Tangy, creamy dilly, slightly garlicky, this vegan ranch dressing its the ideal pairing for a crisp and fresh tossed salad, or the perfect dip for dunking crunchy veggies or hot saucy pizza! No wonder it is a household staple, especially if you have kids. That said, we don’t have kids and go through the stuff like its going out of style… so I retract my first comment.
I went through a long period where I broke up with ranch dressing after I went vegan because somehow I couldn’t replicate my delicious yogurt based homemade ranch of my omnivore days. Every version of a vegan ranch dressing didn’t taste quite right to me — too much mayo, it had a weird aftertaste or just downright didn’t taste like ranch. I had a satisfactory stand in made with vegan mayo, which was okay, buuuuut I wanted something made with whole foods that yes would contain fat, but real plant fats, not synthetic oils. And then I found Cashew Butter.
I’d heard of cashew butter many times since entering into the plant based world, and honestly didn’t understand the hype. That said, I hadn’t actually tried it. Then we found a good deal on it one day while shopping, I tried it, and understood everything. Cashew butter is creamy, thick, slightly sweet but in the way that milk or cream is slightly sweet, not actually sweet. It is the perfect base for a vegan ranch dressing. Heck, any ranch dressing! Once I made this recipe for the first time I seriously ate this dressing every day for 2 weeks, I kid you not. In fact, Ryan wishes I was kidding because as much as he loves this too, he got tired after a week of non-stop ranch. I however, did not.
It’s delicious on your usual salad and veggies and dip plates, but we also loved it over baked potatoes, in wraps, thinned out and used in a pasta salad… and if i’m being truly transparent I also flat out ate few spoonfuls straight-up. Or more than a few…
So, here’s the recipe so you can eat it by the spoonful too!
Vegan Ranch Dip
- 1/4 cup Cashew Butter*
- 1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp dried Dill, or 1/2 tbsp fresh Dill, chopped
- 2 tsp Green Onion, finely sliced
- 1/4 tsp cracked Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp Water (use less if you want it thicker, more if you want it thinner)
Method
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
* I know many people are allergic to cashews, in which case you could use a Vegan Mayonaise such as Hellmans Vegan Mayo or Veganaise instead of the cashew butter. You could also try with Tahini but it would have a slightly different taste.
Cashews & Kale 