Dairy Free Ranch Dressing
A creamy, simple, delicious, made-from-scratch, dairy free ranch dressing recipe that can be made in minutes.
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As long as I can remember, I have always loved ranch dressing. It was always my favorite part of a salad before I learned to appreciate the amazing flavors that veggies and proteins had to offer. I have matured now I guess, I now like a little dressing with my salad, not a little salad with my dressing.
My kids love it as well, so we go through a lot of ranch dressing. The only problem is that when we started reading labels, we realized that we couldn't buy our old go to brands anymore. Soybean oil, canola oil, no thanks. I bought some healthier brands made with avocado oil, but they were costly and didn't fit into the budget as often as I would have liked. They also weren't available at nearby stores.
So, like everything else in our food transformation journey, I needed a made from scratch ranch dressing that I could make whenever I needed it. Now we can top our salads and dip our gluten free pizza in ranch as we please. And it's a big part of my yummy dairy free buffalo chicken dip. So yummy! Go make yourself a pizza, buffalo chicken wing dip, a salad, or just grab some carrots and dig in.
Why you'll love this recipe:
Quick, Easy, and Customizable
No specialty ingredients needed. Quicker than a trip to the store. You can customize the taste by adjusting the spices. Love dill? Add some extra! Hate garlic? Leave it out!
Healthier and cleaner ingredients
No preservatives. No seed oils or unpronounceable mystery ingredients like in so many bottled ranch dressings. Naturally gluten free. Using avocado oil gives your body a dose of nutrient dense healthy fat.
More affordable
This dressing is more affordable compared to the little bottles at the grocery store that cost an arm and a leg. No more rationing out the ranch dressing!
Endlessly versatile
Great on salads, veggies or wings. Drizzle on Bar-b-que chicken, pizza, or tacos. Perfect for my dairy free buffalo chicken dip recipe. Having a delicious ranch dressing on hand is an easy way to help your kids (or husbands) get their greens in.
What you'll need for the dairy free ranch dressing:
Tools:
Handheld immersion blender
A wide mouth quart mason jar. *Note that although this makes 1 pint of dressing a quart jar works best for mixing.
Ingredients:
Avocado oil- I wouldn't recommend swapping for a different oil. Stick only to avocado oil for this recipe. I have found that Aldi has the best price for this in my area.
Eggs-Yup, this recipe is made with raw eggs. I use eggs from our own pastured chickens. Try to source some or if you're not comfortable eating raw eggs you could use pasteurized eggs.
Apple cider vinegar- I love apple cider vinegar with the mother, but without the mother will work.
Coconut butter milk- full fat canned coconut milk with vinegar or lemon juice (if dairy's not a problem you can use whole milk instead)
Dijon mustard- fancy or basic, I use the basic
Lemon juice- fresh squeezed or I love a bottled organic 100% lemon juice with no preservatives
Salt- Redmond's mineral salt, or whatever you have on hand
Pepper- nothing fancy just plain old pepper
Spices-
*All pictures below show a doubled recipe*
This dairy free ranch recipe is made in a similar fashion as homemade mayonnaise, so it's important to add the ingredients in the order as described so that the oil and other liquid ingredients emulsify and do not split. (In simple terms that just means that the oil will separate from the other ingredients and won't turn into a creamy dressing.) Add everything except for avocado oil, and the dried minced garlic in the jar (the dried minced garlic doesn't get added until the end) as pictured here below, then add the avocado oil on top of the other ingredients.
This is what your jar should look like after adding the avocado oil. (Again, I made a double batch this time, so if you follow the regular recipe your jar will be half as full.)
Place the immersion blender in the bottom of the jar. Start blending staying at the bottom for about 10 seconds. Then slowly pull the immersion blender up to the top of the jar. Blend until all of the oil is mixed in.
Finally add the dried minced garlic and stir it in with a spoon. The dressing will be runny but will thicken up after being chilled. That's it! Place in the fridge for 2 hours and enjoy!
Dairy Free Ranch Dressing
Equipment
- wide mouth quart mason jar
- immersion blender
Ingredients
For the buttermilk substitute
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk from a can, room temperature, blended if needed *if you're not dairy free whole milk works too
- ½ Tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to make buttermilk
For the dressing
- 1 egg room temp.
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ Tablespoon apple cider vinegar raw, with the mother
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon mineral salt Redmond Real Salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ Tablespoon dried dill weed
- ½ Tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ Tablespoon dried chives
- 1 cup avocado oil added last
- ½ teaspoon dried minced garlic stirred in at the end
Instructions
Prepare the buttermilk substitute:
- In a ½ cup measuring cup, add ½ tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice. Fill the rest of the measuring cup with coconut milk to reach ½ cup total. Stir gently and let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle and thicken.
Assemble the dressing:
- In a wide-mouth quart jar, add the eggs, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, mineral salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, dried dill weed, dried parsley, dried chives, and the prepared buttermilk substitute from step 1.
- Pour the avocado oil on top of the mixture in the jar.
Emulsify with an immersion blender:
- Insert a handheld immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar. Turn it on and blend at the bottom for about 10 seconds to start the emulsification process. (Don't mix from the top down. Follow the directions precisely for best results) Once it begins to thicken at the bottom, slowly lift the blender upward toward the top of the jar. At this point, the oil should fully incorporate, creating a creamy non-separated mixture.
Add the garlic:
- Add the dried minced garlic and stir it in with a spoon until evenly distributed.
Chill and serve:
- The dressing will be a little runny but will thicken after chilled. Place the jar into the refrigerator and let chill for at least 2 hours to thicken. For optimal flavor, its best enjoyed on the second day, once the spices and herbs have fully developed in the dressing. Store in the refrigerator and use within 5-7 days.
Notes
Once you try this dairy free ranch you'll be hooked! It's proof that dairy free can be indulgent and delicious. Give it a try and let me know in the comments how you use it- I'd love to hear from you!
