Need a homemade salad dressing that fits your dairy free lifestyle? Try this delicious dairy free ranch dressing! It’s rich, creamy, and quick to throw together. Perfect on top of a bacon and avocado salad, a hearty cajun shrimp salad, or as a dip for veggies.
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Disclaimer: I’ve identified potential allergens below but as always, check the ingredients and labels to verify for yourself. There’s always I chance I may miss something or that a manufacturer has changed formulations.
How to make dairy free ranch dressing
Even though making homemade salad dressing sounds complicated, it’s actually quite simple to make this!
You’ll need these ingredients:
- Mayo (see notes in allergen section for recommendations based on your needs)
- Oat milk (or another milk alternative)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Fresh chives
- Fresh parsley
- Chives
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Salt
- Pepper
You’ll just combine your mayo and oat milk in a jar, and then add in all your fresh herbs and seasonings. Shake, shake, shake it up – and boom, dressing!
Helpful tips for making this
- I do recommend refrigerating this for a little bit before serving. It will thicken up a bit in the fridge. However, you don’t have to take this step. I’ve eaten it both straight after making it as well as after chilling it and both taste great.
- The thickness of the dressing can vary considerably depending on the mayo you’re using – i.e. traditional versus a paleo mayo versus a vegan mayo. It’s really easy to adjust though – if it seems too thick, just add an extra tablespoon of oat milk at a time. If it seems too thin, add an extra tablespoon of mayo at a time.
- You can change up the herbs in this according to your taste preferences. For example, sometimes I’ll make a dill ranch and sub dill for the parsley.
Allergens in this recipe
This recipe is naturally dairy free, nut free, and gluten free (as long as the mayo meets those requirements, which most do).
If you have other allergens that you’re concerned about, you’ll want to be smart about the mayo that you choose. Here are my recommendations:
Need a soy free option?
Try Primal Kitchen Mayo – This mayo is made from avocado oil and contains just a few simple ingredients. It does contain eggs. It does contain eggs though. This is the mayo I used when making this recipe for dairy free buffalo chicken dip.
Need an egg free option?
Try Just Mayo. It uses pea protein to help thicken it rather than eggs. Note that it may contain soy. This has been out of stock in many stores the last several months but I’m hearing reports that it’s finally being restocked.
Need an option that’s both soy free and egg free?
Try an aquafaba based mayo. These are thickened using the liquid that beans soak in. You can make it yourself if you’ve got some extra cans of beans lying around, or you can try a store bought option like Chosen Foods Vegan Mayo.
Best salads to serve with this dressing
I’m a HUGE fan of this on a BLT(A) salad. Bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado, all topped with this dressing? It’s delightful.
You can also use this on a salad topped with grilled chicken, cucumbers, and dairy-free croutons. It’s simple but delicious, and the fresh herbs pair well with the cucumbers in there.
Another idea: Make a salad with grapefruit, avocado, cucumber, radishes, and lettuce. Top it off with sunflower seeds and this creamy dairy free ranch. Yum!
Need even more inspiration? Try one of these recipes:
- Cajun shrimp salad – I loooove anything with cajun style seasoning and this salad is no exception! (contains shellfish; if cooking spray is used for shrimp it would likely contain soy but this is easy to substitute with regular oil)
- Colorful rainbow salad – With all the bright colors in this salad, you know it’s going to be nourishing for your body. Try switching out the pomegranate dressing for this dairy free ranch dressing to change things up. (no allergens identified)
- Broccoli salad with potatoes, peas, and herbs – There’s a lot of flavor already packed into this salad between the fresh herbs, broccolini, and other veggies – but a creamy dairy free ranch drizzled on top would taste awesome! (no allergens identified)
Store bought dairy free ranch dressings
Not in the mood to make your own with the recipe below? No problem. Here are some store-bought (or easy to order online) dairy free ranch dressings.
- Daiya ranch (no allergens noted)
- Primal Kitchen ranch (contains eggs)
- Follow your heart vegan ranch (contains soy)
- Organicville non-dairy ranch (contains soy)
Store bought is great, but I truly hope you do get a chance to try this homemade version! 🙂 If you give it a whirl, be sure to leave a recipe rating or a comment.
Dairy Free Ranch Dressing
This delicious dairy free ranch dressing is rich, creamy, and flavorful - with no dairy necessary!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup unsweetened oat milk (or another milk alternative)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh chives, minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
-
Combine all ingredients in a jar and stir well. Seal the jar with a lid and shake the dressing so everything is well combined. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- If texture is very thin, add an additional tbsp of mayo at a time. If it’s too thick, add an additional tbsp of oat milk at a time. I’ve found the texture can vary considerably depending on the brand and type of mayo used. Also keep in mind that this tends to thicken up a bit in the fridge.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
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Wow, great taste, best.
Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂