Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing (Oil-Free!)

I was excited to try this, but it didn’t meet expectations. Cashews are already so sweet, and the addition of maple syrup makes it cloying (wish I had thought to skip that, but I’m not sure it would have saved it). To make up for the weird sweetness, I did a lot of doctoring, adding a ton more vinegar and more herbs/spices. In the end it was edible, but not anything we plan to repeat, and definitely didn’t resemble ranch. I think maybe cashews aren’t the answer for a good ranch – will have to think about what to use instead and go back to the drawing board.

I love this recipe! It gives me all the flavors I want and I tweak to my tastes. (I only leave out the onion powder) I meal prep on Sundays so I get up early and make this dressing. I leave in the fridge to chill then tweak it Sunday night before bed. I find it thickens as It chills so I thin it out.

Perfection!!!

I did this with hemp hearts and I thought this was fantastic! Had to use dried herbs for everything except chives, added some Italian seasoning and a little extra lemon and it was so yummy!!!

Absolutely love this, thankyou so much for dairy free I also love your gluten free recipes. You are very much appreciated in my home. 💖

This turned out well but when I make it again I will leave out the maple syrup completely. Even using a small amount made it too sweet because the cashews have a natural sweetness to them. A good recipe though.

I tried to leave this reply, but the page flickered and the comment went away! Hopefully, this comes through! This is my favorite vegan ranch recipe! I have made several others. I double the batch and make a few minor adjustments that turn out a delicious dressing and I think one change in particular would change the minds of those who left negative reviews. That is, I never cook with any other plant milk other than Trader Joe’s shelf stable soy beverage in the green carton. That’s because it doesn’t impart an off putting flavor like most of the plant milks do. That includes almond milk for me. And, I increase the liquid to 1/4 cup and skip the soaking since I have a power blender and because the dressing will thicken in the fridge. I also use the lesser amount of sweetener and I use agave because it won’t impart a flavor. Then there is the dill. I’ve tried this with the fresh dill and with the dried dill and I prefer the dry. It imparts a more mild dill flavor. Lastly, I use one chopped green onion in the double batch I make instead of using chives because I always have green onions on hand. The dressing turns out delicious!

I actually felt like I had to doctor this quite a bit to make it taste even close to Ranch dressing. It came out VERY sweet. I probably quadrupled the ACV and added a lot of coconut yogurt too, to try and help the zing a little bit. Bummed because I can’t find a great vegan ranch recipe that really works, and I have yet to make something from MB that I didn’t absolutely love!

This recipe did not disappoint. Super easy, super fast to put together, and super delicious!! Minimalist Baker never disappoints! Thank you!!!

I made this today and it is so delicious! I didn’t have apple cider vinegar so I used the vinegar from my jarred jalapeños and it gave it a little zip.

The best vegan Ranch ever! It’s flavorful and super easy to make. I use it as a dressing to make Tortellini salad too. Thanks much!

I love the creamy fattiness the cashews offer in this dip. Because they already add a level of sweetness, I omitted the syrup and added 2 Tbsp. of dill pickle juice. I know that might sound weird, but it added that salty vinegary flavor I was craving in a dip.

I made a bean and fresh veggie salad for dinner. Made this ranch dressing, I did leave out the maple syrup and added cilantro as my fresh herb of choice. The whole family loved i
Thank you

Perfect! garlicky and slightly sweet!

This was a great vegan ranch recipe! My boyfriend recently found out he is dairy free so I opted to find a solid option for us. I will say this is no pizza ranch but it is wonderful on salads. Tonight I made a salad with air fry chicken thighs, charred corn, lettuce from the farmers market, tomatoes, avocado and sunflower seeds with this dressing and it was perfect!! We dreamed of making it a chipotle ranch for chicken wings and other hearty bowls we’ll start having in the winter. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!

Excellent vegan ranch dressing. I love it as a dip for my vegetables!

Oh my….this was simply delicious. So creamy, it tasted decadent. Even my dairy-loving boyfriend said YUM!

I love your recipes but I found this one a bit bland, and also sweet. I wish I’d have followed my instincts and left out the maple (I only used the lesser amount). I think even my unsweetened plain almond milk was a bit too naturally sweet for what I want in a ranch, so next time I’ll try soy or a different brand of almond – but I’m excited to have a recipe that uses vegan buttermilk. I added more ACV, garlic, onion, salt, and then a few capers in brine to get more ranch flavor and cover the sweetness and will definitely try again with modifications.

I love that dressing!
A bit thick to my taste, will add more milk the next time.
I’ve never used dill before, I ended up picking some from my neighbor’s balcony. Boy I did not know how I needed dill in my life!

I just made this for the first time. I love it! I did about 3/4 cup cashews and 3/4 cup unsweet soy milk. After blending everything I taste tested and add another about a half teaspoon lemon juice and another teaspoon acv, i like it more tangy. Raw cashews are actually pretty sweet, at least to me, so that’s why i upped the lemon and acv. Then just added some dried dill and voila! Delicious! Thanks for the recipe :)

Yum!! Ran out of ACV so subbed white, still tastes delish!

I’ve switched to eating WFPB, so I was happy to find this recipe and followed the instructions exactly. Wow! I was so pleased with the results. It’s my new favorite dressing. Really nice to enjoy the tang and bite of ranch dressing without all the highly processed and junk ingredients of standard bottled ranch. Thank you!

So creamy and so so delicious! Definitely better than a bottle of hidden valley ranch!

Another A+ recipe, Dana! Thank you!!!!!!

I made this tonight. I subbed oat milk for the almond milk. I don’t like almond and never buy it for special recipes. It was better than I expected. I love ranch dressing so it is nice having a healthy option.

I just made this dressing and its wonderful! I used unsweetened rice milk since that’s what I had on hand. I decided to hold off on the maple syrup until after mixing and did not ended up adding it, as I thought it tasted fine without. Thanks for a healthy, non oil, great tasting dressing!

THANK YOU! I’m not vegan but wanted an alternative to the oils and other things that they put in ranch dressing. this was fantastic! I used the same amount of maple syrup but a little bit more vinegar, a little bit more salt and also a little bit more garlic powder. the clove of garlic didn’t exactly give me what I was looking for but it is fantastic – so smooth, so yummy. I love dipping vegetables now. Would highly recommend it. thanks again!

I went to a vegan restaurant over the weekend and had ranch dressing there and it was amazing. So I wanted to try and make some myself. I’ll admit I was a little skeptical when I first started making this recipe, but it turned out amazing!! Highly recommend :-)

Just made this first time tonight and it is stunning ! Highly recommend and so simple – thank you ?

I just made this recipe but used Walnuts instead of Cashews, cashew milk instead of almond milk and Garlic powder instead of a garlic clove. It turned out pretty good, a little gritty as I just used a regular blender. I didn’t know what to add more of at the end to make it really robust but it was decent enough. Used it on a salad and could tell it was lacking something. I’m definitely not a cook so I couldn’t decide what more it needed. But thank you for this recipe! I will have to try it again in the future with the proper ingredients. Trying to make my own dressings now and stay away from store-bought ones. Thanks again!

This is my new favorite dressing! I’ve been making oil free, vegan dressings on and off for a few years. After experimenting with different recipes, I thought that I had perfected a cashew based ranch dressing. However, I misplaced my recipe, so I used this one today instead. I’m so happy that I did. Soaking the cashews and adding the lemon juice to the “milk” made such a difference. I didn’t have any maple syrup, so I didn’t add that. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly (I may have added a bit more of the fresh herbs though). My family loved it too.

LOVE this recipe! I make it weekly and I leave out the maple syrup as it seems to add too much sweetness. Fantastic recipe- thank you so much!

So tasty ?. Followed instructions and it came out perfectly creamy with robust ranch flavor.

I really really wanted to love this but I have to be honest and I’m sorry to say I didn’t care for this at all. I was so excited to make it for a few events I had coming up so I doubled the recipe! I followed it exactly but unfortunately it’s still in my fridge waiting to go down the garbage disposal…I just haven’t had the heart to dump it because of the pricey cashews in it. I completely agree with the reviewer who described it as kind of sickly sweet/tart whipping cream. It doesn’t taste savoury at all, let alone like “ranch” dip. I’m sorry but I would be embarrassed to serve it so it’s garbage to me :(

This is amazing! I only recently became a vegan and was looking for an alternative to vinaigrette dressings for a chance of pace. I made this exactly as the recipe called for and used only dried dill since I didn’t have the optional spices. I LOVE this dressing and was licking it off the spoon when I was finished. I have used it as salad dressing but now plan to try it for a vegan ranch pizza or even dipping sauce for veggies. Thanks for sharing and I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!

I’m not vegan but this dressing is delicious. Great option.

This recipe turned out Yummy! Ignore the haters. They can go back to the hidden valley and hide there where they can dip everything including their pizza crust in bacon “flavored” garbage ranch. I blended it in my ninja and added a fair amount of fresh dill and a little bit more salt and pepper and lemon to my liking and it has great flavor. The most expensive item is the raw cashews, but if people don’t want to invest an extra couple bucks in the amazing cashew, they have not yet experienced your vegan parm and other cashew based recipes that my family has been enjoying on our journey to better health. Pro tip…you can buy large cashew containers at Wal-Mart, Aldi, and other stores to make vegan parm with. Raw cashews are only necessary for the soaking cream based recipes. For pestos, cheese sauce, or any crunchy coatings, just buy a big container of cashews or bag of cashew pieces from trader joes….and THANK YOU DANA! …for sharing your amazing recipees with the world. I am anxious to try your crispy chick pea Ceasar salad.

This recipe is awesome! My 9 year old foodie made it by herself, adjusted the flavors after blending and LOVES IT!!!! I’m thrilled to not buy ranch made of junk anymore!
Dana, as always your recipes are easy and yummy and you make being a mom easier from 5-7pm every night of the week. Many thanks

I followed the directions except for omitting the maple syrup. The result was great, but an extra teaspoon of lemon juice and dash of salt made it nearly perfect. The combination of flavors is spot on and of course it’s marvelous with fresh or dried herbs. It allowed me to enjoy wings with football without triggering my cows milk allergy! Many thanks Dana!

I’ve been looking for a good ranch. This one has become an addiction for me. I love to mix it with rice, avacado and greens.

I made this dressing- FOLLOWED IT TO THE LETTER …AND, Its so beyond disappointing.
This tastes nothing like ranch dressing…
If you’re going to call it ‘ranch’, but make something that doesn’t taste like Ranch- Dont call it ‘Ranch’.
This was a waste of not only time but of a lot of not-so-cheap ingredients… Tastes like sweet cashew whipped topping (ie. On pie or ice cream) with Dill weed and vinegar!
I wasted more time and ingredients ‘trying’ to make it taste like Ranch. I ended up adding lime, canned diced green chilies and Lots of cilantro, vegan mayo and salt hoping to make it taste more like cilantro lime ranch from Cafe Rio, which helped some, but it still tasted like whipped cream. WHY the maple syrup??? Wish I’d have followed my gut and not added it- and/or the apple cider vinegar.

This is an amazing recipe. I used it as a salad dressing at first (I served the salad with burritos containing spinach, carmelized onions, roasted peppers and goat cheese). The pairing was very good. When dinner was over, we used the dressing as a dip with our corn chips. Thanks, Dana, for another wonderful recipe!

Sooooo good!!! My husband and I have never been “ranch people” but now after trying this recipe, we’re converted!

This is my first time making anything with soaked raw cashews, and WOW!!! So yummy! Fingers crossed my unhealthy eating husband will like it too…

Really enjoyed it! It is easy to make and tastes really great! I can’t say it’s exactly like store bought ordinary ranch dressing but it’s close enough! Good alternative for healthier eating! Thank you for this recipe

Best cashew ranch recipe I’ve tried! I omitted the maple syrup. It was really thick so I diluted it with a bit of water and ACV which obviously also diluted the flavor but it’s still really good.
I knew Minimalist Baker would give me another winner!

I already left my feedback previously but didn’t know about the star system, so now am giving my rating to help others know about the recipe goodness. :-)

I made this this morning and all I can say is – WOW! Absolutely delicious! And I haven’t even added the herbs yet because I need to go out and get them. So excited about this recipe! Thank you for posting it!

Turned out great. Added a little bit of smoked paprika.

This dressing was really good. I subbed water because I didnt have any plant based milk and it worked out great. It has just the right smidgen of sweetness and the after taste is very satisfying. Will increase the garlic next time and add some chives.

This is the best substitute I have found for ranch dressing/dip! Very good and easy! Next time I will omit the maple syrup. I used dried herbs because that is all I had on hand. I did add extra lemon juice, vinegar, and dill. We will definitely be making this on a regular basis in our house! Thanks!

HALLELUJAH! This recipe is AMAZING! I’ve been trying to find a great ranch recipe ever since going vegan. I’ve tried tofu, coconut, store bought (you name it I tried it) but this is the closest thing to cow’s milk ranch I’ve ever tasted. The consistency and taste are all there! Cannot wait to use this on the buffalo chickpea sandwich recipe!

I needed a quick sauce for steamed veggies and it was perfect (even though I skipped the syrup)!

This came out soooo delicious! I’m definitely including it for a holiday party I’m hosting. I’m allergic to almonds so I used unsweetened coconut milk. I also added a few more cloves of garlic. I may try reducing the amount of apple cider vinegar next time. Regardless, thank you!

This was So good! I was very happy with the texture also. I thought it was even better the second day flavor wise. I did add extra chive and dill. Will make again! Veggies got ate that never would have without the dip! Love it

This was the best oil free dressing ever!!! Omg!!! DELICIOUS ☺

Amazing!!!!

I love how fast and easy this was and the seasonings are perfect. yummy

This is DELISH!! I have a hard time making homemade salad dressings for some reason. But this recipe is soooo yummy!!! I will make it over and over. I love garlic so I did add extra. Thank you. I use alot of your recipes and I am always happy!?

Just made this and it’s great! Used agave but maybe should start with 1/2 tsp or use maple syrup. Added more lemon juice to combat sweetness…not a ranch maniac like many I know but this will be great for dipping veggies, etc. Thanks!

I have made ranch many times with cashews. I really like this recipe! The lemon juice and the maple syrup brightens the flavor. Thank you!

I doubled the amount of chives to two tablespoons, and also put two tablespoons of dried dill. I love my dressing extra “herby”. Fantastic recipe!

This is so delicious! Thanks so much for this. All your recipes,are so good.