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Avocado Ranch is the cool, creamy, herb-packed dipping sauce that makes you want to put it on everything, and I cracked the Chili’s copycat after Maddie kept ordering it with her fries every single time we ate out. It blends up in about five minutes in a food processor, and it is just as crave-worthy drizzled on tacos as our homemade buttermilk ranch is on a salad.
Creamy avocado, tangy buttermilk, and fresh herbs make this the best dip, dressing, and drizzle all in one.
Avocado Ranch Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 0 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 5 minutes
- 🍽 Serving: 2 cups
- ⚡ Calories: 557kcal
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Cool, creamy, and herby with avocado, buttermilk, and a hit of lime
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, as simple as our buttermilk ranch
Quick Answer
Add buttermilk, mayonnaise, a mashed avocado, fresh cilantro, scallions, garlic, lime juice, dill, salt, cumin, and pepper to a food processor. Process until completely smooth and creamy, then transfer the avocado ranch to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Use it right away or chill it in the fridge until you are ready to dip, drizzle, or dress.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Avocado makes it rich and creamy. A ripe avocado blends into the buttermilk and mayo for a thick, velvety texture you cannot get from ranch alone.
- Buttermilk brings the tang. Tangy buttermilk gives this avocado ranch that signature cool, slightly sour ranch flavor.
- Fresh herbs do the heavy lifting. Cilantro, dill, and scallions blended fresh give it a bright, garden flavor that dried herbs cannot match.
- Lime and cumin nod to Chili’s. A squeeze of lime and a pinch of cumin give it that subtle Tex-Mex flavor that tastes just like the restaurant version.
- The food processor makes it smooth. Blending everything together emulsifies the avocado and buttermilk into one silky, pourable sauce with no chopping required.
- It does triple duty. Thick enough to dip with, pourable enough to dress a salad, and perfect drizzled over tacos, all from one batch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It comes together in just five minutes in a food processor with no cooking required.
- It tastes just like the Chili’s version, so you can make it for a fraction of the cost at home.
- It works as a dip, a dressing, and a drizzle, perfect with everything from fries to our Chili’s enchilada soup.
Key Ingredients
- Avocado: One ripe, mashed avocado gives the ranch its creamy body and beautiful green color.
- Buttermilk: The tangy base that gives avocado ranch its signature cool, slightly sour ranch flavor.
- Mayonnaise: Adds richness and helps the dressing stay thick and creamy.
- Fresh Cilantro and Dill: Blended in fresh for a bright, herby flavor that makes this taste homemade.
- Scallions and Garlic: Add a savory, oniony depth that rounds out the ranch.
- Lime and Cumin: A squeeze of fresh lime and a pinch of cumin give it that subtle Tex-Mex, Chili’s-style flavor.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
- Make it thicker: use less buttermilk for a dip, or more for a pourable dressing.
- Add heat: blend in a jalapeno or a pinch of cayenne for a spicy avocado ranch.
- Swap the herbs: use parsley or basil if you are not a cilantro fan.
- Make it lighter: use Greek yogurt or sour cream in place of some of the mayo.
- Use it as a dressing: thin it out and drizzle over a salad like our buttermilk ranch.
How to Make Avocado Ranch
- Add the buttermilk, mayonnaise, mashed avocado, cilantro, scallions, garlic, lime juice, dill, salt, cumin, and black pepper to a food processor.
- Process until completely smooth and creamy, then transfer to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Use right away or chill in the fridge.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a ripe avocado. A soft, ripe avocado blends smoothest and gives the best creamy texture.
- Adjust the thickness. Add more buttermilk for a pourable dressing or less for a thick dip.
- Taste and season. Add a little more lime or salt at the end to brighten the flavor.
- Press plastic onto the surface. To keep the ranch from browning, press plastic wrap right onto the top before refrigerating.
- Use fresh herbs. Fresh cilantro and dill give a much brighter flavor than dried.
- Blend until silky. Process a little longer for a perfectly smooth, restaurant-style sauce.
- Make it ahead. The flavor gets even better after an hour in the fridge.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This avocado ranch is a triple threat: use it as a dip for tortilla chips, fries, or veggies, as a dressing on a crisp salad, or as a drizzle over tacos and burrito bowls. It is incredible spooned over our chicken burrito bowl or used to cool down a spicy plate.
Set it out on a party spread next to our spinach artichoke dip and a bowl of queso dip for the ultimate dipping station. It is also a fantastic sauce for grilled chicken, wings, and quesadillas.
Drizzle it over nachos, slather it on a wrap, or use it as a sandwich spread for an instant flavor upgrade. However you serve it, this creamy green sauce disappears fast, so you may want to double the batch.
Avocado Ranch FAQs
Avocado Ranch is made of buttermilk, mayonnaise, a ripe avocado, fresh cilantro, scallions, garlic, lime juice, dill, salt, cumin, and black pepper, all blended smooth. It is a creamy ranch with a Tex-Mex twist.
Stored in an airtight container, Avocado Ranch lasts about three to four days in the refrigerator. Press plastic wrap onto the surface to help slow any browning from the avocado.
Yes, this is a copycat of Chili’s creamy avocado ranch, with the same cool, herby, slightly tangy flavor. The lime and cumin give it that signature restaurant taste.
Yes. Swap the mayonnaise for sour cream or Greek yogurt for a lighter Avocado Ranch. The texture will be slightly tangier but still creamy and delicious.
Press plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the Avocado Ranch before refrigerating and add the fresh lime juice, which helps slow browning. It is best enjoyed within a few days.
Use Avocado Ranch as a dip for chips, fries, and veggies, a dressing for salads, or a drizzle for tacos, burrito bowls, and grilled chicken. It is endlessly versatile.
Copycat Chili’s Avocado Ranch
Ingredients
- 1 cup buttermilk
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 medium avocado mashed
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 4 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tablespoon lime juice fresh squeezed
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- In a food processor, add the buttermilk, mayonnaise, avocado, cilantro, scallions, garlic, lime juice, dill, salt, cumin, and pepper.1 cup buttermilk, ½ cup mayonnaise, 1 medium avocado, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 4 scallions, 1 garlic clove, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- For best results, process until smooth.
- Transfer to a container with tight-fitting lid to store it in. Use it right away or place it in the fridge.
Notes
- You can use this homemade Avocado Ranch dressing for other things, see my tips above.
- Easily double this recipe to have more on hand.
- We do not recommend freezing this.
- Use any of your favorite dippers for this avocado ranch dressing recipe. It could even be a sandwich spread!
- If you don’t have fresh limes you can use white distilled vinegar in its place.
- You can make your own buttermilk for this recipe, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Drizzle this creamy avocado ranch over our chicken burrito bowl for the ultimate fresh, Tex-Mex flavor.
That was so good! It’s been long since I had avocado ranch from Chili’s so from recollection it tastes so much like it.
It is, thank you I have updated the recipe.
how much buttermilk do you need..I am assuming it is 1 cup.