This vegan ranch dressing is just as good as the real thing! Made with simple ingredients like cashews and lemon juice, it's creamy and delicious.
Wow! I am OBSESSED with this vegan ranch dressing recipe! I’ve made lots of ranch-like vegan sauces in the past, but this one really hits the mark. It’s cool and creamy, tangy and garlicky, and completely irresistible. All that, and it’s made with simple, plant-based ingredients that you likely have in your pantry already. Once you try it, you’ll never reach for store bought ranch – vegan or otherwise – again!
Vegan Ranch Recipe Ingredients
You only need 8 basic ingredients to make this easy vegan ranch recipe:
- Raw cashews – Like in my basic cashew cream recipe, raw cashews make this vegan ranch dressing thick and creamy, yet totally dairy-free. And because cashews add plenty of richness on their own, it’s oil-free, too!
- Fresh chopped cucumber – It puts the “cool” in “cool ranch.”
- Lemon juice – It makes the dressing bright and tangy.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, and nutritional yeast – They add the savory, umami flavor that makes this vegan ranch dressing so irresistible.
- Dried dill – Even if you’re not a fan of fresh dill, don’t skip the dried dill here! It really amps up the ranch-y, savory flavor and adds appealing flecks of green.
- And sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Add the cashews, cucumber, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, dill, and salt to a high-speed blender. Then, pour in 1/2 cup water to get the blender moving, and process until smooth!
How to Use Vegan Ranch Dressing
I love to keep this vegan ranch dressing in the fridge at all times. Versatile and delicious, it’s a fun way to dress up veggies, salads, sandwiches, and more. Once you have it on hand, you’ll find all sorts of ways to use it. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Use it as a dipping sauce. It’s fantastic with fresh veggies, sweet potato fries, air fryer French fries, and baked zucchini chips.
- Toss it with a salad. Mix it with your favorite greens to create a fresh, flavorful side salad, or use it in place of the dressing in my Caesar salad or taco salad recipes.
- Drizzle it over cooked veggies. I love it with grilled corn on the cob, grilled veggie skewers, and grilled potatoes as well as roasted cauliflower, broccoli, radishes, Brussels sprouts, and butternut squash.
- Dollop it onto a grain bowl. Try it in this Buddha bowl or this grain bowl, or build your own bowl with quinoa, brown rice, or farro, fresh veggies, and a protein like tofu, tempeh, lentils, or roasted chickpeas.
- Slather it on a burger. Spread it on your hamburger bun the next time you’re eating a veggie burger, black bean burger, quinoa burger, or portobello mushroom burger.
- Top it onto tacos. It’d be great in my sweet potato tacos, portobello mushroom tacos, grilled corn tacos, or any of these 11 best vegetarian taco recipes.
How do you like to use vegan ranch dressing? Let me know in the comments!
More Favorite Dressings and Sauces
If you love this vegan ranch dressing, try one of these dressings or sauces next:
- Vegan Mayo
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce
- Coleslaw Dressing
- Homemade Caesar Dressing
Vegan Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water
- ⅓ cup peeled and diced cucumber
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- Chives, for garnish
Instructions
- In a high-speed blender, place the cashews, water, cucumber, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and dill and blend until completely smooth and creamy.
- Season to taste with more salt, if desired. Sprinkle with fresh chives and serve.
Delish! Luscious, creamy + tart! Simple to make and love the color! Chives balanced it out well too!
How long does this dressing last stored in the fridge?
Hi Sue, up to about 5 days, if it separates in the fridge, give it a stir.
Was there any response to a substitute for cashew? Fingers crossed since my granddaughter is also allergic to cashews. Thanks.
Hi Susan, you could substitute blanched almonds or raw sunflower seeds for the cashews. If you use sunflower seeds, I’d start with 3/4 cup and add more as needed because they pack more tightly into a measuring cup than cashews do.
I love this sauce! Super easy to make and very yummy!
I’m so glad you love it!
what can be subbed for the cashews? my hubby is allergic
Was there any response to a substitute for cashew? Fingers crossed since my granddaughter is also allergic to cashews. Thanks.
Hi! Is there a particular nutritional yeast brand you’d recommend?
Hi Angela, not especially – Bob’s Red Mill, Frontier Coop, and Trader Joes are all of the brands I’ve tried and they’re all great.
Looks so great – thank you! How long does this stay in the fridge?
Love it! Thanks so much! I added a little more lemon juice, minced garlic and fresh dill. I also added a bit more water because it came out rather thick. Delish! Amateur question…can I freeze this?
Hi Kelley, I’m so glad you loved it! Cashew sauces become a bit more gritty once frozen and thawed.
Sounds delicious!
What’s nutritional yeast and how is it different from the yeast for baking?
It’s a flaky sort of powder that has a kind of savory cheese-ish flavor that adds richness to creamy vegan sauces, like this one. It’s deactivated yeast, so it’s totally different than baker’s yeast and not interchangable.
oh hell yeah, this is amazing! I love a good sauce but I feel like I’ve sort of exhausted my usual rotation so this comes at the perfect time 😋