• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Instant Pot Recipe Guide! download now!

FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


Thank you for subscribing!


Your Homebased Mom

  • About
  • Latest
  • Contact
NEW! Watch on youtube!

Your Homebased Mom

Leigh Anne Wilkes

  • Recipes
    • Course
      • Appetizers
      • Beverages
      • Bread
      • Breakfast and Brunch
      • Dessert
        • Bars and Brownies
        • Cake
        • Candy and Treats
        • Cookies
        • Ice Cream
        • Pie
      • Main Dishes
      • Salads
      • Sandwiches and Burgers
      • Sauces and Dressings
      • Side Dishes
      • Soup
    • Cooking Method
      • Crock Pot
      • Grilling
      • Instant Pot
      • One Pan
      • Oven
      • Quick and Easy
      • Recipes for Two
    • Ingredients
      • Beef
      • Eggs
      • Pasta
      • Pork
      • Poultry
        • Chicken
        • Turkey
      • Seafood
      • Vegetarian
      • Gluten Free
    • Cuisine
      • American
      • Asian
      • European
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
    • Holiday
      • New Year’s Eve
      • Valentine’s Day
      • St. Patrick’s Day
      • Easter
      • 4th of July
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Christmas
  • Travel
    • Europe
    • United States
      • New York City
      • Portland
    • What To Wear
  • Life
    • Home
    • Party Ideas
    • Empty Nesters
    • Church
      • Activity Day
      • Relief Society
    • Organizational Tips
    • Recommended Reads
  • New? Start Here
  • Subscribe for weekly recipes

    FREE 5 Instant Pot Meals in 5 Minutes E Course!


    Thank you for subscribing!


Recipe Finder

  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Bread
    • Breakfast and Brunch
    • Dessert
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches and Burgers
    • Sauces and Dressings
    • Side Dishes
    • Soup
  • Cooking Method
    • Oven
    • Crock Pot
    • Grilling
    • Instant Pot
    • One Pan
    • Quick and Easy
  • Ingredients
    • Beef
    • Eggs
    • Pasta
    • Pork
    • Poultry
    • Seafood
    • Vegetarian
    • Gluten Free
  • Cuisine
    • American
    • Asian
    • European
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Mediterranean
    • Mexican
  • Holiday
    • New Year’s Eve
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • 4th of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
Home / Latest Posts / Recipes / Cafe Rio Salad

Cafe Rio Salad

Jump to Recipe Share
Share on:
By: Leigh Anne WilkesPosted: 1/14/22Updated: 11/12/24

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see disclosure policy here.

OVERHEAD shot of cafe rio salad

Create a Cafe Rio Salad at home, just like they do at the restaurant complete with black beans, lime cilantro rice, sweet pork and their creamy cilantro ranch dressing. 

overhead shot of cafe rio salad

Cafe Rio Salad with creamy tomatillo ranch dressing is what I always order when I get a chance to eat at Cafe Rio.  I love, love, love it!  Since I don’t live near a Cafe Rio, I have found a way to recreate it at home.

side view of a cafe rio pork salad

Ingredients Needed

  • Sweet Pork
  • Cilantro Lime Rice
  • Black Beans
  • Cilantro Ranch Dressing
  • Lettuce
  • Tomatoes, chopped or use fresh pico de gallo
  • Guacamole
  • Tortilla Strips
  • Cilantro
  • Cotija Cheese.
  • Homemade Tortillas
  • Fresh limes, quartered

How to Make a Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Salad

  • Flour Tortilla. The base of the salad is a large flour tortilla. Place it on your plate or I like to serve it in disposable foil pans just like they do at the restaurant. If you don’t want to make your own tortillas I like the raw tortillas you can buy at the grocery store and then cook at home. My tortillas were smaller so I used two!
tortillas on a plate
  • Add a layer of lime cilantro rice and black beans.
  • Top with sweet pork or you can also used shredded chicken or barbacoa beef.
cafe rio sweet pork over rice
  • Add shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, a scoop of guacamole, some tortilla chips, a sprinkle of cotjia cheese and some fresh cilantro.
cafe rio salad with all the toppings
  • Finish it off with creamy tomatillo dressing. Cafe Rio serves a tomatillo ranch dressing that is a yummy combination of buttermilk ranch, tomatillos, and cilantro.

Tips from leigh Anne

  1. If you prefer, you can substitute the black beans with pinto beans or refried beans.
  2. Add a scoop of sour cream or guacamole to your salad.
  3. This is the perfect meal to fix for a crowd. Let everyone assemble their own salads according to their own taste preferences.
drizzling dressing over salad

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will the creamy cilantro dressing last?

Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator the dressing will last up to 2 weeks.

Where can I find the metal tins?

I buy them at the Dollar Store. You can also find them at the grocery store or a restaurant supply store.

So next time you get a Cafe Rio craving – make it yourself at home.  And if you won’t get a Cafe Rio craving because you’ve never had Cafe Rio before, make this salad anyway!

cafe rio salad in a metal tin

Check out more main dish salad recipes:

  • Cobb Salad
  • BLT Salad
  • BBQ Chicken Salad
  • Tri Tip Steak Salad
  • Oriental Chicken Salad
  • Harvest Bowl Salad

Be sure and follow me over on You Tube for weekly cooking demos.

5 from 1 vote
drizzling dressing over salad

Cafe Rio Salad

Recipe From: Leigh Anne Wilkes
Cafe Rio Salad is a delicious full meal in a salad. Lettuce, sweet pork, cilantro lime rice, black beans and creamy tomatillo dressing all served over a tortilla.
serves: 12 servings (6 large salads)
Prep:25 minutes minutes
Cook:4 hours hours
Total:4 hours hours 25 minutes minutes
Rate Recipe

Ingredients

  • lettuce
  • 2 tomatoes chopped
  • 12 0z guacamole
  • 12 0z cotija cheese.
  • 3 limes quartered
  • 12 flour tortillas
  • 3.5 oz tortilla strips

Sweet Pork

  • 1.5 lb boneless pork carnitas or shoulder
  • 12 oz Coca Cola  1 can, not diet or zero sugar
  • 1 c brown sugar divided
  • 10 oz enchilada sauce 
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 4 oz diced green chilies

Cilantro Rice

  • 2 tsp fresh cilantro
  • 1 c white basmati rice
  • 2 c water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 lime juice

Black Beans

  • 30 oz black beans  2 cans, drained
  • 2 cloves garlic  minced
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 C tomato juice
  • 1/4 c cilantro chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

  • 1 Hidden Valley Ranch Mix Traditional
  • 1 c mayonnaise
  • 1 c buttermilk
  • 2 tomatillos
  • 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 lime juice
  • 1 jalapeño

Instructions

Sweet Pork

  • Marinade pork overnight in can of coke and 1/4 C brown sugar.
  • Pour pork and liquid into crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours.
  • Remove meat and shred.
  • Discard liquid, Return meat to crock pot and add enchilada sauce, garlic, green chilies and brown sugar.
  • Cook on low for 30-60 more minutes.

Cilantro Rice

  • Bring water to boil, add rice and cover.
  • Cook until rice is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
  • Add lime juice, salt and cilantro. Stir to incorporate and fluff with fork.

Black Beans

  • In a pan, sauté garlic, cumin and olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it! About 1 minutes.
  • Add beans, tomato juice and seasoning and simmer until some of the liquid is absorbed and evaporated.
  • Stir in chopped cilantro when ready to serve.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

  • Put all ingredients together in the blender and blend to desired consistency.

Salad

  • Place flour tortilla on your plate and add a layer of rice and black beans to the top.
  • Top with sweet pork.
  • Add shredded lettuce, chopped tomato, a scoop of guacamole, some tortilla chips, a sprinkle of cotjia cheese and some fresh cilantro.
  • Finish it off with creamy tomatillo dressing.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 641kcal (32%) Carbohydrates: 79g (26%) Protein: 25g (50%) Fat: 26g (40%) Saturated Fat: 5g (31%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g Monounsaturated Fat: 8g Trans Fat: 0.03g Cholesterol: 47mg (16%) Sodium: 754mg (33%) Potassium: 777mg (22%) Fiber: 9g (38%) Sugar: 27g (30%) Vitamin A: 615IU (12%) Vitamin C: 21mg (25%) Calcium: 140mg (14%) Iron: 4mg (22%)
* Disclaimer: All nutrition information are estimates only. Read full disclosure here.
Course:dinner, Lunch
Cuisine:Mexican
drizzling dressing over salad
Did you make this?I love seeing what you made. Be sure to share a picture and tag @yourhomebasedmom on social media!
Tag on Insta! Leave a Rating
Previous Post
Black Bean Chili
Next Post
Sausage Chili

Reader Interactions

5 from 1 vote

Leave a Review Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Made this? Rate this recipe:




  1. Beth says

    Posted on 10/17 at 8:37 am

    We love the pork.. I can’t wait to try it as a salad.

    Reply
  2. Sarah says

    Posted on 11/13 at 11:30 am

    Hi there! I was wondering what recipe you use for the sweet pork? I tired all these recipes and they are all delicious! I found a recipe for the pork but wasn’t fond of it so thought I would see what recipe you have. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Leigh Anne says

      Posted on 11/14 at 3:58 pm

      I link to the recipe i use in the post

      Reply
  3. Michelle says

    Posted on 7/23 at 5:06 pm

    Hi! How many people does making all the recipes for the salad recipe yield? We are wanting to make it for a large amount of people so we are wanting to know if we need to triple or quadruple it! Thanks!! 🙂

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Seasonal Posts

dish of blueberry ice cream

Fresh Blueberry Ice Cream

hand holding a s'mores ice cream cone

S’mores ice Cream

Salted Caramel Ice Cream Recipe

Homemade Salted Caramel Ice Cream

creamsicle ice cream in a hand

Creamsicle Ice Cream

Most Popular Posts

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

Lemon Oatmeal Cookies

texas sheet cake for two in a baking pan

Chocolate Sheet Cake for Two {Texas Sheet Cake}

Crock Pot 5 ingredient Pork Roast sliced

Crock Pot Pork Roast

Herb Rice

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

Trending Now

overhead shot of cinnamon rolls

One Hour Cinnamon Rolls

plate of smashed potatoes and a fork

Crispy Smashed Potatoes

overhead shot of bowl of almond chicken

Almond Chicken

baked riblets

Easy Oven Baked Riblets

No knead bread in a pan

Instant Pot Bread

Tomato tart pieces

Easy Tomato Tart

spoon full of mac and cheese

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Almond Torte

  • Crock Pot
  • Instant Pot
  • Chicken
  • Breakfast
  • Appetizers
  • Bread
  • Salad
  • Dessert

Order my Cookbook, Holiday Slow Cooker!

Buy Now!
Back to Top
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure
  • Contact
© 2013–2025 Leigh Anne Wilkes Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.