A classic salad dressing or party dip, this easy Dairy-Free ranch dressing builds flavor with real food ingredients and substitutes hemp hearts for heavy sour cream. gluten-free and vegan.
A salad basic and a party must-have, ranch is a fan favorite for sure. Now, my guess is that your experience with ranch dressing either involves a store-bought bottle, an envelope of “Hidden Valley Ranch” and a tub of sour cream, or all of the above. So let’s give ranch dressing a whole food, plant-based makeover!
The Secret to Easy, Creamy, Dairy-Free Dressings: Hemp Hearts
Creamy plant-based dressings are actually pretty easy to make. The secret is hemp hearts (aka hemp seeds). You can find them in the bulk foods section or supplements area of your grocery store, usually sitting alongside items like flaxseed, chia seeds, and protein powders. Buy a whole bag of the stuff- you will use it! I love tossing some hemp hearts into my smoothies, sprinkling them on salads, or rolling them into dessert-like energy bites. They’ve got a neutral, slightly nutty taste and are a great source of omega-3 fatty acids and plant-based protein.
Unlike cashews and other nuts, hemp hearts are soft and require no soaking before blending with water or plant milk to create a cream. That means you can whip up recipes like this ranch dressing in only a few minutes! It also means you don’t need a super powerful blender to create a creamy consistency. I make this dressing using my little Magic Bullet blender, and it works great.
Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 2 T Hemp Hearts
1/2 to 3/4 cup Plant Milk (unflavored and unsweetened, like almond milk)
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Clove Garlic
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1 t Onion Powder
1/8 t Cayenne
1/4 t Sea Salt
Pinch Black Pepper
1 T Fresh Dill, chopped
1 T Fresh Parsley, chopped
1 T Fresh Chives (minced)
Directions
First, add the hemp hearts, 1/2 cup of the plant milk and lemon juice into your blender and blend until creamy.
Next, add the clove of garlic and blend until the garlic is completely blended (with no chunks).
Now you can add the rest of the ingredients, from the nutritional yeast through the parsley, and blend until everything is combined. At this point, assess the consistency. If you prefer a thicker dressing (or dip), don’t add any more plant milk. But if you’d like a more viscous salad dressing, add the remaining 1/3 cup of plant milk and pulse a couple times to combine.
Lastly, stir in the chives. You’re done!
