this oil free, vegan ranch dressing is a quick and easy recipe! a flavorful take on the classic – celery adds a crisp pop of flavor to this cool ranch!
recipe originally published January 22, 2013
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Vegan Ranch
In all my years of ranching (heh…), I have become quite the connoisseur. Not all ranch is the same. For instance, I love the flavor and consistency of something like a packet of ranch powder mixed with milk.
I do not enjoy the flavor or consistency of most ready made, store bought ranch dressing. I am not a fan of most bottled dressings.
I do love to make my own, and it takes just minutes to do.
First of all, I like a thin dressing. This celery ranch dressing is thin, dippable. I like the traditional ranch flavors, including whatever Cool Ranch means. Cool is most definitely an aspect of this flavor, and I have been trying to recreate it for a while now, in addition to the tangy herby flavors ranch is known for.
How to make vegan ranch dressing
This vegan ranch dressing has options – an oil free version and one that is mayonnaise based.
While it may seem like a completely strange ingredient, coconut milk helps give it the cool taste I was looking for. If you want to try this recipe and think I’m nuts, please feel free to substitute milk of your choice, I promise it works with just about any unsweetened milk. I make it with all kinds of milk.
If you want to use your vegan mayonnaise, just use it in place of the first three ingredients listed – leave out the cashews, lemon juice, and water.
If you like a Dill Ranch Dressing, add more dried dill! The flavor is incredible, and the color will take on a glorious green hue:
Should salad dressing be cold before using?
This celery ranch dressing definitely needs to be stored in the refrigerator, but it does not need to be cold before you serve it. I prefer my ranch “cool” but it tastes great right after you make it, too.
Benefits of celery
Celery has been having a moment recently. More than a moment, a lengthy pause in the spotlight.
I will eat a piece of celery when I need a vehicle for a peanut butter snack, knowing I am benefitting from all sorts of fiber, antioxidants and vitamins.
Ever hear the phrase “eat your water” from a doctor or nutritionist before? Celery is mostly water, and has a satisfying crunch under all of that peanut butter.
Celery adds great flavor to this ranch dressing, a pairing that tastes like it was meant to be.
How long does ranch dressing last?
When refrigerated in a tightly covered container, this dressing will last about two weeks. It probably won’t last anywhere near that long – this deliciousness disappears quickly in our house.
Take a few minutes to add this recipe into your meal prep plans, and enjoy it all week!
More vegan dressing recipes
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Easy Poppyseed Dressing
- Vegan Thousand Island Dressing
- Tangy Lemon Dressing
- Quick Dill Pickle Dressing
- Walnut Mustard Dressing
- Warm “Bacon” Dressing
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Vegan Ranch Dressing
this quick and easy vegan ranch dressing recipe is flavorful take on the classic that is a favorite of so many - celery adds a crisp pop of flavor to this tangy cool ranch!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked several hours* see notes for mayo
- juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup water – + depending on desired consistency
- 2 stalks celery, cleaned and trimmed
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (carton, not can), or your favorite non dairy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- small bunch fresh chives, minced fine
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
Instructions
- In blender, combine soaked cashews, lemon juice, and water. Blend at high speed until smooth. Pour into container you will store finished dressing.
- Chop celery into smaller pieces, about an inch or so.
- Add celery and milk to blender. Purée celery to a liquid until no celery strands remain.
- To the blender, add cashew mixture, apple cider vinegar, chives, parsley, onion powder, dill, garlic powder, salt and pepper - blend to combine.
- Store covered in refrigerator.
Notes
to substitute mayonnaise for the cashews:
add 1 cup mayonnaise and leave out the first three ingredients: cashews, lemon, and 1/2 cup water.
Like dill?
add more! another 1/2 teaspoon of dried dill turns this into a Dill Ranch Dressing. you may not taste the celery as much, but the benefits are still there.
No celery but have celery salt?
add a 1/2 teaspoon to begin, add more to taste.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
2 tablespoonsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 188Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 8gNet Carbohydrates: 4gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g
nutrition calculations results vary by calculator, are for informational purposes only, and are not intended to replace medical advice or treatment.
about Kristina:
Kristina is spabettie! She found cooking at an early age, and created spabettie in 2010 to share vegan recipes. Kristina turned her culinary training into sharing vibrant vegan food! Read more…
spabettie / Kristina Sloggett is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Tammy says
Made it! Love it!!
Thanks Kristina!
SonshineEvie says
I am desperately trying to figure out how to cook for my 3 year old daughter who was recently diagnosed with several pages of severe allergies. I love all of these recipes b/c she has allergies to gluten, corn, eggs, dairy, nuts, wheat, etc. However, she is also VERY allergic to garlic and onions…which seems to be in EVERY recipe people post on any blog I’ve tried to research! Do you have any ideas of how to substitute for these 2 main staple spices! Thanks for any help and guidance! This has been really difficult!
Sean says
I’m the founder/moderator for Punk Domestics (www.punkdomestics.com), a community site for those of use obsessed with, er, interested in DIY food. It’s sort of like Tastespotting, but specific to the niche. I’d love for you to submit this to the site. Good stuff!
Kayla says
Just made this recipe with my boyfriend. We were looking for clean dips for Super Bowl Sunday. I was skeptical at first, but Oh My God this is delicious! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Kristina Sloggett says
you are so welcome, Kayla! so happy you like it (it’s one I almost always have in my fridge… Mmm raaaanch)
Krysten says
Everything about this — yes, you ABSOLUTELY put the freshly made ranch dressing in the refrigerator before consuming it. I thought that was part of the directions! I’m so with you — Hidden Valley packets with 1 cup mayo and 1 cup milk is DELICIOUS. Bottled Hidden Valley — yuck!
cathy simonetti says
you don’t mention apple cider vinegar in the list of ingredients…how much???
Kristina Sloggett says
hi Cathy,
it is the fourth listed ingredient – 2 teaspoons.
Nicole says
hi Krisina,
thank you so much for sharing your recipes!
I just started with a vegan diet last week and i just love these great recipe ideas! I did try this ranch dressing tonight and the taste was great but the consistency was to thin. The coconut milk just didn’t get a creamy texture although I did blend it quit a while. I wanted to use it more as a dip (for vegan buffalo wings)
Any advice on how to get it thicker or more creamy? is there anything that can be added? I tried soy yoghurt.. but that changed the taste a little bit. 🙁
Kristina Sloggett says
you are so welcome, Nicole!
well, as you probably read in the post, I like a thin dressing, so this was deliberate 🙂 and I know adding celery thins out the consistency even more. are you opposed to a vegan mayo? that would certainly give a thickness you are wanting. maybe add a little less celery, and certainly less oil (or omit completely if using mayo).
glad you like the flavor – hope this helps!
Corrine M. says
I read through the comments and noticed the post about different oils, but what about coconut oil? Or would the ranch just harden in the fridge?
Probably too late to get a response tonight, so I’ll probably just give it a go!
Kristina Sloggett says
Corrine, I am SO SORRY to just see this comment (I had to rescue it from spam). I am not sure about coconut oil, I have not tried and tend to think it may harden – but would soften up again? Did you try?
Corrine M. says
Not a problem at all 🙂
I did try, but actually used an extra 1/4 cup of coconut milk and only a 1/4 cup of the oil. It turned out great! Thick, but I like to mix fresh lemon juice in when I use it which thins it out a bit.
Corrine M. says
And I also added nutritional yeast which certainly added to the thickness!
Jenn says
I’ve been on a mission to clean up my diet. My kids and I would put ranch dressing on everything so I stopped buying it about 6 months ago. But oh how I’ve missed it! I made your version last night and I wanted to drink it. YUMMMMM! Thank you!
Kristina Sloggett says
you are SO WELCOME! so happy you liked it – and yes, I had the same reaction, I wanted to drink it 😉
val says
This sounds really good have had good luck in the past with homemade ranch dressing. Just wondering have you tried to use other oils besides sunflower, does it make any difference what oil is used? ty 🙂
Kristina Sloggett says
hi Val,
I just made a batch of this with flax-seed oil, and it still works well. Olive oil is another oil I use for salad dressing, although I have not tried it with this ranch, so I don’t know how it may change the flavor. I would love to try this recipe with avocado oil as well, I have a bottle of it I need to try!
hope this helps, and if you make this, enjoy!
Kristina