Here’s our best vegan ranch dressing recipe, using cashews to make a creamy base and savory spices. It’s perfect for salads and dipping!
See Also:All Homemade Salad Dressings
Alright, let’s talk vegan salad dressings. Alex and I have a whole lot of naturally vegan vinaigrette dressings in our arsenal: like our best balsamic vinaigrette, Italian dressing, and Greek dressing. But of course you want RANCH right? Is ranch dressing vegan? Well, unfortunately not. Ranch is a mayonnaise based dressing, and our Homemade Ranch Dressing recipe includes both mayo and yogurt. However, we wanted to create a tasty vegan ranch dressing too. So, we did it! We figured out a way to make it vegan…and it tastes really good, too. Keep reading for our best vegan ranch dressing recipe.
How to make vegan ranch dressing
Most ranch dressings are made with a lot of mayonnaise. To make this creamy vegan ranch dressing recipe, we’ve used one of our favorite tricks: Cashew Cream. Soaking cashews for an hour and then blending them with water and salt is one of our favorite tricks for making vegan alternative to mayo and sour cream. We use it all the time, in soups, on tacos, and on sandwiches. (Head to that post for more!) In this vegan ranch dressing recipe, cashew cream is the star. It adds richness and helps the vegan ranch dressing adhere to the lettuce and vegetables. After making a lot of healthy dressings that don’t stick to the salad, we’re conscious about this aspect as well.
Related:10 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Add to the cashew cream some delicious spices: garlic powder, onion powder, and dried dill. It tastes delicious right away, but we like to refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors meld and to set the texture. Then pull it our of the refrigerator and mix it with just a teaspoon or so of water to get it to an easy to drizzle consistency.
How to serve this vegan ranch dressing
This best vegan ranch dresing recipe is perfect on any type of salad that you throw together! Here are a few of our salad recipes where we’d use it:
- California Salad with Chickpeas & Dill
- Ranch Wedge Salad with Potato Chips
- Vegetarian Cobb Salad
- Radish Chopped Salad Recipe
- Little Gem Wedge Salad
- Easy Salad Bar Ideas
Now of course, ranch is also perfect for dipping! Here are some delicious dipping ideas for our best vegan ranch dressing recipe:
- Carrots, celery & bell pepper strips (see this video on How to Cut a Pepper)
- Baked French Fries
- Yogurt Ranch Salad Pizza
- Potato chips
- Buffalo Cauliflower
- Veggie Dippers
How would you serve this vegan ranch recipe? Let us know in the comments below!
Related: How to Make Homemade Vinaigrette
This recipe is…
This best vegan ranch dressing recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
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Best Vegan Ranch Dressing
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
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Pin RecipeDescription
Here’s our best vegan ranch dressing recipe, using cashews to make a creamy base and savory spices. It’s perfect for salads and dipping!
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews (or 3/4 cup cashew cream)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the cashews in a bowl and cover them with water. Soak for at least 1 hour. For preparation in advance, you can soak the cashews overnight, which is even better.
- Drain the cashews. Add the cashews, 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to a blender, then blend on high for 1 minute. Stop and scrape, then add additional liquid if necessary to come to a creamy consistency. Blend for several minutes until creamy and smooth.
- Place 3/4 cup of the cashew cream into a medium bowl (a small amount will remain, which you can save for using as a vegan sour cream or mayo). Whisk in the apple cider vinegar, dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- You can serve right away, but we prefer refrigerating for a few hours so the flavors intensify and the texture sets up. Then before serving, mix it with a teaspoon or so of water to come to a drizzleable consistency.
- Category: Salad Dressings
- Method: Whisked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Vegan ranch recipe, Is ranch dressing vegan, Best vegan ranch, Cashew ranch dressing, Salad Dressing, Homemade Salad Dressing Recipe
About the Authors
Sonja Overhiser
Cookbook Author and writer
Sonja Overhiser is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best healthy cookbooks of 2018. She’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the food blog A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Sonja seeks to inspire adventurous eating to make the world a better place one bite at a time.
Alex Overhiser
Cookbook Author and photographer
Alex Overhiser is an acclaimed food photographer and author based in Indianapolis. He’s host of the food podcast Small Bites and founder of the recipe website A Couple Cooks. Featured from the TODAY Show to Bon Appetit, Alex is author of Pretty Simple Cooking, named one of the best vegetarian cookbooks by Epicurious.
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