Dairy Free Ranch Dressing

This dairy free ranch dressing is creamy, tangy, and oh so delicious! It’s perfect as a dressing on salads, wraps, burgers, or as a dip for veggies, fries, chicken wings, onion rings, chicken fingers, hushpuppies, and more.

I love ranch dressing! Ranch dressing and poppy seed dressing are hands down my favorite dressings.

However, as much as I love poppy seed dressing, ranch dressing definitely gets the “most versatile” award.

It’s perfect as a dressing on salads, wraps, burgers, or as a dip for veggies, fries, chicken wings, onion rings, chicken fingers, hushpuppies, and more.

This dairy free ranch dressing is just as delicious and creamy as any other ranch dressing too.

Most recipes for ranch dressing call for buttermilk and sour cream.

In this recipe, you make your own dairy free buttermilk, which is quick and easy.

Instead of sour cream, we use mayonnaise, which is what the original ranch dressing recipe used for creaminess.

History of Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing was originally created by a man named Steve Henson while spending a few years in Alaska.  

Then, in 1954, he and his wife opened a dude ranch in California named Hidden Valley Ranch.

There, they served it to customers and it became so popular, they began selling the dressing and seasoning mix for customers to take home and add their own buttermilk and mayonnaise.  

Eventually, they began mass producing their dressing, and by the early 1990s, it was America’s best selling dressing.

Is ranch dressing dairy free?

Not unless specified otherwise, since ranch dressing is typically made with buttermilk and often includes sour cream. However, you can use a dairy free milk to make dairy free buttermilk, like this recipe does.

WHAT IS BUTTERMILK?

Buttermilk was originally the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. 

Traditionally, the milk was left to sit to allow the cream and milk to separate. During this time, naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria fermented the milk and turned it into buttermilk, making it tangier and thicker than regular milk.

However, modern buttermilk is made by adding lactic acid bacteria to milk to ferment it.

How do You make dairy free buttermilk?

Making dairy free buttermilk is easy.

All you need is 1 cup of dairy free milk and 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Then, let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes while the milk sours and curdles a bit.

Voilà, dairy free buttermilk!

You can make buttermilk with almond milk, buttermilk with coconut milk, and buttermilk with oat milk.

Which dairy free milk should I use?

Honestly, it’s whatever you have on hand or prefer.

My go-to is a neutral flavored full fat oat milk because I find that they are the most similar to regular full fat milk.

Almond milk works well here, too. I personally like using an unsweetened barista almond milk because it is more similar to regular full fat milk, but whatever you have will work.

You can also use coconut milk, though it may have a subtle coconut flavor if you do. Coconut milk has more fat and is similar to using a light cream, but it won’t make a noticeable difference.

I’ve never used soy milk, so I don’t have any opinions on it, but you can use that as well.

Does the mayonnaise change the flavor?

Nope! Not at all.

First of all, the original ranch dressing included mayonnaise in it, so if anything, this is actually more authentic than using sour cream.

Also, I’ve used mayonnaise in all kinds of recipes including for grilling and I’ve never found it to give a taste.

Is mayonnaise dairy free?

Yes, mayonnaise is dairy free since it doesn’t contain any dairy products and eggs aren’t dairy.

Ranch dressing vs sour cream

Ranch dressing is a creamy salad dressing typically made with buttermilk, mayonnaise, and herbs, while sour cream is a dairy product with a tangy flavor often used as a condiment or ingredient.