Cafe Rio Recipes

If you've lived in Utah or Arizona, you might know what Cafe Rio is. If not, I am so sorry for your poor unfortunate soul! Cafe Rio has some of the best fresh Mexican food. You might compare its style to Chipotle' or Bajio. To sum it all up, it's delish!



If you aren't in Utah or Arizona, you can still enjoy a little cafe rio...at home. I found these recipes from some one's blog...a personal blog, so I won't link to it, but I will say these are not my own concoctions. I only tried the sauce and the rice last night, but I'll include the recipes she had listed for the pork and chicken. All these recipes make a ton, so you can half if there's just a few of you!

Café Rio Creamy Tomatillo Ranch Dressing - This dressing is killer and a must!


1 bottle fat free ranch dressing (I made mine from a Hidden Valley Ranch packet)
2 tomatillos**
½ bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
Juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeño (remove the seeds)

Blend everything together in a food processor. Mine came out a little too thick for my liking so I added a little milk.

**If you are like me and have never used a tomatillo or aren't sure what it looks like, you can find it by the peppers in the produce section. It looks like a green tomato with a husk. REMOVE the husk before using it.

Café Rio Cilantro Lime Rice
6 c water
4 t chicken bouillon
4 t garlic –minced
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles
¾ t salt
1 T butter
½ onion
3 c rice

Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.

Cafe Rio Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crock pot on high for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.

Pork Barbacoa
3.5 lbs pork roast
1 bottle taco sauce (8 oz)
1 T cumin
1 C brown sugar
1 can Coke (not diet)

Cook pork in pot on high for 4 hours. Shred, Add ingredients, cook an additional 3 hours on low.
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I'll have to try the Chicken and Pork recipe sometime. Normally I like to just crock pot chicken with a can of green chiles and taco seasoning. Mmm!

Any of these would go great in a burrito or a taco salad. We prefer taco salads! I use a large metal bowl, place our tortillas in it so that it forms to the inside of the bowl (it pleats a bit) and bake it for about 10 minutes on 250 degrees, check often to make sure it doesn't burn though! This makes nice (healthy version) taco shells! Throw in some rice, black beans, chicken or pork, chopped green leaf lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and creamy tomatillo sauce and you'll be in heaven! Pico De Gallo is always a good topper too!

Enjoy!