Chili Lime Vinaigrette Recipe - Healthy Salad Dressing or Marinade (2024)

ThisChili Lime VinaigretteRecipe can be used as a marinade, sauce, or salad dressing! Incredibly easy to make and so versatile!

The mostimportantcomponent of a salad to me is the dressing. You can pretty much throw anything into a bowl and call it a salad, but a good dressing can take it from average to AMAZING!

Well, today’s chili lime vinaigrette recipe DEFINITELY takes any salad to the next level!

Ingredients

With the perfect blend of spices plus 4 additional ingredients, this healthy dressing recipe is SO easy and flavorful!

• Extra-Virgin Olive Oil– our healthy fat that adds creaminess to the dressing. Use a “smooth” vs “robust” extra virgin olive oil for a mild flavor.
• Lime Juice– adds a delicious tang to the dressing.
• Honey– cuts the tanginess of the lime juice with a sweet flavor.
• Garlic– rounds out the dressing with its nutty flavor. If you don’t have fresh, use ground garlic powder instead.
• Chili Powder, Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Salt, and Cayenne Pepper– the perfect blend of spices that adds a Mexican inspired flair to this lime vinaigrette.

I LOVE that this recipe uses pantry staple ingredients. Freshly squeezed lime is GREAT, but I’ve had plenty of success with 100% lime juice from a bottle.

How to make chili lime vinaigrette

Place everything into a sealed container, shake, and serve!

1. Place all your ingredients in a mason jar, food processor, or blender and then shake or blend until fully combined.

You can use a mason jar, food processor, or blender to make this vinaigrette, but I prefer using a mason jar, because you can pour, shake, serve, and store all in the same container!

Less dirty dishes? Yes please!

Do i use fresh or already-squeezed lime juice?

You can use fresh or already-squeezed juice in this lime vinaigrette . . . It really doesn’t matter! Cook’s preference. I love the freshness that comes with squeezing my own lime juice, but if you’re crunched for time, bottled lime juice works just as well!

How many calories are in this vinaigrette?

This healthy vinaigrette recipe is just 54 calories, 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of carbs, and 1 gram of protein per tablespoon.

I love making my own salad dressings, because they’re typically lower in calories, healthier, more flavorful, and super easy!

Tips

• Shake well.Your dressing will naturally separate as it’s stored in the fridge, so be sure to shake and re-shake before serving!
• Let it come to room temperature before serving. If the oil has started to congeal from being in the fridge, set the dressing out 10 minutes before serving. Then, yep, give it another shake! 😉
• Make it in advance for meal prep lunches. Or make it as a last minute “oops” I need lunch. This dressing is so easy, I love making a batch to keep in the fridge.

Variations

• Make it spicier. If you like things extra spicy, add more cayenne! You could also try adding crushed red pepper flakes or even a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.
• Make it sweeter. Or less sweet. Add as much or as little honey as you’d like.
• Make it tangier. Or less tangy. Add as much or as little lime as you’d like.
• Add some lime zest.If you squeeze your own lime juice, you can use the peel from the lime and add some zest to your dressing for some additional lime flavor!

Ways to use chili lime vinaigrette

You can use this healthy vinaigrette as a marinade, a salad dressing, or a sauce for quinoa salad or rice bowls. The possibilities are endless.

• Use it as a marinade for this Crockpot Mexican Chicken
• Use it as a salad dressing for these Chicken Burrito Bowls
• Use it as a sauce for this Mexican Quinoa Salad

How long does homemade vinaigrette last

This healthy dressing recipe will last in the fridge for up to a week so you can have it for your meals all week long!

How to store

Store your vinaigrette in a sealed mason jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week!

I don’t recommend freezing this because it will separate and the consistency will not be the same when thawed.

Plus, it’s so good you won’t need to store it that long anyway. 😉

– Jennifer

This post has been updated to provide more detailed content.