If you’re looking for the best cilantro lime dressing, this creamy version is fresh, tangy, and packed with flavor. Made with avocado, fresh lime juice, cilantro, and garlic, this cilantro lime salad dressing blends up in just minutes and works on almost everything. Drizzle it over salads, tacos, burrito bowls, grilled chicken, or use it as a dip for veggies.

The avocado gives the dressing a naturally creamy texture without any dairy, while the lime and cilantro add that bright, zesty flavor that makes everything taste better. Basically, once you make this cilantro lime dressing recipe, you’ll want to keep a jar in the fridge at all times.

Salad Dressing Recipes

I’m slowly but surely gathering up all of my favorite salad dressing recipes… for my mom. Haha! I mean, I’m doing it for all of you as well, but this stems from a comment my mom made that I’m not completely ruminating on. 🙂 She said she doesn’t know how to make a good salad. AND, FURTHERMORE, she doesn’t really eat salad in the winter because she associates it with summer. 

Oh heck no. 

Salad is one of the greatest things of my life, so I absolutely have to help her out! Salads are the easiest recipe because literally anything goes. You wanna add roasted sweet potatoes? DO IT! You want to mix cottage cheese in? IT’S DELICIOUS!

So, first up, Cilantro Lime Avocado Dressing because it’s healthy, and so bright and zesty! And look at that green color! All the heart eyes!

Why You’ll Love This Cilantro Lime Dressing

• Ready in 5 minutes
• Naturally creamy from avocado
• Fresh and tangy flavor
• Great for salads, tacos, bowls, and wraps
• Gluten-free and dairy-free

Ingredients You’ll Need

This creamy cilantro lime dressing uses simple fresh ingredients that blend into a bright and flavorful sauce.

Copycat Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice [+ Video]

Craving the fresh, zesty flavor of Café Rio’s cilantro lime rice? This copycat recipe brings the perfect balance of fluffy rice, tangy lime, and aromatic cilantro, making it the ideal side dish for tacos, burritos, or even just a delicious bowl on its own. With a few simple ingredients, you can recreate that vibrant, savory taste at home.

*This is a sponsored post due to my partnership with the Utah Dairy Council.

I’ve found that when I make Mexican food lately I really want rice and beans with it, just like the restaurants do. I didn’t used to care, but I’ve really grown to like the rice and beans. We especially love how easy this rice is. There’s a touch of butter in the rice too. Let’s not forget that. A little dairy can totally change a dish for the better. True story.

I’ll include a whole section below for recreating a whole Café Rio meal that includes this easy rice recipe! Mmmm…now I’m craving some Café Rio!

Ingredients for Cilantro Lime Rice

Whether you’re planning to eat this rice as a side dish for some chicken fajitas or as the base for burrito bowls, you’re family is going to love it! Let’s jump further into the all the ingredients you will need!

• Rice: Just regular long-grain white rice will work great. Jasmine rice and basmati rice would also work.
• Water: used to cook the rice
• Unsalted Butter: adds richness and flavor
• Chicken Bouillon: Adds flavor to the rice as it simmer.
• Garlic: Fresh minced garlic will give you the best flavor.
• Cilantro: You can’t have too much fresh cilantro in my opinion, so grab a bundle from the produce section of the grocery store and chop it up.
• Lime: Fresh lime juice is definitely preferred, but if you don’t have lime, the bottled lime juice will work.
• Diced Green Chiles: I like to leave the juice in for added flavor. You can dial up the spice here with medium or hot canned chiles. We stick with mild in our house.

The measurements and details for each recipe can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Rice on the Stove Top

I almost always cook rice on the stove top these days. I used to be loyal to the rice cooker, but as time has gone on, I’ve found myself enjoying being a little more hands on with rice. It takes a tiny bit more work, but for me, it’s worth it. Here are the steps for making this cilantro lime rice recipe including a photo of each s

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe [+Video]

This pork carnitas recipe is so flavorful and moist and the best part? They are crazy easy to make with only a few ingredients and a slow cooker!

We had a little Mexican Pot luck in my neighborhood the other night. It was tons of fun and so nice to have everyone out together and just enjoy each others’ company. Everyone brought a dish to share and it turned out perfect. I decided to go with carnitas. I looooooove this pork. It is one of the most simple ways to make carnitas, but it is so juicy and flavorful. I love that you just throw it in the crockpot and don’t think about it all day. You may wonder if with so few ingredients it’s really that delicious, but it is.

I made one big fat error this time around. You may not think it’s that big of a deal, but for me it is. At about 12:30 in the afternoon I realized that I had not placed the pork in the crock. DANGIT!!!! I am a huge, huge believer in letting roasts, and all kinds of pork cook for 8 hours in the crock on low. It is soooooooooo much more juicy, tender and flavorful. I promise. This pork still turned out well, but it would have been 1 million times better if I had been more on top of things. SO, when you try this, don’t forget to slooooooow cook it.

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

The ingredients for crockpot pork carnitas are simple and pack so much flavor. You will need a few ingredients for a dry rub and then a few items for cooking the pork in the slow cooker. The orange juice and lime juice add the punch of citrus you want in carnitas! This is what you will need:

• Corn Tortillas
  • NOTE: If you want to make carnitas burritos, use our homemade flour tortillas!
• Queso Fresco
• Cilantro

For the Rub

• Seasonings: Dried Oregano, Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt and Pepper
• Garlic
• Oil

For the Pork

• Pork Shoulder/Butt
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapeno
• Fresh Black Pepper
• White Vinegar
• Kosher Salt
• Oranges
• Limes

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post so keep scrolling for all the details!

How to Make Pork Carnitas

Now we come to my favorite part of this slow cooker carnitas recipe…the simplicity! Here are the basic steps:

1. Combine: Add all the ingredients for the dry rub together in a small bowl and then rub it all over the outside of the pork. Place it in the slow cooker.
2. Add: Juice the oranges over the pork and leave one of the oranges in the slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker.
3. Cook: Set the slow cooker to low heat and cook for 10-12 hours or until the meat falls apart.
4. Shred: Using two forks, shred the pork and leave it in the juice in the crockpot. Pull out the orange peels.
   • OPTIONAL: If you crave those crispy edges on y

The Most Delicious Mexican Black Beans Ever

Black beans taken to the next level with bold Mexican flavors all from ingredients you have around the house! Sometimes black beans become a forgettable side dish, but not these! They will be the highlight of your meal!

Easy Black Bean Side Dish

We just barely survived an extremely stressful summer. Before I get into the details, let me just say that these Mexican black beans from scratch came from some friends who had us over for dinner one tonight. They were the best black beans we have ever had!

All you need are a few simple ingredients and you’ll be in the middle of a Mexican black bean fiesta! Ole! Serve these alongside our pork carnitas or either one of our chicken or beef fajitas!

Okay, so this summer we made a major mistake. Well, not a mistake, but we went through an incredibly stressful summer and it was all at our own doing. We chose to completely gut our kitchen and three of our bathrooms.

You guys, I know that seems like it’s not that big of a deal, but have children, have your job be completely centered around cooking, and then take away the sinks, anything with cooking, showers and toilets and then fill the whole house with endless people, dust, dirt, and chaos.

That is stress.

One thing after another fell apart, the kitchen backsplash tile was accidentally installed in the shower, the cabinets were late, and then late again, and then wrong. The floors were ruined, which we hadn’t planned to replace.

WE FOUND MOLD.

I mean, the list literally goes on for another mile and we were stretched beyond our own capacity. It was so hard living off of protein bars and cereal in plastic bowls and I’m not kidding, that’s what we ate. We aren’t the type to say, hey folks, we could use a dinner or heck a plate of cookies because we are drowning!!!!! But we have two friends who reached out and cooked us a meal at one point.

One of those meals involved these easy black beans and although they filled our spirits and we knew, we knew it was such a crazy tender mercy that day, they also happened to be the best, the most delicious Mexican Black Beans Ever!

What’s Needed for Mexican Black Beans?

To make this simple black bean side dish, you need just a handful of mostly pantry ingredients. Here’s what goes into this easy recipe:

• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Cumin
• Canned black beans
• Tomato sauce
• Fresh cilantro

The measurements of each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Mex

Easy Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Cilantro lime cauliflower rice has been our favorite side dish lately. We are always looking for healthy sides that compliment our main dish and round out a meal. This dish is light and bright with a punch of lime and fresh cilantro.

We often like to double down on veggies for a meal rather than doing a carb, so this cauliflower rice, or cauli-rice, acts like rice but without all the carbs.

Serve this up with our steak fajitas, pork carnitas, or smothered honey lime chicken burritos! It is the perfect compliment to any Mexican meal. Here are all our favorite Mexican main dishes so you can find the one that speaks to you!

What is Cauliflower Rice?

Cauliflower rice is cauliflower that has been chopped up into tiny pieces that resemble grains of rice in size and texture. It can be made at home by putting cauliflower florets in a food processor or it can be purchased already chopped at the grocery store.

How to Make Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

When it comes to easy side dishes, this one is right up there with the easiest. If you don’t buy cauliflower rice pre-chopped, take your head of cauliflower, remove the core and leaves, and break it into florets. Place the florets into your food processor or blender and pulse it until you have small pieces similar to the size of rice grains.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil, garlic and cumin and cook until it is fragrant (about a minute). Then add the cauliflower rice, lime juice, lime zest and cilantro and salt to taste and stir everything together. Cook it while stirring until it starts to turn brown slightly. It will take about 5-8 minutes. Serve it up with more fresh cilantro and enjoy!

How to Make Cauliflower Rice Not Soggy

I have found that the key to keeping cauliflower rice not soggy or mushy is to pan fry it or roast it in the oven. With just a little olive oil, the cauliflower will cook up just great on the stove top. Cauliflower stores a lot of moisture inside it, so it doesn’t need any extra moisture added to cook it. Once the cauliflower has been pulsed, you can squeeze it in a cheesecloth to omit some of the extra water.

How Many Carbs are in Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice?

Cauliflower is a popular low carb vegetable because it is so versatile. A cup of raw cauliflower contains just 5 grams of carbohydrates and 3 of those grams are fiber. That’s just 2 grams of digestible carbs!

For this recipe, 1 cup of cauli-rice is 71 calories and only 6 carbs.

Is Cauliflower Gluten Free?

Yes! Cauliflower is gluten free. This recipe is gluten free too and