Creamy Lime Chipotle Dressing
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A salad without dressing is like a day without sunshine. This chipotle lime dressing will brighten up your dishes – it’s bold and zesty, with smokiness from the chipotle and tang from the lime. Bursting with flavor, this creamy, easy-to-make dressing is ideal for pasta salad, potato salad, your favorite greens, or as a dip.
This chipotle lime dressing is one of my favorite ways to add big flavor with almost no effort. It’s smoky from the chipotle, bright with fresh lime juice, and creamy thanks to yogurt — the kind of combination that instantly wakes up whatever you drizzle it on.
It comes together in just a few minutes, usually with a quick shake or stir, and somehow tastes like you spent way more time on it than you did. Simple, bold, and always impressive.
Ingredients notes
Salad dressings can often harbor a bunch of refined sugars – but not our chipotle lime salad dressing! There are no refined sugars, just tasty and fresh ingredients. This is what you need:
- Yogurt: Use a thick greek yogurt – or, if you prefer a richer flavor, sub in some mayonnaise, too!
- Adobo sauce: The sauce that comes in jars of chipotle peppers.
- Other ingredients: Fresh lime juice, avocado oil, sea salt, oregano, black pepper, and a garlic clove.
How to adjust the consistency
This versatile dressing can be used as a dipping sauce, a salad dressing, or a sandwich spread. Depending on what you want to use it for, you can adjust the consistency accordingly – a thicker texture is ideal for dipping yummy things in, while a thinner consistency works best for getting a perfect drizzle over salads. Adjusting the consistency is super simple – use a little less avocado oil for a thicker texture and opt for the thickest yogurt you can find – plain Greek yogurt is thicker and creamier than regular yogurt. Substituting some mayo also makes it thicker and richer tasting.
What to serve with chipotle lime dressing
This creamy and delicious salad dressing recipe is ideal for pasta salad, potato salad, or on your favorite greens. It also goes well as a dip for raw veggies or drizzled over roasted veggies, or on Mexican-inspired meals! The possibilities are endless, but here are some ideas:
- Dipping sauce: Scoop some of this dressing up with raw veggie sticks, like carrots or cucumbers. You’ll also love dipping sweet potato wedges, carrot fries, or chicken bites.
- Tacos or burritos: Add to your favorite taco or burrito recipe, or over a taco salad bowl or burrito bowl!
- Salads: The tangy-smoky-zesty flavor of this dressing can bring your salad to life! Drizzle it over a roasted corn and avocado salad or green salads.
- Potato: Drizzle over these easy sweet potato nachos or on top of a southwest stuffed sweet potato, or over a grilled potato salad.
- Pasta salad: This Mexican pasta salad is a match made in heaven for your chipotle lime dressing!
- Wraps, sandwiches, and burgers: Add some tang to a southwest veggie burger or a cauliflower burger. Slather some onto a pulled chicken sandwich, or drizzle some on your favorite wrap.
- Shrimp: This dressing also goes super well with shrimp – whether it’s a shrimp tacos, party shrimp, chili lime shrimp, or shrimp fajitas!
Recipe FAQs
Where can I find adobo sauce?
If you buy a jar of canned chipotle peppers, the adobo sauce is what the peppers are submerged in! In a supermarket, you’ll often find these in the aisle alongside Mexican foods.
What can I do with the leftover chipotle peppers once I recover the sauce?
We have other chipotle pepper recipes! Whether you make chipotle mayo, chipotle mushroom sloppy joes, or chipotle bourbon pumpkin chili, they certainly won’t go to waste.
How do I store chipotle lime dressing?
In a sealed jar or airtight container, each batch of this dressing will keep well for 5-6 days in your fridge. Give it a little shake each time before you use it.
Can I adjust the spice level?
The heat in this dressing is more smoky than spicy, driven by the adobo sauce. If you want to add some heat, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Try a small amount first, then add more to taste.
Chipotle Lime Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup thick yogurt (see notes)
- ½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or another neutral-flavored oil)
- 3 tablespoons adobo sauce (the sauce that comes in jars of chipotle peppers)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 garlic clove (finely minced)
Instructions
- Add all the chipotle lime dressing ingredients to a 2-cup mason jar.¾ cup thick yogurt, ½ cup fresh squeezed lime juice, ¼ cup avocado oil, 3 tablespoons adobo sauce, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon oregano, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1 garlic clove
- Put the lid on and shake well. This dressing will keep well for 5-6 days in your fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
Ok but not as balanced as I’d expected. Feels like something is missing.
Thanks for the honest feedback — I really appreciate it. 💛
If it felt like something was missing, a little extra acid (like lemon juice or vinegar), a pinch of salt, or even a touch of sweetness can often bring everything into better balance. Totally depends on your taste, but those are the first things I’d tweak.
Thanks again for giving it a try and taking the time to share!
This was a winner! Used it on a coleslaw and it gave it so much flavor!