, you can easily make this copycat version with a few simple ingredients. Using avocados, Mexican crema, ranch seasoning, and lime, you can recreate this tasty dressing.
This easy copycat recipe gives you step by step instructions on how to make this tasty dressing from scratch, at home. Add together the avocado, ranch seasoning, garlic, cumin, and lime to a food processor. Then add the Mexican crema and blend until smooth.
Andrea
I have been trying to find a place to buy this with zero luck! I'm so happy to have this homemade recipe to make a great copycat chick fil-a avocado lime ranch dressing. My family loved it.
Jed
This is the best copycat chick fila avocado lime ranch dressing i've ever had!
Nicole
oh my gosh, my family loves this avocado lime ranch. It tastes just like chick fil a, and that's a GREAT thing!