A summer dressing that's fresh and bright

Salads are a perfect lunch for the summertime. They’re fresh, healthy, and don’t need to be heated.

But some of the classic dressings are so not-summery.

So we made this bold and refreshing dressing with all fresh ingredients.

Top all of your salads with this stuff, you’re going to love it!

The $18 salad

Whenever I go to lunch with a friend, the topic of salads comes up.

Are you getting a salad?

Everyone is trying to eat healthier nowadays, and almost every menu features salads. We’re spoiled with some of the best salads in the Chicago restaurant scene. Creative combos with fresh ingredients and to-die-for dressings.

But they’ll set you back $18!

The conversation always goes like this:

-“Oh my gosh, look how good this salad looks!”
“Yum, that looks amazing”
-“I know, but… I could totally make this at home.”
“Right? And it’s $18”
-“But it looks so good”
“Let’s order a flatbread instead”

So we never end up ordering those amazing salads. We just can’t justify the price.

And we’re right. We can make them at home.

They’re easy. Except there’s one big challenge: Making a dressing that even remotely compares.

Well guess what? I just did.

This dressing tastes exactly like what a downtown restaurant would serve you for lunch.

This one is light, flavorful, bright, and refreshing. It’s got a complex flavor profile without overpowering your salad.

I’m thinking I could make quite a bit of this stuff for 18 bucks too! 😉

You really could eat this dressing on any salad, but we chose a Mexican-style one.

• Grilled corn
• Black beans
• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Red onions
• Spinach

Thinking it would also be great on a summer salad with blackberries, apricots, beets and slivered almonds (like the one shown in our Apricot Poppyseed Vinaigrette post).

Enough talk. Go make this Mango Cilantro Lime Dressing today!

Recipe

Cilantro Lime Mango Dressing

Print RecipePin Recipe

• Yield: 4 servings
• You're needed for: 5 minutes
• Until it's done: 5 minutes
• Shalva Gale
• Dinner Tonight

A fresh and complex summery dressing

Cilantro, Lime, Mango, Olive oil,

Ingredients:

• mango (peeled) - 1/2 whole
• lime (peeled) - 1/2 whole
• lime (with peel) - garnish size piece
• cilantro (fresh) - 2 Tbsp.
• olive oil - 3 Tbsp.
• salt - 1/4 tsp.
• pepper - to taste

Instructions:

1. If using a large container, consider doubling or tripling the batch
2. Add all ingredients to blender container
3. If not using a Vitamix omit the lime with peel (it’s hard to process)
4. Ramp from variable speed 1 to 10
5. Blend on high for 45 seconds
6. Top your favorite salad
7. Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
8. Enjoy!

Useful tips for Cilantro Lime Mango Dressing

The fresher the ingredients, the better.

And we used our Vitamix, but any blender or food processor should work fine.