Here’s an easy, delicious recipe for Vegan Ranch Dressing that can be made in 5 minutes. It’s dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and low-calorie, made creamy with silken tofu. It’s perfect for salads or as a vegan ranch dip for veggies. It tastes like the real thing!
Hooray for spring! The farmer’s markets are open and full of beautiful tender salad greens just waiting to come home with us! I have a little spring fever after this extra-long winter in the Pacific Northwest.
I love to use this vegan ranch as a salad dressing tossed with greens or as a flavorful dip with fresh farmer’s market veggies. My husband even likes this- and doesn’t realize it is vegan, and no I don’t tell him. 😉 It has a delicious depth of flavor and a tanginess we all love and crave.
Why you’ll love our vegan ranch dressing
- This vegan ranch dressing recipe is super punchy, creamy, and flavorful. It is perfect for those of you who are watching your calories, cholesterol, oil, or fat intake but still craving something creamy.
- It originates from our vegetarian restaurant, and our customers constantly requested the recipe—well, here it is! Read all the 5-star reviews!
- Make it in 5 minutes! This vegan ranch recipe is almond and cashew-free- which both typically require soaking time beforehand.
- It’s made with creamy silken tofu instead of overly processed store-bought vegan mayonnaise or vegan sour cream. Silken tofu, if unfamiliar, is loaded with protein and naturally very low in fat, but it offers a very creamy consistency when blended.
Why make your own?
Store-bought vegan ranch dressings are often made with low-quality seed oils, which may cause inflammation in the body. So always read the label. Ours is made with olive oil, and we opt for organic, non-GMO tofu.
Vegan Ranch Dressing Ingredients
- Silken tofu—Use firm or extra-firm silken tofu, which is usually not refrigerated and found in most grocery stores. It is not the same as regular tofu. It has a very silky, grain-free texture, perfect for sauces, soups, dressings, and desserts. Opt for organic and non-GMO. Because it is not refrigerated, it doesn’t go bad, so I always have some on hand in the pantry!
- Extra Virgin Olive oil – for richness and added polyphenols (or for an oil -ree version, sub with water — or use half olive oil, half water)
- Fresh garlic cloves (or sub-granulated garlic powder)- for a fresh, punchy flavor.
- Onion powder (or sub a few slices of shallot or onion)
- Salt and black pepper
- Vinegar- a lighter vinegar like apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
- Fresh herbs (oregano, dill, tarragon, chives, or parsley) or use dried herbs: dried dill, chives, or oregano
- Optional additions: miso paste and nutritional yeast– both add punchy depth.
How to make Homemade vegan ranch dressing
Step 1: Place all ingredients in a blender, Vitamix, mini blender, or food processor.
Add a enough liquid ( use olive oil or water) to get the blender motor going.
Step 2: Blend until very very smooth!
Taste and adjust salt, pepper, acid and olive oil to your liking. For extra richness, feel free to add more olive oil.
Step 3: Refrigerate. Chill it. The dressing will thicken as it chills and tastes better cold. 
Storing vegan Ranch Salad Dressing
Vegan ranch salad dressing lasts up to 7 days in a sealed jar in the refrigerator.
Chef’s tip
To preserve the vegan ranch dressing a little longer in the refrigerator, use vinegar, not lemon juice and use garlic powder and onion powder rather than fresh garlic or onion, and use dried herbs rather than fresh herbs. This will extend its life up to 12 days.
Ways to use Vegan Ranch
- Toss with salad greens
- Drizzle over vegan pizza or veggie burgers for a little bit of creaminess.
- Use a dip for healthy veggies.
- Add to sandwiches and wraps.
Vegan Ranch Dressing Variations
- Add cajun spice! Viola-Cajun Ranch.
- Add jalapeno or chipotle.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of pesto! Vegan Pesto Dressing.
- Try other herbs- cilantro (for a Mexican twist) and a few slices of jalapeno, or fresh dill, fresh basil, etc.
- For extra depth- like to create a “dip” add 1-2 teaspoons of white miso paste.
More Favorite Vegan Salad Dressing!
- Citrus Vinaigrette
- Creamy Herby Hemp Seed Dressing
- Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Vanilla Fig Dressing
- Peanut Dressing
- Miso Dressing
- Greek Salad Dressing
Enjoy the best Vegan Ranch Dressing! This simple, basic recipe is perfect for you to fiddle with and perfect to your own tastes. I hope you embellish it and have fun with it.
Have a great week!
xoxo
Print
Homemade Vegan Ranch Dressing
- Prep Time: 10
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 1 heaping cup
- Category: salad, vegan, Dressings, Condiments
- Method: Blend
- Cuisine: American,
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A delicious recipe for Creamy Vegan Ranch Dressing that can be made without oil! Low calorie & made with silken tofu. Dairy-free, Nut-free, Gluten-Free and ZERO Cholesterol! Perfect for salads, wraps, bowls or as a veggie dip!
Ingredients
- 1 package silken tofu ( 12.3 ounces) firm
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (or sub with water for oil-free version)
- 2 fat garlic cloves (or 2 teaspoons granulated garlic)
- 1 rounded teaspoon onion powder (or one tablespoon of shallot or onion)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider or sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 teaspoon miso paste (optional)
- 1/4–1/2 cup fresh herbs- dill, basil, Italian parsley, or cilantro or a blend (or use 1-2 tablespoons fresh oregano, or 1 teaspoon dry oregano)
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a blender and add just enough water or olive oil to get the blender going. Scrape down sides as necessary.
- Blend until creamy and smooth!
- Taste. For extra richness or creaminess, add more olive oil. Add any extras that you like- see notes.
- Chill. The dressing will thicken as it chills.
Notes
Store in a sealed jar in the fridge for 7-10 days. See chef’s tips in post body extending the shelf life.
Other additions: Cajun spice (for Cajun Ranch), white miso paste, for extra depth, if using it as a dip. Jalapeno, chipotle, or hot sauce for added kick!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons ( includes the 2 Tablespoons olive oil)
- Calories: 61
- Sugar: 0.2 g
- Sodium: 292.7 mg
- Fat: 4.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.6 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 2.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Good recipe. Made as directed but added more dill and some pickle juice. Doubled the fresh pepper at the end. Added a date to up the sweetness. Excellent base to play with. For me I did thin it out more with. I prefer a thinner dressing. Made about 7 servings for me.
Hey very nice blog!
I was craving ranch dressing, and had half a brick of silken tofu in my fridge… I’m so glad I found this. This was even more delicious than the vegan mayo-based ranch recipes I’ve tried! And I can truly call it healthy ranch dressing. The texture was absolutely perfect. I’m going to be making this and variations on it all the time now.
this is spot-on….really delicious…
This recipe is amazing! I added 1/3 cup lemon juice to it. I am on Weight Watchers and if the olive oil is replaced with water, it’s zero weight watchers points so I can eat as much as I want. It’s a saving grace when I get the munchies, it makes a great dip for vegtables. Thankyou so much!
Great substitute! I actually used a different brand that was 16oz (more than the recipe called for) but it worked perfect. I didnt have to adjust any of the other ingredients and I opted to make it oil free. I’ll be making it again for sure but I’ll skip on the optional nutritional yeast.
Thanks Sharon and good to know!
This is the best healthy vegan dressing that I’ve ever made. I’m trying to eat a whole food diet though so instead of adding the oil I just threw in a couple tablespoons of cashews and used my high speed blender to mix it. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Oh good! Glad it worked for you!
Just made this. (Put an extra Tbsp of vinegar in error) still delicious
Sorry about that. I really enjoy the “kick” but perhaps not for everyone. 😉 It does mellow after a few hours.
So delicious! Delighted to have found a plant based recipe that tastes just like the ranch dressing I have been missing as a vegan. Thanks so much!
This was too salty for me. I omitted the oil and water and texture was still pretty runny – I added a can of rinsed and drained white beans to balance out the salt and give some body.
Leaving the water and oil out would probably make it salty. When tossed with a salad, the salt is mellowed as well.
Simple, healthy, and delicious! Loved it. Thank you so much!
So good, so easy!
OMG…just made this = DELICIOUS!!!
yay! Im glad you like it!
Excited to try this recipe! Great to have a vegan dressing without loads of oil. P.s. I love the 1X 2X 3X feature on the recipe. I meal prep weekly and often have to upsize recipes to make enough for two people for five days of meals. Thank you for this feature!!
Thanks, Lauren! Also double check the feature is working correctly. Sometimes it can be glitchy.
So easy and delicious!
OMGoodness…shut the front door. I typically shy away from making any type of a salad dressing, and of all things, a Ranch dressing in particular.
I’ve just been converted.
Thank you because it’s truly delicious!
Im so glad you liked this Becky!
This was delicious! Used as a dip for buffalo cauliflower wings, celery, and carrots, and it was well-received! Reminded me a little of an onion dip you could dunk chips into! Yum 🙂
Great to hear- love it!
Awesome soo delicious
So simple and delicious! Thank you for sharing. This one is a KEEPER!! I will be making this often 🙂
Glad you hear you like it!
Hi again…I forgot to mention that tofu is great as a protein replacement but in a salad dressing… let’s just say you changed that, and again thanks for such a wonderful surprise.
OMG -This is the BEST!
Yummy! And so easy. Why did I wait so long????????
My tummy doesn’t like raw garlic – do you think I can use garlic powder instead (or would you recommend I just leave it out?)
yes, try granulated! or even roasted would probably work too!
I haven’t made this yet–planning to tonight, though–but I just realized I got SOFT silken tofu from the refrigerated section. Do you know if this will still work? I get so confused between silken tofu and soft and firm. I thought for sauces you needed the soft stuff, whether or not it was silken. And now I’m looking at the recipe and see you used firm tofu. Why is tofu so confusing! I hope it’ll work because the recipe looks YUM!
It should be fine!
This was surprisingly great! It makes more than enough to use in the cajun tempeh recipe while leaving plenty of extra to use as a dip. I do just kinda want to just drink it out of my jar but I’m trying to have more class than that.
Haha! I’m with you! 🙂 Thanks for sharing and rating! Appreciated so much!
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I’m just saving the blackened tempeh recipe along with this dressing, but wanted to say I love the way you write. It’s like sharing a recipe with a friend–so honest and down to earth.
Awwww, thanks Julie!