This vegan ranch dressing will amaze you - both in taste and how easy it is to make! No need to ever buy store-bought ranch again once you taste this delicious, rich, and creamy ranch! It tastes like the Hidden Valley Ranch that you remember from your childhood, yet made vegan. Perfect for salad dressing or dipping veggies. I promise that your kids will love it and you can whip it up in less than 5 minutes! You'll love that it's dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and can easily be made soy-free too.
My kids have been vegan their whole lives, so naturally, there are just some foods that they have never had. However, I try my best to create vegan alternatives for all the foods that I loved as a child.
For some reason, ranch dressing got overlooked, that is until I was volunteering in my oldest son’s Kindergarten class during a day when they were served carrot sticks and celery for a snack. Every kid there would only eat the veggies if they were dipped in ranch.
I forgot how much kids love ranch dressing, so I was determined to figure out a vegan version that my kids would love. After some trial and error with proportions, I came up with a ranch dressing that is surprisingly similar to what I remember as a child.
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🧾 Ingredients and substitutions
- Oil - any type of neutral-flavored oil will work. Don't use extra virgin olive oil or other strongly flavored oils. You need the oil to emulsify the dressing and make it creamy. Don't try to reduce the oil in this. It needs the correct ratio between oil, soy milk, and vinegar to emulsify correctly.
- Soy Milk - to make it creamy and
- Vinegar - to give it a tangy taste and to interact with the oil and protein in the plant-milk to make it creamy. White vinegar works best, but you can use any type that you want.
- Herbs - for flavor. I usually use parsley and dill, but you can use what you like. Fresh herbs have a great flavor, but the flavor can be too strong for young kids.
- Garlic - for flavor. You can use fresh or garlic powder. Fresh garlic is delicious but may be too strong for kids. When I make it for kids, I use garlic powder.
- Salt - for flavor
- Pepper - for flavor. Fresh ground pepper tastes best.
🌿 Fresh or dry herbs
If you use dry ingredients, the dressing will have a mild flavor. If you use fresh garlic and herbs, it is absolutely delicious, but the flavors may be intense for kids.
🥄 Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients except for the water into a blender or immersion blender container.
- Blend for about 30 seconds until thick and creamy.
- Slowly add an additional 2-3 tsp of water while blending until you reach the desired consistency. (You may not need any water depending on how thick that you want it.)
Serve it as you would ranch dressing on salads or use it as a dip. It's also delicious on my vegan buffalo "chicken" sandwiches or as a dip with my vegan buffalo cauliflower.
🌟 Soy-free instructions
If you want to avoid soy, Ripple brand pea milk also works great in this recipe. I have tested this recipe with just about every plant-based milk that they make and soy or Ripple simply work the best.
🥛 Types of plant-based milk
Other types of plant-based milk will work with some modifications to the recipe. If you must use almond, oat, coconut, or some other milk that contains little protein and add a teaspoon of pea protein powder or a tablespoon of aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) to the mix. There has to be enough protein in it to make the chemical reaction between the acid in the vinegar and the base in the oil and milk to make the dressing thicken.
You can also add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum to the mixture to help it emulsify and thicken if you are not using soy or Ripple milk.
👩🏻🍳 Pro tips
- Different types of plant-based milk work differently in this recipe, even different brands of soy milk will change the thickness, so you may want to add the water slowly to adjust the dressing to the thickness that you desire.
- If you plan on using it as a dip, don't add any additional water.
- Add the water slowly at the end to achieve the desired thickness.
- Make sure to use plain plant-based milk, not vanilla flavored.
- Use an immersion blender to make it super easy and whip up a batch in minutes!
🥡 Storage
Store your ranch in the fridge for up to 5 days in a sealed container. You can put it in a freezer-safe mason jar and keep it up to 3 months.
🥗 More dressing recipes
📌 Be sure to follow me on Pinterest for new vegan recipes!
Vegan Ranch Dressing - Vegan Ranch Dip
Equipment
- blender or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup oil any neutral-flavored oil like canola - not extra virgin olive oil or other strong flavors.
- 1/3 cup PLAIN soy milk or Ripple milk
- 3 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp dry parsley or herb of choice or 2 tbsp fresh herbs
- 1/4 tsp dill or 1 tsp fresh dill
- ¾ tsp garlic powder or 1 clove of fresh garlic
- ½ tsp salt
- 2-3 tsp water until desired thickness is reached or no extra water for dip
- Fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients except for the water into a blender (or immersion blender).
- Blend for about 30 seconds.
- Add water a teaspoon at a time, blending between each one until the desired thickness has been reached.
- Store in an airtight container or bottle in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- Soy milk or Ripple milk works best for this recipe since it has protein that will react with the vinegar and cause it to thicken.
- The thickness of this dressing will depend on your choice of plant milk.
- You may not need additional water. Add the water slowly until you reached the desired thickness.
- Omit the water for vegan ranch dip.
How to make it soy-free:
- Use Ripple Brand milk!
- If you must use almond, oat, coconut, or some other milk that contains little protein and add a teaspoon of pea protein powder or a tablespoon of aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas) to the mix. There has to be enough protein in it to make the chemical reaction between the acid in the vinegar and the base in the oil and milk to make the dressing thicken.
- You can also add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum to the mixture to help it emulsify and thicken if you are not using soy or Ripple milk.
Nutrition
*This recipe was originally published on March 21, 2017. It was updated on May 27, 2020, to include new images, a recipe video, and more detailed recipe instructions.
If you don’t use oil (don’t even have it in my house) what can I use instead? Maybe aquafaba?
I have not tested it without oil. The oil and soy milk combine with vinegar to emulsify and thicken the dressing, so I don't think aquafaba will work. I have swapped out the oil with silken tofu and reduced the soy milk and that works well as a tofu-based ranch.
I love this! I was really missing hidden valley ranch, but this is better. I used the ripple half and half and for some reason it didn’t thicken, but I blended in some silken tofu and it’s a great consistency.
I'm so happy that you got it to work for you. I usually use the plain unsweetened Ripple and it comes out so firm that I need to add a little water to it. There must be less protein in the half and half that causes it not to firm up as much.
I made this, delicious! Maybe I needed to wait a little for the chemical reaction but as it was ‘too runny’ I added 40g of cashew and it worked a treat. Thanks!
I'm so happy that it worked well for you, Lorraine! 🙂
Made this as a dip for my daughters 2nd birthday party yesterday. It was a huge hit!!! Thank you so much 👏
You are very welcome! I'm so happy that everyone liked it! Happy Birthday to your daughter. 🙂
I made one batch with cashew milk and chickpea fava juice. It came out amazingly!
My second batch was your original recipe! Came out amazingly! Lol..So good and definitely a new staple for my family! Thanks for the recipe!
I'm so happy that you and your family liked it, Tiffany! It's a favorite at my house too! 🙂
SO Good! I couldn't stop licking the bowl!
Thanks! I'm so happy that you liked it! 🙂
This was really good! I added a pinch of dill and maybe a tsp our f dried chives. I had to a little more water than the recipe called for but I like my dressing a little thin. Solid recipe, I’ll definitely be making it regularly and definitely cheaper than buying vegan ranch.
I'm so happy that you liked it, Stephanie. Some readers think that it should be thicker, so want it thinner, so that's why I say to add in the water at the end. It is so cheap and easy compared to store-bought versions. 🙂
I used fresh garlic and the dressing was very good. I am glad I made it.
I'm so happy that you liked it, Nadine! 🙂
I made this yesterday with grapeseed oil, herbs de provence by Simply Organic (no lavender), Lawry’s garlic salt in place of garlic powder and salt as I had no garlic powder on hand. I was pleasantly surprised! I was using it as a dip and will water it down to use as a dressing.
How long will it last?
Can you use rice milk instead of soy?
Thanks. Eva-Lynn
So happy that you liked it Eva-Lynn! It will last about a week in the fridge. Rice milk does not have enough protein to allow it to set properly, soy works best. Enjoy! 🙂
I just made this and it is runny! I used coconut milk bc it was the only milk I could find in my frig without vanilla!!! I did not use any water for the dip! What can I use to thicken it up for a veggie dip?
Did you use pea protein or aquafaba in it? The coconut milk does not have enough protein to cause the reaction between the acids and fats to make it thicken. You need to add an extra source of protein if you don't use soy milk. Also, you will not need any additional water if you use other plant-based milk. This recipe thickens like magic when that protein/fat/acid ratios are correct.
Other than parsley or dill, what herbs would you recommend using?
Parsley and dill are the most traditional herbs that you would typically find in ranch, but you could use oregano, thyme, savory, or something like an Italian herb mix. It may taste more like a creamy Italian dressing if you like that flavor. Let me know if you find a combo you like. 🙂
I got raves when I made it for Thanksgiving, but I also added cashews to thicken it up (didn't use soy milk, but I did add aquafaba.
But this note makes no sense! "Omit the water for vegan ranch dip."
Glad that you and your family liked it! When you make this ranch with soy milk, it can get very thick, so you may need to add a little water to get it to pour over salad. If you want it thick to use as a dip, then you won't need to add any water to it. That is why the instructions say to blend all the ingredients except for water and then thin it with a little water if need. 🙂
What type of oil?
You can use any neutral flavored oil like canola or a light olive oil.
YUM! Amazing flavor and takes 2 minutes to make!
Thanks Julie! Glad that you liked it!
The best!