Learn how to make the absolute BEST Vegan Ranch Dressing Oil-free and No Mayo! This recipe is dairy-free and tastes better than the traditional dairy kind! Perfect for healthy salads. Made with cashews, yogurt, vinegar and spices!
BEST VEGAN RANCH DRESSING
Who doesn’t love ranch dressing? I know I ate bucket loads before going vegan and now we have the absolute most amazing vegan, oil-free ranch dressing that you will ever need! And unlike many versions out there, this one does not use vegan mayo or oil! Yes, this vegan ranch is oil-free and made with healthy ingredients! I’m all about recreating classics in a healthier way, just like with this Vegan Thousand Island Dressing that tastes 100% authentic!
CAN VEGANS EAT RANCH?
Yes, of course, as long as it’s vegan! Traditional ranch dressings contain mayo though, so are not vegan. There are vegan ranch dressing brands out there, but they are full of oil and unhealthy ingredients. Better to just make your own! But this vegan ranch dressing recipe will blow all the others away!
I used my original recipe as the base but changed up a couple of things and it is incredible. All my spices are the same but for that truly tangy and authentic taste and texture, I subbed most of the milk with yogurt! Oh boy did it improve that flavor! I found this to taste so much like the classic ranch and my family agreed. My hubby (Mr. Picky) called it “spot on” and “brilliant”.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
Full amounts and details on recipe card below.
- raw cashews
- non-dairy plain unsweetened yogurt: I use the So Delicious coconut yogurt, but Kite Hill almond yogurt is delicious, too.
- non-dairy milk: I used “lite” canned coconut milk because it’s very creamy and lends a beautiful texture. If you are allergic, make sure to use another creamy milk like soy or a high-quality oat milk.
- white vinegar
- dry mustard
- onion powder
- garlic powder
- dried dill
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN RANCH DRESSING
Step 1: Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.
Step 2: Place in the fridge to chill until thickened.
I hope you love this Vegan Ranch Dressing as much as we do! I find that this ranch dressing is not only delicious on salads, but also on pizza or even avocado toast!
MORE VEGAN DRESSINGS TO TRY
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave feedback below and share your pic on Instagram or Facebook and tag me @thevegan8 #thevegan8!
Best Vegan Ranch Dressing (Oil-free)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (75g) raw unsalted cashews (use sunflower kernels if allergic but keep in mind it will yield a different flavor)
- 1/2 cup (120g) non-dairy unsweetened plain yogurt, I used SoDelicious coconut buy soy or another creamy yogurt should work
- 1/4 cup (60g) canned "lite" coconut milk, shaken first (or soy milk, but I preferred the taste of the coconut)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (23g) white distilled vinegar (THIS IS KEY to ranch flavor, so do not sub with another vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
- 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- I use this scale.
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (for stirring in at the end)
FLAVOR VARIATIONS
- I tested this as other flavors too that were outstanding. Try any 3 of these separate versions with 2 tablespoons (30g) of fined diced of the following: chopped green or black olives, chopped green chiles or chopped pickled jalapenos.
Instructions
- If you do not have a high-powered blender like a Vitamix, then you will need to soak your cashews overnight in a bowl of water, otherwise your dressing will be gritty. Drain, rinse and proceed.
- Add all of the ingredients, except the fresh dill, to a blender and process for a couple of minutes, stopping to scrape the sides, until completely smooth. The dressing will be on the runny side, perfectly pourable, but will thicken a lot in the fridge more like a dip for veggies.
- Pour the dressing into a container and stir in the fresh dill. This is so it is visible in the end dressing and does not turn the dressing green when blended.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill and thicken some before using.
- It will thicken up a lot like a dip overnight so give it a good stir before use. You can slightly thin it out with a tad of water and an extra splash of vinegar if needed. The dressing is good for a week in the fridge.
Nutrition
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I can’t believe I never reviewed this recipe! It is so simple and incredibly tasty, not to mention versatile. Of course, it is best the way you wrote it, but due to a recently discovered coconut allergy I now use soy milk, as you suggest as an alternate, and plain almond yogurt. This last time I used half navy beans and half cashews and it was still fantastic. Thank you so much for this recipe, Brandi!! (PS- I just have to mention I purchased some of the ingredients for this at my local grocer this morning, noticed magazines while waiting at checkout, and was thrilled to show my husband People magazine and your article inside! I’m beyond thrilled for you!! Congratulations!!)
I made this tonight and omitted the cashews, used Almondbreeze almondmilk yogurt, and it was fantastic. I’ll be making it every night while we still have fresh garden tomatoes.
So glad you loved it Nan!
Any subs for the cashews and vinegar? Have nut allergies and can’t do ferments/vinegars. Thank you.
I would make my other ranch dressing that has a tested version using sunflower seeds if you can’t have cashews. That other one calls for apple cider vinegar. If you can’t have that, maybe try lemon juice??
https://thevegan8.com/easy-vegan-ranch-dressing/
The absolute best ranch dressing recipe on the planet. Seriously. If I didn’t make it myself I would never have believed it was vegan and dairy free. It was that good. Following your recipes. Thanks so much.
Now that’s the best feedback ever, thank you so much Wendy!!
Wow! Soooo good! Thank you!
Thank you Kristin!!
So very happy to hear that Debbie, you are so kind!
Brandi this dressing is delicious! I have lots of fresh salad ingredients from our local market and have been enjoying salads and this dressing is perfect! Best vegan ranch dressing by far. I am going to try your Caesar dressing next,
I have never made one of your recipes I didn’t like and I have made a lot of them!
The easiest, best tasting vegan ranch I’ve ever made! Another amazing recipe, thanks 🙌🏻
Yay, really glad to hear that Shauna!
Love your stuff been making your food for 4 years now just bought my mom your book.
That’s so wonderful to hear Britt! Thank you so much!!
I just came across your site and, boy, am I excited to try some of these wonderful looking recipes! I’m just getting started with cooking oil free and it looks like your site will be a great help. Thank you so much!
Brandi, you did it again. Just made this and we finally found a plant based dressing we like. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Can’t wait for my next salad.
Yay, so very happy you loved this ranch so much Shree!!
I’ve never tried Ranch dressing, but these ingredients make me want to try this recipe. It’s definitely going on this weeks ‘to make’ list.
Thank you Brandi
Hi Brandi, I love your website and your recipes and especially your oil free approach. your ranch salad dressing sounds really good. Do you not cook with soy, just wondering and I am a big salad fan so new dressings are great for me. I have not found many vegetable dishes or side dishes and am hoping I may be missing them. I am a little visual challenged and noticed in your cookbook the directions are printed in a gray but your notes in black. I just bought another cookbook like that and it’s frankly hard to read. Just wanted to put my two cents in for more contrast in cook books. (Hint: I’m a vegan great …heavy on the great…grandmother.)
Lynda
Hi Lynda! I’m so glad to hear you love my blog! No, I typically only use soy sauce sometimes, but not often. My husband has negative effects with gout with too much soy and I’ve never been big on it anyways. I’ll eat it if I go out on the rare occasion, but definitely prefer whole foods and regular beans over things like tofu. I’m so sorry to hear you are having trouble with the font. This went through many test versions for readability and it’s a pretty common color and font size for this size of book. I didn’t have much say in the font size/color, but I will definitely keep that in mind for future books. Thank you!
This was the best homemade ranch dressing that I’ve ever had. It is really good. I started out using my Vitamix, but it wasn’t blending well (not enough dressing for the size of my Vitamix), so I switched to my immersion blender, and it created a nice, creamy consistency.
I struggle to find homemade vegan dressing that actually taste great, especially creamy types. I hope you plan to convert some more common favorite salad dressings into vegan versions. 🙂
Yay RL! So thrilled it was the best for you too! Thank you for the lovely feedback, I really appreciate it!
Holy cow, this really is the best ranch dressing (vegan or otherwise!) My 6yo had been asking for ranch to dip her veggies in (she gets the regular stuff at grandma’s house) and I was nervous to see if she’d reject this “healthy” version. She loved it! So did my toddler! So did I!! Seriously so good. I’ve tried other vegan ranch recipes in the past with no success (couldn’t fool my husband or kids) but this is a winner. I love all of your recipes, though — I’ve never made something from you I didn’t like. Thank you!! I won’t ever have a reason to throw out too-old celery now 😂
Woohoo, best review ever, thank you Kassie! So glad this one beat out all the other vegan ranch ones, haha!
Happy New Year! In terms of flavor variations, do you think this would work with a little barbecue sauce added? Or cilantro? And Hooray! I did find a copy of your AWESOME cookbook under my Christmas tree!
Hi Heather! Yes, I think any herbs you love would be a delicious addition! As far as barbecue sauce, I’m not sure, you’d need a good amount of barbecue sauce to add to be able to taste it. I would make it as written and then maybe take half of the ranch and add some barbecue sauce to it and see how you like it.
I haven’t tried the barbecue sauce yet, but I added a handful of chopped cilantro and it was AMAZING!!! I wouldn’t go back to the dairy version even if I could! Thanks Brandi!!
Oh yay, so glad to hear that Heather!!
Hi Brandi- so happy that I just discovered your blog! Am anxious to try your recipes! Do you have any idea if the ranch dressing could be frozen? I prepare vegan food just for myself, and doubt I could use it all in a week. Thanks! 🙂
Hi Brenda! So glad you found me! Oh yes, can totally be frozen. Just thaw it overnight before use and maybe blend it or whisk really well to bring it back!
Oh, how my family and I are huge ranch lovers! Becoming vegan we find different ways to substitute the little things we miss and don’t eat anymore. Cheese and ranch are big ones. I will be sure to try this soon and see how it turns out.
I’ve tried dozens of vegan ranch recipes over the years. Meh. I tried this one, not expecting much, but Oh Em Gee! It is SO good!!! My husband, a Follow Your Heart reduced-fat vegan ranch aficionado (I love him anyway), informed me that if I agreed to keep this recipe in the fridge, he would gladly give up the FYH bottle. Now, that’s a true compliment! FYI, I followed the recipe except I used So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk (beverage) instead of light canned coconut milk and I reduced the salt to 1/2 teaspoon. Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you so much Christina for this fabulous review, so sorry I missed it until now! So very happy to hear how much you and your husband both loved it!!
I made this for a vegan cobb style salad with tempeh bacon and cashew cheddar recently & loved it so much I’ve already made it again since then. It makes eating salads fun, lol.
Yay! Haha, love hearing that Penny, thank you so much for the awesome rating!
You hit it out of the park with this one. Absolutely incredible. Honestly I think this is my favorite salad dressing of all time. It is delicious and homemade so you can feel good about eating it because you know exactly what went into it. There is no need to every buy the bottled stuff again. I haven’t had non-vegan ranch dressing in ages but from what I remember of it I am pretty sure you nailed the flavor spot on. And even if you didn’t who cares this is what ranch dressing SHOULD be!!! It stands on its own as an amazing dressing even without the comparison to the dairy version. Yum I certainly will be having this on my salads often. My vitamix jug is driving me nuts. I can’t get it smooth like the chunks of cashew gets stuck on the bottom under the blade. I either have to start using cashew butter in these types of recipes or figure something out to make it work with my jug. And I hate how when I start blending everything shoots up in the jug all the way to the lid and the sides are completely coated so frustrating. I see blend shots on youtube (even on some of your videos) and the stuff in the jug doesn’t come flying up the sides it stays pretty well down in the jug. I guess I should have never gotten the wide jug vitamix style. Oh well. When I replace it I will go with the tall jug one. Anyway I am rambling hahaha thank you so much for such a great recipe definitely makes salads so much more enjoyable.
Cannot find soy yogurt except for vanilla, strawberry, or blueberry. I don’t think they would work? Any suggestions? Thanks! It sounds wonderful.
Hi Barbara, no, definitely don’t use a fruit or flavored yogurt, haha. Will ruin the flavor. It doesn’t have to be soy yogurt, I’ve actually noted coconut. You can honestly use probably cashew or almond yogurt as well if that’s all you can find. Any type should work as long as it is plain and unsweetened!
This is great, and now I will eat salads more often 🙂 I made this exactly as the recipe says a week ago, and it is still great. I’ve tried it with romaine, arugula, spinach, cherry tomato, shredded carrot salad – terrific! It’s also very good atop baked sweet potatoes. I can’t get over how much it both smells and tastes like ranch dressing – never would have thought to use coconut.
I’m so happy you love it so much Laura, thank you so much for the amazing review!
Wow!! I just made this and it is delicious. I’m originally from Texas and miss all the cheesiness and ranch! Happy I found your website! It’s like s little taste of home. Thank you!!
Yay Shannon! So happy to hear that!
Awesome! Thanks so much…I’ve been searching for a great ranch and yours is it!