Chipotle ranch dressing is a spicy, smoky homemade dressing that is perfect for salads, tacos, chicken, or as a dip for vegetables or chips.
This chipotle ranch dressing is a delicious salad dressing that can be made in only a couple of minutes. It’s a great way to kick up the flavor of your favorite salads, and other recipes.
Happy May! It’s Cinco de Mayo! Although I’m not sure how much it will be celebrated this year, but it will also be Taco Tuesday, so we might as well try and enjoy a little Mexican or Mexican inspired food, like our huevos rancheros recipe for breakfast, or some guacamole on top of some yummy chicken tacos. Or this chipotle ranch dressing on pretty much anything.
Back in college I worked at the sports grill on campus, I mentioned it before in our philly cheese steak pizza post, and in my bbq pulled pork sandwich post. The food was pretty delicious, and one thing we made was a southwest chicken salad with black beans and corn and grilled chicken, all topped with a simple chipotle ranch dressing.
Back then we made the chipotle ranch dressing just by dicing up chili peppers in adobo sauce and mixing it with ranch dressing. Which is basically what this recipe is, except you’re starting with a homemade ranch dressing for adding the chili peppers into, some cilantro, and a little bit of fresh lime juice.
But I’ll give you directions for just adding the peppers in adobo and lime to premade ranch dressing too, in case you don’t have and don’t want to buy the other ingredients.
This salad dressing is naturally a little spicy, but you can add as much or as little spice to this dressing. For the dressing you need a least 1 chili pepper to make this a chipotle ranch, but you can choose if you want to add 2 or 3 if you want it spicier.
I added 2 1/2 and didn’t think it was too spicy. The sour cream mixed with the chipotle pepper helps keep this dressing cool, and contrasts well to the spice of the adobo peppers.
How to make Chipotle Ranch Dressing?
This chipotle ranch dressing is so easy to make. You literally just add all the ingredients to a food processor, or blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds till it’s all combined. And voila.
I recommend putting the dressing in the fridge for an hour or so, to help the flavors meddle together a little more and to help the dressing thicken up.
If you don’t have a blender or food processor you can also combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and stir them together by hand. You’ll just want to dice up your fresh cilantro into super small pieces first.
If you want to start with a ranch mix make the packet according to the package directions. Or start with a bottle of ranch dressing. Then blend that up in a food processor with the cilantro, lime juice and chipotle peppers in adobo as called for in the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How long is chipotle ranch dressing good for?
The chipotle ranch dressing will stay good store in an airtight container with a lid, for up to 1 week in the fridge.
What is chipotle ranch made of?
This dressing is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle peppers, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, a few more dried herbs, lime juice and fresh cilantro.
What does chipotle ranch dressing taste like?
It’s like a creamy, smoky, spicy, southwestern flavored twist on traditional ranch dressing. It’s got similar flavors to ranch dressing, with fresh herby flavors mixed in a creamy dressing, with an addition of cilantro, lime, and smoky chipotle peppers that add a slight heat to the dressing.
What to eat with chipotle ranch dressing?
This dressing is my new favorite salad dressing, I love enjoying it on a green salad with some grilled chicken, and veggies. But it’s also delicious served with:
- french fries and sweet potato fries
- potato chips
- raw veggies
- pasta salad
- burgers, especially black bean burgers
- grilled chicken
- tacos or taco salad
This homemade chipotle ranch dressing is a little bit spicy, smoky, and so delicious. It’s so easy to make, and it’s perfect on salads, tacos, chicken, as a dip for vegetables, or tortilla chips. (Stay tuned for a yummy southwest pasta salad made with this chipotle ranch dressing coming Wednesday)
Looking for more dressing recipes?
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Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (to taste)**
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp dried chives
- 1/4 tsp dried parsley
- 1/4 tsp dried dill
- 1/3 cup cilantro (packed)
- 1/2 lime (juiced)
Instructions
- Add everything to a food processor or blender.
- Blend on high until the mixture is smooth.
- Serve on your choice of salads, chicken, chips, vegetables, etc.
Brandy says
This is so much better than store-bought dressing. I love ranch dressing but those days where you are looking for an extra kick this is it!!!
Dana says
I prefer making my own dressings, and this one was great! I loved the kick from the chipotle peppers. It is nice that you can adjust the amount of chipotle flavor to fit your preference and still have a delicious dressing.
Haywood Wydeven says
But wanna admit that this is very useful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.
Sarah says
This was soo good but spicy! Like whoa mama burn your mouth spicy. But I also used 3 chiles. I’d totally make it again with just less chiles.
Aimee says
Glad you liked it! We suggest starting with less chiles and adding more if it doesn’t taste spicy enough for what you want, next time 😉
Delaine says
I made this dressing to go with the Southwest pasta salad as suggested. It is delicious. The dressing takes the salad over the top. I used two chipotle peppers in adobe and it was savory and not too spicy. It also kept well in the frig for 5 days. It is a keeper. I omitted the chicken and used a bit less dressing. Great for vegetarians.
Jeannette says
Hi. This, along with your pasta salad, sounds great! I will make it. But, first, where doi find the chitpole peppers in adobe sauce? Are the adobe peppers spicy? I like spice, but not everybody does. Thank you.
Aimee says
They are a bit spicy, but I can usually do 2, if you want it less spicy try one first. You can find them in cans, usually in the Mexican aisle, or at least that’s where they are at my local Walmart.
Penny says
I made this yesterday and it was delicious! I used an entire can of Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce (a 4 oz can) and it was a bit spicy, but when tossed on the pasta, corn, black beans, red onion, red and green bell pepper, it toned it down quite a bit. It’s not southwestern if it doesn’t have a kick! I purchased ALL the ingredients, although I thought some were kindof weird, and all them have a presence. Don’t skimp! Good luck.
Katherine says
Two of my favorite flavors in one dressing! Yum!
Ashley says
Yum! This tastes amazing on pretty much anything. It’s so fresh and delicious.
Aimee says
So glad you love it!
Stacy says
I love chipotle ranch and have tried many recipes. None of them ever come close to restaurant quality. Until now! I love this recipe because I had most of the ingredients on hand already. So much flavor! Simple and delicious. Thank you so much.
Aimee says
Yay! Im so glad you loved it!
Theresa says
Are all the spices dried but the cilantro?
Aimee says
Yes, sorry about that. With the amounts as written the parsley, chives, and dill are dried!
Barbara Felton-Wilson says
Hi! I’m Barbara and I haven’t tried the recipe yet. But I have a question about substitutions. It’s about cilantro. I’m one of those people who cilantro tastes like soap instead of lemony. Is there something I could substitute for cilantro? Help!
Aimee says
You can just leave it out!