Is the creamy salsa dressing at Chick-fil-A your favorite dressing? Our copycat recipe tastes so good, you'll want to have it on repeat. It's super quick to make and is incredibly versatile.
Looking for other copycat salad dressings? Don't miss our Chick-fil-A avocado lime ranch and our ultimate guide to Chick-fil-A salad dressings.
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About
Chick-fil-A is one of the most popular fast food restaurant chains in the US. They are famous for their chicken sandwiches and entree chicken salads.
One of their more popular dressings is the creamy salsa dressing, which was made for the spicy Southwest salad back in 2016. The creamy salsa dressing tastes amazing, and if you aren't counting your calories, we would recommend making this dressing on repeat.
Why This Recipe Works
- This recipe takes ingredients that are easy to find at most large grocery stores.
- There's minimal chopping and prep work.
- It has a smooth, creamy texture, since everything is blitzed together in a food processor or high speed blender.
- It has the right blend of spices so it tastes like Chick-fil-A's.
- It's creamy and easy to pour.
Ingredients
All the ingredients for our copycat creamy salsa dressing are easy to find at large grocery stores. Even though the ingredient list is long, it's a snap to make.
- Dairy: We used full fat sour cream, mayo, and buttermilk.
- Fresh Produce: We used cilantro, jalapeño peppers, and limes.
- Condiments: We used medium salsa and hot sauce.
- Spices: We used cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, cayenne pepper, ancho chili powder, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Need this vegan or dairy free? Use vegan yogurt, mayo or cashew cream.
- Need lower calories? Swap out the sour cream for Greek yogurt.
How To Make
Gather all the ingredients. Prep the limes, cilantro and jalapeños, and measure out the spices.
- Add the liquids first: sour cream, mayo, salsa, lime juice, hot sauce, and buttermilk.
- Next, add the cilantro leaves and jalapeño peppers. Finish off by adding the dried spices: cumin, garlic powder, sea salt, cayenne pepper, ancho chili powder, black pepper and smoked paprika.
3. Blitz everything in a food processor or high speed blender.
4. This recipe makes just under 2 cups. For maximum flavor, store in the fridge in an an tight container, like a mason jar, until cold then drizzle over your favorite salad, or bowl meal or tacos. We like to use it on our Chick-fil-A copycat Southwest salad.
Recipe FAQs
According to the back of the package, the first ingredient is soybean oil followed by roasted tomato puree, water, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, jalapeño pepper, salt, sugar, onion, garlic, cilantro, green bell pepper, lime juice, red bell pepper, and quite a few preservatives.
Chick-fil-A's dressing has a Southwest flavor due to the use of cumin, hot peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. It is a tiny bit spicy from the hot sauce and peppers, but when it's on salad the spiciness balances out and it's just the right level of heat for a summer salad.
Currently, this popular restaurant states that all of their dressings are gluten-free.
Yes, this creamy dressing tastes best when it's chilled, and any leftovers will need to be stored in the fridge for maximum freshness.
Serve
This versatile creamy dressing tastes amazing on salads, but you can also use it on fresh raw veggies as a dip, as a spread on sandwiches and hamburgers, burrito bowls, fajitas, like our copycat Chipotle fajitas veggies, tacos, like our quinoa taco meat and our lentil taco meat, pasta for a Tex-Mex baked ziti, and scrambled eggs.
If you are a fan of Chick-Fil-A's salads, you want to check out our other recipes for copycat Chick-fil-A Cobb salad, copycat Chick-fil-A market salad, copycat Chick-fil-A side salad, copycat Chick-fil-A Asian salad, and our copycat Chick-fil-A Lemon Kale Caesar salad.
Store
- Make Ahead: This copycat Chick-fil-A creamy salsa dressing can be completely made the night before. It tastes better the second day, as it has time for the flavors to meld and for the dressing to chill and thicken a little.
- Leftovers: Pour this creamy dressing into a mason jar or other airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Since there is dairy in this dressing, we don't recommend freezing any leftovers, as it will separate once it thaws.
Expert Tips
- Taste the dressing and adjust it to your taste preferences.
- Chill in the fridge for an hour or two before using.
- Need lower calories? Swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt.
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Recipe
Creamy Salsa Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup Duke's mayo
- ¾ cup medium salsa, Frontera Jalapeño Cilantro Salsa (Medium)
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 jalapeno, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce, Cholula chili lime
- 1 tablespoon buttermilk, to thin
Equipment
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or high speed blender until the ingredients are well blended and the cilantro is the texture you like.
- Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Pour the dressing into a pint-sized mason jar with a lid and refrigerate until ready to serve. The dressing will thicken in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- Taste the dressing and adjust it to your taste preferences.
- Chill in the fridge for an hour or two before using.
- Need lower calories? Swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Alex
The dressing has a bit of tang, and the cumin adds a nice bit of spice. The sauce is quite creamy, and perfect for a taco.
Emma
Thank you, Alex!
Beth
I love the spiciness and the creaminess of this dressing. It's a great dressing for salads and even on tacos!
Emma
We're so glad you enjoyed it, Beth!