The Vegan Ranch Dressing/Dip That Goes With Everything
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This Homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing Recipe is so tasty, I have a batch (or eight!) made up in the fridge at all times. It's great on salads, as a veggie dip, or even as a spread on sandwiches or wraps. I promise, you're going to LOVE this.
It's perfect for most special diets too. It's dairy-free, vegan, paleo, keto, and nut-free too. And I must say that it's shockingly good for something that's basically “everything-free!”
Why You Will Love This Vegan Ranch
This healthy dairy-free ranch is just an amazing recipe.
It's full of such wholesome ingredients and it's easy to make, loaded with protein, and just tastes amazing.
No seed oils, and I guarantee you'll want to serve it with everything.
And if you're on a special diet, it should work for you!
Basically, if you want a new healthy dressing recipe to add to your recipe box, this is it.
Ingredients
- raw hemp heart seeds
- water
- garlic powder
- dried ground mustard
- salt
- onion powder
- wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- medjool date (optional – see Recipe Notes)
- avocado oil (any low-flavor liquid oil can work, but I've used extra-virgin olive oil with success as well)
- dried parsley
- dried dill
Serving Suggestions to Take This to the Next Level
Though this dressing/dip is great as is, over the years we've found some add-ins that make it just phenomenal!
Trader Joe's Green Dragon Sauce
Trader Joe's Sriracha Sauce
Frank's Hot Sauce
I'm sure most any hot sauce would work, but the above options taste great.
Oh, and adding some grass-fed butter to your hot dish before adding the above toppings to it adds amazing flavor–with a bit of salt sprinkled on top. My favorite is cauliflower rice with the ranch, butter, and some Green Dragon. Mmmmm.
Yes, it's not vegan, but I like grass-fed butter, and that way I can get some good nutrients in me without the ill effects of most other dairy products since they tend to bother me.
You can use this dip/dressing as a:
- veggie dip
- drizzle on hot veggies
- drizzle on entrees
- creamy pasta sauce
- spread on burgers
- spread on wraps
Recipe Notes
- For a low-carb recipe, omit the date and use a low-carb sweetener instead. A pinch of stevia extract works well, or you could use whatever sweetener you like to taste, or just omit the sweet ingredient entirely. I tried this recipe both with and without the date. While I preferred it with it, it was definitely not necessary. I would recommend taking it out of the blender, tasting it, and adding to taste stirring rather than blending in (so you won't overblend the oil or herbs). If using the date, add an extra teaspoon of water.
- The color of the ranch will depend on the oil used, and whether or not use the date. It will never be pure white because of the hemp seeds.
- You can make the recipe as indicated by adding the herbs last and blending lightly, or add everything to the blender at the same time and blend, with the result being more of a homogenous dressing.
- Our family LOVES this recipe as is, as a dressing, but if you leave out the additional water that is added with the date, it's more like a dip.
- We love this SO much that I always make literally EIGHT batches and keep it on the table and in the fridge at all times. It's that versatile!
Other Homemade Dressings, Sauces, and Dips
Here's a list of dressings, sauces, and dips that we love.
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette – the perfect amount of sweet and tang
Zingy Avocado Dressing – this is a great dressing or dip. Simply delectable!
Nutritional Yeast Dressing – my son loves this on almost everything!
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette – with 5 different delicious variations!
Moroccan Vinaigrette – this is the perfect melding of flavors. Tastes great on mains, sides, and salads as well.
Healthy Chick-fil-A Sauce – this is such an easy one to make and there's a nut-free, soy-free version too!
Vegan Ranch Dressing: dairy, egg, nut, allergy-free
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw hemp heart seeds
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried ground mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tablespoon wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- 1 medjool date (optional – see Recipe Notes)
- 1/2 cup avocado oil (any low-flavor oil, especially refined olive oil, works, except refined coconut)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
- Blend together the hemp seeds, water, garlic powder, onion powder, dried mustard, salt, vinegar, and date if using until smooth. A regular blender might take about 3 minutes. A high speed blender will be super fast.
- Once everything is blended, add in about 1 tablespoon of the oil. Stir it in with a spoon, and then turn the blender back on and drizzle in the rest.
- Add the parsley and dill and pulse a few times to combine. I like to make the herbs kind of small so that the uneven white of the hemp will be less apparent.
- Use the vegan ranch dressing as is for dips, or you can thin out with a touch of filtered water to desired consistency for a salad dressing.
- Store in the fridge.
Notes
- For a low-carb recipe, omit the date and use a low-carb sweetener instead. A pinch of stevia extract works well, or you could use whatever sweetener you like to taste, or just omit the sweet ingredient entirely. I tried this recipe both with and without the date. While I preferred it with it, it was definitely not necessary. I would recommend taking it out of the blender, tasting it, and adding to taste stirring rather than blending in (so you won't overblend the oil or herbs). If using the date, add an extra teaspoon of water.
- The color of the ranch will depend on the oil used, and whether or not use the date. It will never be pure white because of the hemp seeds.
- You can make the recipe as indicated by adding the herbs last and blending lightly, or add everything to the blender at the same time and blend, with the result being more of a homogenous dressing.
- Our family LOVES this recipe as is, as a dressing, but if you leave out the additional water that is added with the date, it's more like a dip.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Do you make your own homemade salad dressing?
Debra Worth is first and foremost a daughter of the King of kings. She lives in mid-Missouri with her husband of five years and three young children. Debra has a passion for cooking healthy foods and blogs about healthy allergen friendly foods at her blog, Worth Cooking.
Mmmmmm I could eat this by itself! Tons of flavour. I can’t use vinegar so I replaced it with lemon juice. This recipe is a keeper….. so is the 5 ingredient salad dressing! Thank you
Yea!!! Thanks for commenting!
Wow, I just made this and it is bomber! I might back off on the salt a wee bit next time, but the texture and flavor are spot on and so delicious! thank you!
YEA!!!!!
linking back to this recipe to show others how to use more hemp hearts!!
Thanks so much, Tessa. We LOVE this. I’m out of mustard seeds and am kind of desperate to make this again. It helps me get veggies into my diet–I’m such a dip person!
This looks (and reads) like it is wonderful. May I ask, is the dressing photographed the same as the recipe? Thanks.
Yes, it is. Thanks!
Yum, this looks delicious! I love that it’s nut-free too so both me and my daughters can give it a shot. Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
You are so welcome, Lauren! I can’t wait to make it either!
I was so happy to have found this recipe for allergen free ranch dressing! Unfortunately my son has a reaction to mustard and canola oil, which is made from mustard seed, as well as to gluten, dairy and nuts. Can I substitute the mustard, or leave it out?
Hey Pam, mustard helps to emulsify ingredients (plus it adds some flavor), but I think it should be fine to leave it out. Just make sure you go slowly when adding the oil. Let me know if it works!
This looks excellent! I’ve been looking for a mayo-free ranch dressing for quite some time! Now just to find a safe replacement for hemp seeds… Thanks for sharing 🙂
Great! What do you need to do with the hemp seeds?
I can’t have hemp seeds (allergic to latex foods) so I’ll have to find a sub!
I think Debra addressed this in a different comment, but I think a different nut or seed would work best – maybe cashews or sunflower?
Just seeing this, sorry. I think the best substitution would be 1/4 cup chopped cashews. Soak in the water for an hour or two before blending (or until soft enough to blend smoothly). I am pretty sure it would work! I probably would have used them if I did not have an allergy to cashews.
I think you could replace with 1/4 cup chopped cashews. Just soak in the water used in the recipe until they are soft (an hour?). Not positive, but that would be my guess. I probably would have used them instead of hemp if we could have them.
I do make my own salad dressings including ranch but I’m eager to share this version with my vegan friend!
I have been making dressing for quite awile now that it is easy. I discovered that if you throw all the ingredients in a pint mason jar and use and emulsion (stick) blender it only takes about 15-20 seconds and it turns out thick even with just oil, lemon juice and spices. I found my blender at a garage sale for $5.
Nice! I had an immersion blender from a garage sale but it broke quickly so I invested in a much nicer one :(.
I tried this recipe with the immersion blender and it worked great. I would like it better thinner and less garlic. My kids loved it, even the 18 mo old!
I am soooo excited to try this! But I don’t use white vinegar due to corn allergie. What do you think about using ACV?
I am sure Debra will be back to answer but I use the 2 interchangeably myself :).
Yes, ACV will work. We too have a corn allerrgy and Iit is supposed to be white WINE vinegar. Will have the typo fixed. Hope you enjoy it!
Do you think you could substitute chia seeds for the hemp, or would that make it too thick?
Hey Laurie, I really don’t think those would work as they do not blend up creamy. Hemp is very soft seed, almost like cashews.
I would love to try this! Based on your previous response, would cashews work in place of the hemp? I have a sensitivity to hemp and have no idea what would be an interchangeable replacement. Thank you!
I think they should work, I would recommend measuring them chopped and then soaking them in the water a few hours before blending. I would love to know if they work!