Vegan Ranch Dressing: A Quick Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing Recipe

Yes, our vegan ranch dressing is here! It’s a totally non-dairy, but absolutely delicious recipe that’s ready to eat in just a few minutes! 

No longer is ranch dressing off-limits for vegans, because we’ve perfected our vegan-friendly recipe by blending silken tofu with garlic, onion, and a little extra seasoning for the perfect finish. You can drizzle homemade vegan ranch dressing over your leafy green salads, use it for dipping vegetable sticks or your favorite seasoned tofu, or prepare it to cover some deep fried cauliflower wings (with some hot sauce too, of course).

Get your silken tofu ready, and prepare yourself for a vegan feast. Here’s our vegan ranch dressing recipe!

Can Vegans Even Eat Ranch Dressing?

Ranch dressing is traditionally prepared using mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt. For vegans, this means standard ranch dressing is simply off-limits, as there’s always a lot of dairy products that go into standard ranch dressing. 

If, like us, you miss your ranch dressing, then we’ve come up with a solution that replaces the mayo with silken tofu. Silken tofu dressing is wonderfully soft and delicate, and when blended, it becomes almost creamy. Combined with strong garlic and peppercorns, alongside a little onion powder, silken tofu salad dressing recipes easily take on the taste and appearance of regular ranch dressings!

Remember, for vegan ranch dressing recipes to work, you need to make sure that you have silken tofu. Other tofus are just too firm and won’t give you the desired mayonnaise-like consistency. 

Vegan Ranch Dressing Recipe Tips and FAQ

Once you’ve gathered together all of your ingredients, it’s really simple to prepare vegan ranch dressing. All you need is a food blender. Once you’ve got your ranch dressing ready, though, you may be wondering the best way to serve it!

Keep reading for our serving tips and answers to commonly asked questions. 

Vegan ranch dressing recipe variations

This is an easy recipe, and you can prepare it just as well using more or fewer ingredients than we’ve suggested above. 

At its most basic, to make a vegan ranch dressing, you only actually need silken tofu, olive oil, garlic, onion powder, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Don’t worry too much if you don’t have all the extras!

Here are a few of our top recipe suggestions for varying the recipe:

• Instead of dill and parsley, experiment with other fresh herbs like oregano or thyme. 
• You can use freshly chopped herbs for garnish rather than blending them into the sauce itself. Just mix them in at the end (the same with the salt and pepper). 
• If you don’t have fresh herbs to chop up, then you can still use dried herbs for a great ranch dressing. 
• Remove the olive oil and replace it with an extra tablespoon of water for an even healthier recipe.
• If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can also use sherry vinegar. 
• Nutritional yeast is optional, but is a great way to supplement your vegan diet with added nutrients and minerals. 

What can I serve with vegan ranch dressing? 

Just like traditional ranch dressing, vegan ranch dressing is as versatile as it is delicious. You can use vegan ranch as a dressing, as a sauce, as a dip, and so much more. 

You can use vegan ranch dressing for any of the same purposes that you would use standard ranch dressing, but here are a few of our favorite serving options:

• Fresh salad dressing (with your favorite leafy greens)
• A saucy addition to wraps or healthy vegan burritos
• A light, low-calorie sandwich spread
• A dip for cauliflower wings or seasoned tofu bites
• A dip for baked potato wedges or sweet potato wedges 
• A dip for carrot, bell peppers, and cucumber sticks

How long does vegan ranch dressing last for?

Vegan ranch dressing can last for as long as 10 days if all of your herbs and ingredients are fresh. You must keep it sealed and stored in the refrigerator if you want it to last this long, however. Ranch dressing is best served cold, so keeping it in the fridge is the perfect storage location.

We suggest storing the ranch dressing in a resealable glass jar. You can reuse the jar each time for your next batch of vegan ranch dressing. 

We don’t recommend freezing the ranch dressing if you don’t need to. Freezing changes the texture of silken tofu, leaving you with a much firmer, thicker consistency than you need for this sauce. 

How healthy is vegan ranch dressing?

Vegan ranch dressing is a healthy non dairy alternative to standard ranch dressings, which are often high in calories and saturated fat due to the mayonnaise base. 

Low fat vegan ranch dressing, on the other hand, is low in calories, gluten-free, and of course, vegan-friendly. The silken tofu base is not a direct creamy substitute for mayonnaise, but it’s a substitute that’s high in protein. 

With some added nutritional yeast and with sparing use of olive oil, this is a rich and flavorful dressing that you don’t need to feel guilty about enjoying. 

Do I need to press the tofu before preparing vegan ranch dressing? 

For many tofu-based recipes, you need to use a tofu press to remove the excess liquid before cooking. However, for this recipe, that’s not necessary. We are trying to create a creamy texture, so we actually need a little excess liquid for the best results. 

If your silken tofu seems quite watery, then leave out the added tablespoons of water from the recipe. Blend the tofu first, then add extra water as you see fit to create the desired consistency and texture of the dressing. 

We don’t recommend using other types of tofu, such as soft, firm, or extra firm tofu. These aren’t nearly soft enough for this recipe and will result in a crumbly texture rather than a creamy, sauce-like consistency. 

What if I don’t have a blender?   

If you don’t have a blender, then you won’t be able to prepare such a smooth sauce, but you can still make a deliciously tasty salad dressing. 

Simply mix up all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using a whisk to blend the silken tofu. The recipe tastes great with chunky herbs too, so just chop these up and sprinkle them on top before mixing them into the dressing. 

Vegan Ranch Dressing Summary: A Tasty Non Dairy Recipe!

That’s a wrap for our vegan ranch dressing recipe. This is one of our top vegan dressing recipes – not only does it taste great, but it’s remarkably easy to prepare as well! 

Simply blend a large jar of vegan ranch dressing, then leave it in your fridge for the next week. It’s perfect as a salad dressing or a dairy free ranch dip, so don’t be afraid to get creative with its use!

Why not bookmark our vegan ranch dressing sauce and prepare a batch for your next salad or healthy wraps?