The girls took off for the beach yesterday, and before they left they both mentioned they were craving salad and wanted a Vegan Ranch Dressing.
"Can you make us a salad when we get back with some homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing?"
And that my friends, is how a new recipe gets created .... I mean how on earth can I say no to that? Right?
Knowing my daughter is Lactose Intolerant - and that Ranch is her favorite dressing - I immediately set off to create the perfect, Dairy-Free Vegan Ranch Dressing.
I knew right away though that the million dollar question was going to be - Soy Based? Or Cashew Based?
I know a lot of you hate Soy, and I know a lot of you avoid nuts. So there's really no winning here - other than just making it the way I would like. So for that super creamy texture I remember about Ranch - I went with Cashews. If you want to try this recipe with a block of Tofu? Feel free and let me know how it turns out.
This Vegan Ranch Dressing is a simple recipe, with virtually no prep time other than soaking some Cashews for a while. The rest is all done in a blender - so clean-up is a breeze.
What I did was basically start with just Cashews and Almond Milk in a blender - and then add some spices and flavorings bit by bit until I got the flavor I wanted.
Funny thing was - something always seemed to be missing - until I found my secret ingredient.
And now? It's Creamy Vegan Ranch Perfection.
Hope you like it as much as we do. My daughter had 3 bowls of salad - I think she liked it 🙂
Cool Vegan Ranch Dressing
Easy recipe - I promise.
Soak a cup of whole, unroasted, unsalted, Cashews in some hot water for at least an hour. The longer the better.
Afterwards, drain the cashews well and add to a blender.
Add in the remaining spices and flavorings, and blend on high until smooth and creamy. You may want to stop and scrape down the sides occasionally.
Pour into a container you can seal, and then refrigerate for at least an hour to thicken. The longer it sets, the thicker it will become. I had some the next day and it was perfect.
Oh - and in case you're wondering about that Secret Ingredient?
Miso. That added just the right pizzazz to make this the perfect Vegan Ranch Dressing.
Enjoy!
Cool Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 0 About 2 Cups 1x
- Category: Dressing
- Cuisine: American
Description
The Ultimate Vegan Ranch Dressing - completely oil-free and only using a few ingredients and spices. Perfect on a salad or just for veggie dipping.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cashews ((unsalted, unroasted))
- 1 cup Almond Milk ((unsweetened))
- 2 Tbs Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp White Miso
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Dried Parsley
- ¾ tsp Dill Seed ((ground))
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Soak Cashews in hot water for at least 1 hour.
- Drain well and add to blender along with remaining ingredients.
- Blend on high until smooth and creamy.
Lisa
I made this tonight for dinner, it was fantastic! I ate several more servings of salad than I would have because the dressing was so good!!
Thanks Chuck and happy birthday! 😊
★★★★★
Diana
Chuck,
Thank you for this recipe! I have been looking for a good vegan ranch for about 3 years. This is it! It is absolutely perfect. I will be eating more salads thanks to you. All of your recipes are spot on. I have never made one of your recipes that I didn't like. You are a wizard with whole plant foods. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
★★★★★
Deborah
Really enjoyed this dressing.
★★★★★
Kathy
Wow! This is SO good! I finally found a no oil, plant-based ranch dressing that I like. The only thing I changed was the dill. I only had dill weed, so used that. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us.
★★★★★
Shauna
Delicious! I could eat this on EVERYTHING!!! Didn’t have Miso so left it out and used dry dill. Been WFPB for a while now, but to me, this tastes as close to Ranch as I’ve tasted...super yummy!!
★★★★★
Shannon M
I’m not a ranch lover, BUT my niece and nephew are. Made this for them and they liked it. 🙂
I also used dried dill weed, worked fine.
Thanks, Chuck!
Lesley Nicol
Haven’t tried recipe yet as I have a question please.. Can anything else be used instead of Almond milk. TIA
Kathy
I just made this to go with the buffalo cauliflower wings from your website. This dressing is really good. I am excited to find a creamy dressing that will be so good on my salads. Thanks for sharing, Chuck!
★★★★★
Ashley
Thanks for an extremely versatile, delicious recipe! I took up your challenge of trying this with tofu, and it worked with 2 cups of silken tofu (300 g/10.5 oz package). Anyone who tries this version will probably need to add a few more spices to cover up the tofu taste. A little stevia, some ground black pepper, and more lemon juice worked for me. And because that was so delicious, I tried a spicy batch with those three ingredients plus chili powder and smoked paprika. Delicious and adaptable recipe. Thanks so much for this!
★★★★
Sil
Loved it !thank you so much for the recipe
★★★★★
Donna Doucet
I want to try this recipe but not sure what brand ok white miso to use. Do all brands of white miso has added sea salt
Chuck Underwood
Yes, Miso is traditionally kind of salty.
Patty
I did this exactly. Great texture; tasted like Duncan Hines vanilla frosting - not what I wanted. My husband thought it reminded him of that too. So disappointing. I've yet to find a recipe even useable and so sad I wasted my ingredients.
★
Becky
Perhaps you mistakenly used vanilla almond milk? I've done that before and it's definitely no good for savory recipes. 🙂 I just made it and there's definitely no vanilla flavor there. Just yummy ranch flavors...and I used dill weed and oat milk, which was all I had.
Victoria Busby
Do you have fat/calorie or nutritional info for this recipe? Thanks!!