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This vegan ranch dressing is creamy and delicious, with just the right savory flavor from dill and garlic. Drizzle it on salads or use it as a dip!
There are lots of naturally vegan salad dressings, like balsamic vinaigrette, Italian dressing, and Greek dressing. But what about a creamy ranch?
Ranch is a dairy-based dressing, but I figured out a way to make our homemade ranch dressing vegan and it tastes amazing. Just a few tricks make a naturally plant-based, creamy dressing that tastes just as good as the real thing.
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Made this just now and it is BOMB! Super easy too! I can’t believe I’ve lived without ranch for the past 3 years when I could have just made this! Thank you for this!!” -Ari
Ingredients You’ll Need
Most ranch dressings are made with lots of mayonnaise. The trick to this creamy vegan ranch dressing recipe is cashew cream. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Raw cashews: Blending raw cashews makes a creamy vegan alternative to mayo and sour cream (I use it all the time in soups, pasta sauces and more). Cashew cream adds richness and helps the dressing coat the lettuce and vegetables.
- Apple cider vinegar: Just a hint adds the tang that’s characteristic of ranch dressing.
- Dried dill: This is the signature ranch herb: I love using dried dill but you can also use it in combination with fresh.
- Garlic powder and onion powder: These simple spices bring in the savory flavor.
How to Make Vegan Ranch Dressing
The one thing to remember with this dressing is to remember to soak the cashews! Other than that, it’s simple.
- Soak cashews. Place the cashews in water for 1 hour before blending; to shortcut the time, you can boil them on the stove for 15 minutes, then drain.
- Add them to a blender with water and salt to make cashew cream.
- Add ranch spices. Add to the cashew cream some delicious ranch spices: garlic powder, onion powder, and dried dill.
- Refrigerate until serving. It tastes delicious right away, but we like to refrigerate for a few hours to let the flavors meld and to set the texture.
Variations To Try
- Fresh herb ranch: I absolutely love this recipe with 1 tablespoon fresh dill: it’s so delicious!
- Spicy ranch: Add a few teaspoons of hot sauce (I like Cholula here) or a pinch of chipotle powder.
- Chipotle ranch: Add some smoky adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chilis; see my Chipotle Ranch dressing.
Ways to Use Vegan Ranch
This vegan ranch dressing recipe is perfect for drizzling onto any type of salad that you throw together! Of course, you can also use it as a dip: which we love even more! Here are a few ideas for how to use it:
- Green salads like Chopped Salad, Romaine Lettuce Salad or Butter Lettuce Salad
- Wedge salads like Classic Wedge Salad
- Dip for veggies like carrots, celery & bell pepper strips
- Dip for fries, like baked French fries
- Sauce for pizza, like Vegan Pizza
- Dip for potato chips
- Dip for falafel
Storage and Make-Ahead Tips
You can store vegan ranch refrigerated for up to 1 week. It thickens as it chills , so bring it to room temperature before serving and add a hint of water if necessary to thin it out.
This is a great make-ahead dressing if you soak the cashews over night. Extra cashew cream can be used for dolloping burrito bowls, adding to tacos, etc.
Dietary Notes
This vegan ranch dressing recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, plant-based, and dairy-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Traditional ranch is not vegan: it’s made with buttermilk and sour cream, which contain dairy, and mayo, which contains eggs.
Most vegan ranch dressing recipes use either cashews or vegan mayo as the base, then ranch seasonings and vinegar.
Yes, just go to my healthy ranch dressing recipe and use vegan mayo for the mayo and Greek yogurt.
Vegan Ranch Dressing
This vegan ranch dressing is creamy and delicious, with just the right savory flavor from dill and garlic. Drizzle it on salads or use it as a dip!
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: ¾ cup 1x
- Category: Salad Dressings
- Method: Whisked
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 cup cashews (or ¾ cup cashew cream)
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ 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. As a quick work around, you can boil the cashews for 15 minutes, then drain.
- Drain the cashews. Add the cashews, ¾ cup water, and ½ 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 ¾ 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 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ 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.
Should the cashews be raw or can they be dry roasted?
raw is better, but roasted will work (it just won’t be quite as creamy)
Made this just now and it is BOMB! Super easy too! I can’t believe I’ve lived without ranch for the past 3 years when I could have just made this! <3 Thank you for this!!
One question – how long is it good for when stored in a glass mason jar in the fridge?
Oh I’m so glad to hear this! I think you could probably store it for up to 1 week refrigerated!
Thank you! Awesome
Great! What I wanted to hear. I’ll give it a shot. Thanks Alex.
Most vegan ranch dressings I’ve tried don’t actually taste like ranch. Does this one…before I make it?
Thanks.
Haha! We think so :)
What did you think about the ranch? Taste like ranch?
I made this Ranch dressing for the 1st time, It is dilecious I will pour it over the Fire vegan chili I made last night.