Vegan Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is officially the most popular dressing in the United States. In a 2017 survey by the Association for Dressings and Sauces, 40% of Americans said it was their favorite dressing with Italian dressing way behind on 10%.

You’d never have believed that this hugely popular staple of American cuisine was invented by a plumber. Well it’s true!

Steve Henson, a plumber from the tiny village of Thayer, Nebraska, came up with the recipe when working as a construction worker in Anchorage.

Unable to get hold of fresh ingredients, Steve came up with a delicious mix using dried herbs and dried onion and garlic powder. The creaminess to his original mix came from buttermilk.

Ranch dressing is characterised by three main elements. First, the creaminess. For traditional ranch dressing, buttermilk is used, although mayonnaise and sour cream are sometimes used.

Next, ranch dressing needs a herby taste. Normally this comes from parsley and dill, although other fragrant herbs can be used too.

The third important part of ranch dressing is the ‘alium’ element. This means the deep savory flavor you get from onion and garlic.  

Of course, a big turn of the black pepper mill is essential too!

A simple twist on the original version, vegan ranch dressing uses similar basic ingredients to the original, with a few straightforward substitutes.

First of all, to make ranch dressing vegan, you need to replace the buttermilk, mayonnaise or sour cream with something dairy-free. 

When it comes to the perfect dairy-free ingredient to bring a smooth, velvety texture, look no further than cashews.

A dairy-free milk like unsweetened almond milk helps to bring the perfect creamy vegan consistency. You could also use vegan mayo, although, for me, cashews deliver a much better taste

Then, you simply add the same ingredients as you would for a standard ranch dressing. Simple!  

It’s so easy to make this recipe. It’s the best ranch dressing for adding to so many different types of foods and, once you’ve made it for the first time, you’ll want to keep a batch in the fridge at all times to bring some instant flavor.

Making this easy vegan ranch dressing is a three-step process:

Soak your cashews. You can do this overnight or, if you’re making this recipe in a hurry, you can soak them in boiled water for 15 minutes.

Once you’ve soaked and drained your cashews, place them in the blender along with the almond milk, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder and apple cider vinegar.

Garnish with the fresh dill, parsley and chives.

That’s it! Quick, easy and delicious!

Most good health-food stores and large supermarkets would stock vegan ranch dressing. Let’s be honest though, do you want to eat the store-bought stuff with all the potential additives when homemade vegan ranch dressing is so easy?

Six main ingredients and a three-step process for the best vegan dressing you’ll ever try. No need to buy it when the homemade stuff tastes this good and is so easy!

You’ve got a lot of options here, but the main thing to keep in mind is that you want an unsweetened dairy-free milk.

Soy milk and rice milk would both work well, as would coconut milk. Cashew milk would also be a good ingredient to use – check out my delicious homemade cashew milk recipe.

It’s nice to get a balance though and that comes with the blend of almond milk with the cashews in this recipe.

Feel free to have a play with different flavor combinations until you find your personal best vegan dressing. 

If you’re a garlic love, you could try black garlic salt or black garlic powder. You could even use fresh garlic if you don’t mind that powerful raw garlic kick – make sure you use a garlic press to get that fine garlic paste.

Another great dried ingredient that brings a wonderful savory flavor is celery salt. Add half a teaspoon along with the garlic and onion powder and adjust the salt according to taste.

You could also use different combinations of fresh herbs. Try oregano, thyme, tarragon alongside the chives, parsley and dill. Mix and match until you find your ideal herb mixture.

This vegan ranch recipe is oil free. You could add a drizzle of flavored oil if you wish – try something like an extra virgin olive oil infused with shallots and garlic or a straight garlic infused extra virgin olive oil. 

Then either leave out the garlic and onion powder or adjust to taste.

Actually, the original idea of ranch sauce was to use dried herbs. The inventor of the humble ranch dressing, Nebraskan Steve (see ‘What is ranch dressing’) specifically used the dried variety.

Still, change is good. Let’s focus on flavor and make use of fresh herbs.

While some herbs keep a lot of flavor when freeze dried – think thyme and oregano – others lose a lot of the taste and flavor that makes them delicious and fragrant when fresh.

Dried herbs are better kept for casseroles and stews, when the high temperature kills off the flavor of fresh herbs.

For dips and dressing, fresh is always the way to go.

This recipe will keep fresh for up to a week in the fridge.

Believe me, you’ll get through it a lot quicker than that, as this dressing goes with everything! Sandwiches? Check. Salads? Check. Leftover pizza? Check!

It doesn’t freeze well though, so bear in mind you’ll have to use it up within a week. That won’t be a problem though!