Finally, my recipe for Vegan Ranch Dressing has its own home on the blog! My Vegan Ranch Dressing first appeared on I Love Vegan as a dip/dressing for a crispy potato side dish. Since I'm going to be using it in a couple of upcoming recipes, I figured it was time to post it by itself.
Classic ranch dressing uses buttermilk, mayonnaise, garlic, onion, spices and fresh herbs. We replace buttermilk with unsweetened soymilk and lemon juice in this vegan version. The acid from the lemon juice coagulates the protein in the soymilk. Like dairy milk, soymilk is high in protein, making it the best choice for vegan "buttermilk". Unlike dairy milk, soymilk doesn't contain any sugar, so we need to add a touch for authentic flavour. Vegan mayo (homemade or store-bought) thickens up the "buttermilk" base. Soaking the minced garlic and onion in water for 5 minutes mellows out those sharper flavours. Drain the onion and garlic before mixing them into the base. For herbs, we're using a blend of fresh chopped dill, chives, and parsley. Fresh cracked black pepper and a pinch of paprika make up the spices. A touch of salt brings all these flavours together.
For best taste, make this dressing a day ahead of time to let the flavours marry before serving.
Like any good ranch dressing, this creamy dressing is delicious in so many different ways. Use it in salads, sandwiches, and wraps. Use it as a dip for anything and everything: fresh veggies, pizza/pizza crusts, chips, vegan wings, etc.
In the next few posts you’ll see it served at least 2 ways. First, as an accompaniment for vegan spicy buffalo wings. Second, as a side and an ingredient in buffalo ranch double stuffed potatoes. Get excited, our upcoming recipes are awesome!
Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 ½ cups 1x
- Category: Sauces and Dips
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
This recipe for Vegan Ranch Dressing is ready in 15 minutes or less. Use any way you'd typically use ranch dressing! Serve on salads, with fresh veggies, in sandwiches and wraps, or with spicy vegan buffalo wings. Makes 1 ½ cups.
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise
- ½ cup unsweetened soy milk (check recipe notes if using “Original”)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp onion, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
- pinch paprika
- pinch garlic powder (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- In a bowl, add vegan mayo, unsweetened soymilk, lemon juice, and sugar. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before mixing. After 5 minutes you’ll see the acid in the lemon juice coagulating the protein in soymilk. Whisk well to break up any mayo lumps.
- Soak minced onion and garlic in water for 5 minutes. Drain and add to the mayo/”buttermilk” base.
- Add remaining herbs, spices, and salt. Whisk until mixed well. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- For best flavour, prepare dressing 1 day in advance to let the flavours marry. Taste and adjust seasoning again if necessary.
Notes
This vegan ranch dressing is perfect made exactly as stated. If you’re looking for thicker, sturdier dip, decrease or omit the unsweetened soymilk and replace with vegan mayo.
If you prefer a sharper flavour, feel free to omit the step soaking the onion and garlic.
Original and unsweetened soymilk are not the same. If you’re using Original soymilk, check the sugar content. Unsweetened contains no sugar. Original Silk soymilk contains 2.5g of sugar for ½ a cup. ½ a cup of buttermilk contains 6g of naturally occurring sugar. 1 teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4g. If you were to use Original Silk soymilk in this recipe you’d want to decrease the added sugar to just over ¾ tsp.
You can substitute the lemon juice with white vinegar if necessary. I prefer the flavour of the lemon juice, but white vinegar will do the job!
Diane K
Has anyone tried making this with dried herbs? I don't have fresh, if so what would the measurements for dried be?
Rachel Cisneros
This vegan dressing has alot of flavor. I swapped the veganaise for forager cashew yogurt because it has a lot less fat.
Jaclin
Hi there! I am going to attempt to try and make this Vegan Ranch tonight! I do however, have to go and get some ingredients. I am curious as to what Sugar you used in this recipe. Bakers sugar? Coconut sugar? or Granulated sugar? Also, question about the onion. Did you use white onion, yellow, or red? Thank you so much.
-Jaclin Rogowski
Brittany
Sorry for delayed reply! I'd use regular granulated sugar for a clean flavour, but any granulated sugar could work! As for the onion, I used yellow! White onion is a good option though and red could be used in a pinch!
Aly
Hiii~! This looks really yummy. I’m curious about the shelf life, most soy mills I’ve used recommend only keeping the product for about 7 days after opening, would you say the shelf life of this ranch is about the same? Either way thank you for this awesome recipe.
Peace.
★★★★★
Brittany
Absolutely! However I've never had a problem pushing non-dairy milks a few days (or more) past 7 days without any issues. This ranch will definitely last a week!
Carlos
Looks very good, I am going to try it, thank you
★★★★★
Cheryl
With summer here we are back into salads and veggies and dip. My problem---very tired of the same old brand of dressing we've been using --until now. This vegan dressing/ dip has amazing flavours--love it!
Thanks for another delicious recipe.
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks so much Cheryl!