Lime Vinaigrette Recipe: How to Make a Cilantro Lime Dressing

A lime vinaigrette is a mixture of oil, lime juice, kosher salt, black pepper, and other ingredients for flavoring foods. Use fresh lime juice and even lime zest for extra lime flavor.

A lime vinaigrette recipe can be as straightforward or as complicated as you want. Beyond the basic ingredients, you can add garlic, Dijon mustard, honey, maple syrup, or other spices to alter the flavor depending on how you intend to use the vinaigrette. Olive oil is standard for vinaigrettes, but avocado oil works, too.

Store homemade vinaigrette in an airtight container, like a glass jar with a screw-top lid, in the refrigerator for up to two months. Homemade salad dressing recipes have a shorter shelf life than storebought ones due to their lack of preservatives.

Consider incorporating a zesty lime vinaigrette into your dishes in one or more of the following ways:

1. 1. Finishing sauce: Drizzle a homemade vinaigrette over grilled steak, chicken, or pork just before serving the dish. The lime juice brightens the savory flavors of the meat and brings freshness to the dish. The effect is the same for grilled or roasted vegetables. Alternatively, spoon the condiment over tacos or dip tortillas in the vinaigrette when making Mexican-style enchiladas.
2. 2. Marinade: Use a lime vinaigrette to marinate seafood, chicken, or vegetables. Marinate meat in the vinaigrette for about an hour, as any longer will cause the acid in the lime juice to “cook” the meat, giving it a tough texture and affecting its color. Ceviche is a popular dish that uses citrus juice and other acids to cook seafood and therefore requires a longer marinating time.
3. 3. Salad dressing: Add cilantro and cumin to the vinaigrette to make a Mexican-inspired cilantro-lime vinaigrette you can use on warm salads or cold salads, such as taco salads, arugula salads, quinoa salads, and other leafy green salads.