Ranch dressing recipes please

[probablybirdie]

So I love, love, love ranch dressing, but I've yet to find a vegan recipe that I like. Anyone have a good recipe they can recommend?

Also, has anyone tried any store-bought vegan ranch dressings that they like? I've seen Daiya in stores but I'm too nervous to shell-out for it if it's going to be bad.

Thank you!

 

[Emma JC]

so this just popped up on my YouTube feed, I have never watched this YouTube Channel and I haven't tried this recipe so I can't vouch for it but hopefully it will be helpful for you

Emma JC

 

[Lou]

I haven't tested this recipe either. but I trust Dana.

Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing (Oil-Free!)

Being from the Midwest originally, we certainly have a special place in our hearts for ranch dressing. When we were growing up, it was a common dressing

minimalistbaker.com

 

[silva]

so this just popped up on my YouTube feed, I have never watched this YouTube Channel and I haven't tried this recipe so I can't vouch for it but hopefully it will be helpful for you

Emma JC

That's a big hell-no for me! The oats give blended things an awful texture. The herbs aren't right for me either
I have blended hemp with garlic and onion powder, dill, black pepper and some kind of vinegar for a wfpb ranch, but -eh
I've used raisins blended in things and they have a very distinctive raisin taste.

This was the blend I used- but I threw hemp hearts instead of cashews- which would be much better IMO!-

Dry Ranch Mix

www.copymethat.com

 

[shyvas]

So I love, love, love ranch dressing, but I've yet to find a vegan recipe that I like. Anyone have a good recipe they can recommend?

Also, has anyone tried any store-bought vegan ranch dressings that they like? I've seen Daiya in stores but I'm too nervous to shell-out for it if it's going to be bad.

Thank you!

I've googled up the ingredients and it's very easy to make. Why don't you do some experimenting and just substitute the buttermilk with plant based yogurt ? All the other ingredients are easy to find.

 

[silva]

I've googled up the ingredients and it's very easy to make. Why don't you do some experimenting and just substitute the buttermilk with plant based yogurt ? All the other ingredients are easy to find.

I can get the texture and base taste just fine. It's the whole herb mix I can't tweak. I really loved the cheap ranch dressings, but seem to be missing something I can't figure. It certainly isn't dill!

"Ranch dressing is a type of salad dressing (sauce) made of some combination of buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, mustard, herbs (commonly chives, parsley, and dill), and spices (commonly black pepper, paprika, and ground mustard seed), mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise, or another oil emulsion."

Maybe chives and parsley? I use all the others

 

[shyvas]

I can get the texture and base taste just fine. It's the whole herb mix I can't tweak. I really loved the cheap ranch dressings, but seem to be missing something I can't figure. It certainly isn't dill!

"Ranch dressing is a type of salad dressing (sauce) made of some combination of buttermilk, salt, garlic, onion, mustard, herbs (commonly chives, parsley, and dill), and spices (commonly black pepper, paprika, and ground mustard seed), mixed into a sauce based on mayonnaise, or another oil emulsion."

Maybe chives and parsley? I use all the others

Do you have the list of ingredients ?

 

[Emma JC]

do you have an acid in there? lemon juice or apple cider vinegar?

Emma JC

 

[SapphireLightning]

do you have an acid in there? lemon juice or apple cider vinegar?

Emma JC

Or lactic acid (vegan and cheap) powder like what many carnist ranch dips use. It does have to have a little "bite" to it.

Edit: Just looked up the product I was thinking of, which is Lay's ranch dip. Its not even vegetarian safe due to the DATEM in it. But it is a useful list to see how they construct such a product at scale.

Ingredients: Water,Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Modified Tapioca and Corn Starch, Whey Protein Concentrate, and Less Than 2% of the Following: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Spices, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Sugar, Glucono Delta Lactone, Lactic Acid, Xanthan Gum, and DATEM.

I prefer using blended tofu than trying to veganize the above recipe, but I do have almost everything that would be needed for it. (xantham gum and lactic acid are cheap and vegan, the whey protein doesnt need a replacement really, just omit it and other non-vegan ingredients.

Anyways, I digress, you need an acid in there. A tiny amount of it, but it is needed.

 

[Lou]

Or lactic acid (vegan and cheap) powder like what many carnist ranch dips use. It does have to have a little "bite" to it.

Edit: Just looked up the product I was thinking of, which is Lay's ranch dip. Its not even vegetarian safe due to the DATEM in it. But it is a useful list to see how they construct such a product at scale.

Ingredients: Water,Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Modified Tapioca and Corn Starch, Whey Protein Concentrate, and Less Than 2% of the Following: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Spices, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Sugar, Glucono Delta Lactone, Lactic Acid, Xanthan Gum, and DATEM.

I prefer using blended tofu than trying to veganize the above recipe, but I do have almost everything that would be needed for it. (xantham gum and lactic acid are cheap and vegan, the whey protein doesnt need a replacement really, just omit it and other non-vegan ingredients.

Anyways, I digress, you need an acid in there. A tiny amount of it, but it is needed.

What is DATEM?

 

[SapphireLightning]

What is DATEM?

It's a processed product of mono/diglycerides, which may or may not be sourced from plants, but is often a byproduct of animal slaughter. As a side note: I wonder if there is a correlation between what percentage of mono/diglycerides are animal sourced based on consumer demand for "lean" "meat"...

From what little hard info I could find back when I was originally researching in to it it seems to be a crap shoot as to the source, but biased towards plant based.

Sorry I don't have much more.

Here is a somewhat helpful site. I really cant lay a finger on it due to market nature and the fact it can come from either source. https://yourveganjourney.com/home/is-datem-vegan/

 

[shyvas]

Ingredients: Water,Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Modified Tapioca and Corn Starch, Whey Protein Concentrate, and Less Than 2% of the Following: Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Garlic Powder, Spices, Onion Powder, Natural Flavors, Sugar, Glucono Delta Lactone, Lactic Acid, Xanthan Gum, and DATEM.

I prefer using blended tofu than trying to veganize the above recipe, but I do have almost everything that would be needed for it. (xantham gum and lactic acid are cheap and vegan, the whey protein doesnt need a replacement really, just omit it and other non-vegan ingredients.

Anyways, I digress, you need an acid in there. A tiny amount of it, but it is needed.

You really don't need to add xanthan gum to a recipe when making an emulsion. It usually is used in industrial made dressings/sauces/mayonnaise as a thickener and/or stabiliser. Some acid such as vinegar or lemon juice is a must when the sauce is oil based as it balances out the taste.

Home made dressing/vinaigrette/mayonnaise contain less ingredients and are quite simple to make. It would seem that many people are trying to duplicate industrial made sauces and hence find them difficult to make.

 

[SapphireLightning]

You really don't need to add xanthan gum to a recipe when making an emulsion. It usually is used in industrial made dressings/sauces/mayonnaise as a thickener and/or stabiliser. Some acid such as vinegar or lemon juice is a must when the sauce is oil based as it balances out the taste.

Home made dressing/vinaigrette/mayonnaise contain less ingredients and are quite simple to make. It would seem that many people are trying to duplicate industrial made sauces and hence find them difficult to make.

That was a listing of commercial ranch dressing to give ideas on what to flavor it with. I use tofu, soy milk, spices and lactic acid as the only ingredients in mine. I do use xanthan gum when making a few things, nothing wrong with it. Curious as to why you would highlight lactic acid? It is vegan and just as natural as acetic acid (vinegar), being produced by lactic acid bacteria (the same culture used to make rejuvilac when making cultured vegan cheeses).

 

[shyvas]

That was a listing of commercial ranch dressing to give ideas on what to flavor it with. I use tofu, soy milk, spices and lactic acid as the only ingredients in mine. I do use xanthan gum when making a few things, nothing wrong with it. Curious as to why you would highlight lactic acid? It is vegan and just as natural as acetic acid (vinegar), being produced by lactic acid bacteria (the same culture used to make rejuvilac when making cultured vegan cheeses).

No particular reason, except for pointing out that any oil based sauce needs vinegar or lemon juice to balance out the flavour.

 

[SapphireLightning]

No particular reason, except for pointing out that any oil based sauce needs vinegar or lemon juice to balance out the flavour.

Ah okies. Lactic acid will do that as well, probably why it was in that ingredients list. I use it when making sharp cashew cheeses as I don't trust myself to ferment the lactobaccillium to produce the lactic acid. So instead of growing stuff, I just put the finished stuff in directly. Myoko's kitchen cheeses call for fermenting grains to get that lactic acid producing culture, and I did try it once, but I am simply too skittish.

 

[silva]

I've followed many ideas for ranch herb blends, and hadn't found one that really said "ranch dressing" as I remembered, but more important, wanted. For some reason I haven't found Follow Your Heart ranch, which I'd heard is good.
I got Penzeys, mixed with vegan mayo and home made plain soy yogurt, and it's perfect! It calls for 1:1 mayo and buttermilk, but I used more soy yogurt than mayo.
and no dill! That what killed so many others I tried! I'm not a dill fan
Hand-mixed from: salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, sugar, black pepper, parsley, thyme and basil.

 

[SapphireLightning]

and no dill! That what killed so many others I tried! I'm not a dill fan
Hand-mixed from: salt, bell peppers, garlic, onion, sugar, black pepper, parsley, thyme and basil.

Blasphemy! No dill?! You shouldn't be allowed to call it Ranch dressing without dill! You don't eat dill?! Where do you get your protein from?!

That spice blend looks yum tho, I should just get off my flank and mix my own (with dill ). I basically do it every time from scratch when I make tofu ranch dressing.

 

[silva]

I know, right
I don't hate, hate dill, just use a lot less than of that that others like-like I use it in potato or pasta salad, or cucumber salads. My best try at home made ranch had dill because I always associated dill as a dominant flavor there- but I feel I was wrong!
My son has a bottle of Aldi ranch and compared the two. He was really surprised how similar they tasted!