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I FINALLY did it!
I finally made a healthy ranch dressing/dip using clean ingredients!
I have made a few okay versions in the past but nothing that made me want to made me want to replace store bought ranch dressing for the rest of my days!
My dear foodies, friends, ranch lovers, and fellow Midwesterners (BC we are obsessed with out ranch here in the Midwest), I present to you my 3 healthy ranch dressing recipes that are made with Greek yogurt!!
Yes, I said Greek yogurt! And no, you don’t taste the Greek yogurt at all!
Before we dive in, let me just say that although I did title this post as ranch dressing because SEO, you can make any of them into either ranch dressing for salads, or a little thicker for dipping veggies. The only difference is how much, or how little water you add to thin it out. Sound like a plan?
Here are the 3 ranch dressing flavors:
- plain ranch dressing – the classic herb-y, creamy goodness that goes with just about anything!
- jalapeno lime ranch – hint of spice, lime-y, and bursting with cilantro.
- chipotle ranch – smokey, spicy, just a little sweet
I mean, how can you choose between just one?! Make them all!
Healthy ranch dressing:
The original, the classic, the dressing/dip that makes everything better – plain ranch dressing! Oh, how we all LOVE you!
As I mentioned before I have played around with healthy homemade ranch dressings in the past. All of them have been pretty decent. As in, this is good…but it’s not quite right, something was always missing.
Before you go thinking this healthy ranch dressing is going to taste EXACTLY the same as the store bought kind you are used to, it probably won’t. I just want to be honest with you here.
BUT it will taste like creamy, tangy, herb-y, delicious homemade version of the store bought stuff that acts and looks pretty darn close to the store bought kind. Either way, it is a delicious, cleaner version that I feel good about eating with anything and everything!
Use this classic healthy ranch dressing on just about anything. As a dip for ALL OF THE VEGGIES, on pretty much any kind of salad, for adding flavor to chicken, or dipping fries or pizza into. So versatile!
My 2 secrets to making this clean ranch dressing actually taste like ranch:
- white distilled vinegar – I tried lemon juice, white wine vinegar, and apple cider vinegar…but the white distilled vinegar has a sharp tangy-ness that most mimics the buttermilk that’s traditionally in ranch dressing
- Lots of fresh herbs – specifically parsley, chives, and dill. Dried herbs just doesn’t provide enough flavor (except for dried dill, which I talk more about in the notes).
That’s it!
What makes these healthy ranch dressing recipes…well more healthy?
- Plain fat free Greek yogurt for the creaminess – instead of mayo, or sour cream cutting down on unhealthy fat
- Greek yogurt provides loads of good-for-your-gut probiotics
- Greek yogurt also provides a little protein
- Olive oil or avocado oil adds back in some healthy fats and much needed depth of creaminess
And that is our base for the plain, classic, healthy ranch dressing. From there we can have fun with the flavors!
Jalapeno lime ranch dressing:
TBH this is probably my favorite one of the three. It’s sassy and tangy, and has plenty of cooling cilantro, one of my fave herbs.
For the next two healthy ranch dressing recipes I add a ton of fresh cilantro, while cutting back on the parsley. That cooling cilantro goes so nicely with the spiciness of the jalapeno lime ranch and the chipotle ranch.
All 3 of these healthy ranch dressing recipes are made in a food predecessor. Just throw everything in, including the whole jalapeno, and herbs and give it a good blitz until the herbs are nicely minced and no big jalapeno or garlic chunks remain. So Easy!
The only one that I didn’t use the food processor to help me chop the herbs is the plain ranch dressing, I used a knife to chop them, to prevent the dressing from turning green because of all the herbs. BUT if you don’t care about color and want to save time go ahead and throw everything into the food processor!
Jalapeno lime ranch dressing! You make my heart skip a beat!
This one is perfect for dipping with mild tasting veggies such as, cucumbers and celery. It also makes a delicious salad dressing on any Mexican or Southwest inspired salad. Don’t worry, I have a recipe coming Friday!!!
It could also be a great sauce for tacos, fajitas, or quesadillas!
P.S. This jalapeno lime ranch dressing is the one that started it all. I saw a recipe that the amazing Lindsay, from Pinch of Yum shared for a jalapeno ranch. I gave it a try, making a few tweaks. It was so delicious that I thought it would be a good base to create a plain healthy ranch dressing and then that led to the chipotle ranch dressing…
And the rest was history!
Last but not least…
Chipotle ranch dressing:
Man, has this one has got personality. It’s spicy, smokey, tangy, creamy, and a little sweet. This one is Paul’s favorite!!!
Have you ever had the campfire sauce at Red Robin? Yes, this chipotle ranch dressing was inspired by that campfire sauce. Only, I upped the spice level.
But you are in control of your food, you could easily make it more mild.
Chipotle ranch dressing is great for dipping fries (as one does when dining at Red Robin), dipping carrots, celery, cucumbers, peppers etc. It also makes a great salad dressing for any Mexican inspired salad. And again, it would be delicious drizzled on top of tacos, fajitas…or even quesadillas!
OMG Drooling over here!
It would also be a great addition to my chicken taco salad! Just sayin!
All 3 of these healthy ranch dressing recipes would make a great addition to your weekly meal prep. Each of them only takes 10 minutes to make and uses simple, clean ingredients.
They would be a great thing to keep on hand for veggie platters, salads, or lunches. They will last in your fridge for up to 2 weeks!
Also, any of them would be the perfect addition to any veggie platter at any party. I mean come one, when is a veggie platter not welcome?!
I am so excited for you to give these healthy ranch dressings a try!
Which one will you make first? Let me know down in the comments below, I would love to hear from you!
Or will you be like me and make all 3 of them so that you have a massive supply of healthy ranch dressings to choose from for all your veggie needs.
Weeks of homemade healthy ranch dressings in my fridge?! Yes, that makes me a happy girl!
I hope you get as much use out of these healthy ranch dressings as we have. I only invented the recipe a few weeks ago and they have already become a staple in our kitchen!
Two more healthy dips that are great for veggie dipping and meal prep:
Keep on dipping those veggies and eating those salads, my friends. This recipe proves that healthy eating can be delicious and flavorful too! And anything but boring!
Whoa! that was like a marathon of ranch dressings! A marathon that I was built for!
I mean come one, look at how thick and creamy these healthy ranch dressings are!!!
Would you ever guess that they are made with fat free Greek yogurt?!
Did you make any of these healthy ranch dressing recipes? If you did, I would love to know which one(s) in the comments below! Also, don’t forget to leave a star rating, this helps others to find my recipes easier. Thanks friends!
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Healthy Ranch Dressing with Greek Yogurt
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: condiments, sides, salads, snacks, easy
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian, refined sugar free
Description
This healthy ranch dressing recipe uses Greek yogurt for a classic creamy, herb-y, ranch dressing flavor that goes with anything. Use it as a dip for veggies or as a dressing for salads. It’s also great with chicken, fries or pizza. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 1.5 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried dill (or sub 2 tablespoons cup fresh, finely minced)
- 1/4 cup fresh chives, finely minced
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely minced
- Optional: 2 to 3 tablespoons filtered water, to thin
Instructions
- Blend: Add the Greek yogurt, olive oil or avocado oil, white distilled vinegar, garlic clove, salt, pepper, and onion powder to a food processor. Blend on high until everything is well mixed and no large chunks from the garlic clove remain.
- Mix: Either remove the blade of the food processor or transfer the mixture to a bowl – add the minced fresh dill (or dried dill), minced chives, and minced parsley to the Greek yogurt mixture, stir until everything is well combined. At this point you can add a few tablespoons of water to thin out the dressing if desired. Just depends on weather you want to use it as a veggie dip or have a thinner dressing for salads.
- serve/store: Serve immediately with your favorite veggies for dipping or drizzle over a salad. Or on the side of pizza, chicken, fries…any way you wold normally use ranch dressing. To store it, transfer the dressing to an air tight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The dressing will thicken as it sits in the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes so that it becomes a little runny again, before using.
Notes
Herbs: I do not recommend using dried parsley or chives in place of the fresh. Those two dried herbs tend to not have much flavor to them and they are super important to the overall flavor of the ranch dressing. However, dried dill still has a lot of flavor to it so it is a good option if you don’t have fresh. You can omit the chives if you can’t find them too – the more important flavors are the dill and parsley, just add a little more dill and parsley to up the flavor.
Photos: you may have noticed that the photos I shared for the plain ranch dressing shows me making it in a bowl versus a food processor. I found that the Greek yogurt and oil separated over time when it was made this way. Blending the dressing helps make a better emulsion, so I wrote the recipe a little different than I displayed in the photos so you would have a better end result. However, this is the only one of the 3 ranch recipes that I stir in the chopped herbs instead of blending them with everything else – this is so that the dressing stays nice and white, instead of turning green. Although, if you are in a pinch and don’t care if it turns green from the herbs then you can certainly save yourself time and throw it all in the food processor and blend away.
Healthy Jalapeno Lime Ranch Dressing with Greek Yogurt
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: condiments, sides, salads, snacks, easy
- Cuisine: gluten free, vegetarian, refined sugar free
Description
Healthy jalapeno lime ranch dressing has all the flavors of ranch with a kick of jalapeno and tang of lime and loads of cooling cilantro. This dressing is perfect for dipping mild cucumbers or adding to Mexican inspired salads or as a sauce for tacos, fajitas, or quesadillas.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 1.5 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 jalapeno, cut in half, remove the seeds and ribs for mild heat, or half or all of the ribs and seeds for more heat
- 1 tablespoon dried dill (or sub 2 tablespoons cup fresh, finely minced)
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro (including thin stems)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, leaves only
- zest and juice of 1 1/2 large limes
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons filtered water, to thin
Instructions
- Blend: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor EXCEPT FOR THE WATER, pulse until everything is well combined, and the herbs have broken down, no large chunks of garlic or jalapeno should remain. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. At this point you can add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water to thin it out a little, this may depend on if you want to use it as a dip or salad dressing.
- serve/store: Serve immediately with your favorite veggies for dipping or drizzle over a salad. To store it, transfer the dressing to an air tight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The dressing will thicken as it sits in the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes so that it becomes a little runny again, before using.
Notes
Herbs: I do not recommend using dried parsley, dried cilantro, or chives in place of the fresh. Those dried herbs tend to not have much flavor to them and they are super important to the overall flavor of the ranch dressing. However, dried dill still has a lot of flavor to it so it is a good option if you don’t have fresh. You can omit the chives if you can’t find them too – the more important flavors are the dill and parsley and cilantro, just add a little more dill and parsley to up the flavor.
This recipe is heavily adapted from Pinch of Yum
Healthy Chipotle Ranch Dressing with Greek Yogurt
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 2 cups 1x
- Category: salads, snacks, easy, sides, condiments
- Cuisine: vegetarian, gluten free, refined sugar free
Description
Healthy chipotle ranch dressing is smokey, spicy, and a little sweet. This ranch makes a great dip with mild veggies: cucumbers, cauliflower, celery etc. It would be a great dressing on Mexican inspired salads or as a sauce for tacos, fajitas, burritos, or quesadillas.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup plain, fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup olive oil or avocado oil
- 1.5 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon dried dill (or sub 2 tablespoons cup fresh, finely minced)
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro (including thin stems)
- 2 tablespoons fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, leaves only
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 to 2 small chipotle peppers in adobo sauce + 2 teaspoons of the sauce
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon agave nectar
- Optional: 2 teaspoons liquid smoke (just ups the smokey flavor)
- Optional: 1 to 2 tablespoons filtered water, to thin
Instructions
- Blend: Add all of the ingredients to a food processor EXCEPT FOR THE WATER, pulse until everything is well combined, and the herbs have broken down, no large chunks of garlic or jalapeno should remain. Taste and adjust flavors as needed. At this point you can add in 1 to 2 tablespoons of the water to thin it out a little, this may depend on if you want to use it as a dip or salad dressing.
- serve/store: Serve immediately with your favorite veggies for dipping or drizzle over a salad. To store it, transfer the dressing to an air tight container and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. The dressing will thicken as it sits in the fridge, allow it to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes so that it becomes a little runny again, before using.
Notes
Herbs: I do not recommend using dried parsley, dried cilantro, or chives in place of the fresh. Those dried herbs tend to not have much flavor to them and they are super important to the overall flavor of the ranch dressing. However, dried dill still has a lot of flavor to it so it is a good option if you don’t have fresh. You can omit the chives if you can’t find them too – the more important flavors are the dill and parsley and cilantro, just add a little more dill and parsley to up the flavor.
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