One taste of this deliciously tangy and oh-so-creamy vegan ranch and you’ll be hooked! Cashews and a handful of ingredients blend together in seconds, giving you the perfect pizza dip, burger spread, or salad dressing.
The best cashew ranch dressing
In my family, there’s no arguing that vegan ranch is the best. dressing. EVER! Both the kids and adults love it.
One batch of the Best Homemade Vegan Ranch doesn’t last long in my house because the creamy and tangy flavors are completely irresistible. It’s always being spread onto veggie burgers, used for dipping on pizza night, and drizzled over salads. It’s also perfect with buffalo cauliflower!
You’d think a dressing that tastes this good would involve many different steps. Nope! All you have to do is blend the cashews, vinegar, and savory seasonings together, then enjoy. Indulge in the cashew ranch dressing all week long, whether it’s drizzled on a cobb salad, used for dipping veggies, or added as a finishing touch on a Hawaiian BBQ pizza!
Ingredients needed (with substitutions)
- Raw cashews – Soaked and blended cashews transform into a thick and creamy cashew cream. I use it as the base in many recipes, like this ranch dressing, vegan sour cream, and heavy cream substitute because the rich texture is so close to real dairy. While cashews are the very best option here, raw slivered almonds might work as a substitute.
- Water
- Rice vinegar – This is a tangy ranch dressing, so vinegar is a must! Feel free to use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or more lemon juice instead.
- Lemon juice – Or replace it with more vinegar.
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Dill – Fresh or dried. If you don’t love dill, replace it with parsley.
How to make vegan ranch
Place the cashew pieces in a heat-proof bowl and pour very hot or boiling water over top. Leave them to soak for a few minutes.
Drain the water, then add the soaked cashews to your blender along with the rest of the ingredients (except the dill). Blend until smooth.
Add the dill and pulse a few times to just combine. Serve the vegan ranch right away or store it for later.
Serving suggestions
There isn’t a wrong way to enjoy vegan ranch dressing! It’s good as a:
- Dip: With carrots, celery, and cucumber, buffalo cauliflower wings, vegan mozzarella sticks, potato wedges, or tempeh sausage pizza.
- Spread: On veggie burgers, wraps, and sandwiches.
- Dressing: For loaded green salads, grain bowls, and pasta salad.
- Finishing touch: Drizzle the ranch over a cooked pizza, vegan sloppy joes, or roasted vegetables for extra flavor.
Frequently asked questions
- Can you make it without nuts? Yes! You can substitute 1 cup of vegan mayo for the cashews and water, if desired. Just mix everything in a bowl and you’re good to go!
- How long does it last? The dressing will last for about 1 week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Can you freeze ranch dressing? It freezes okay, but the texture might not be as creamy and smooth when it thaws. Quickly blend the thawed dressing to bring it back to normal.
Want more vegan sauces and dressings?
- Vegan Caesar Dressing
- Green Goddess Dressing
- Dairy Free Alfredo Sauce
- Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing
- Vegan Tartar Sauce
Vegan Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashew pieces
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- juice from 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/4 cup fresh dill OR 2-3 teaspoons dried dill*
Instructions
- Soak the raw cashew pieces in hot water for 5-10 minutes. I heat up water in my electric kettle and pour it over the cashews to soak.
- Drain the cashews and add to your blender. Add the remaining ingredients except the dill, and blend until very smooth.
- Now add the dill, and pulse a few times to combine. You don’t want to blend the dill or it will end up very green.
- Serve on salad or with fresh vegetables for dipping. This will keep for up to a week in the fridge. It will thicken in the fridge, just thin out with water until it reaches the consistency you prefer.
Notes
- If you don’t care for dill, you may substitute with parsley (1/3 cup fresh chopped small, or 2-3 teaspoons dried).
- For Sriracha Ranch, add 2-3 teaspoons Sriracha, or to taste when blending.
- Without nuts – Substitute 1 cup of vegan mayo for the cashews and water. Simply whisk everything in a bowl and that’s it!
Nora Absolutely Perfect!
I think this is the closest to a real dairy ranch dressing there is out there.
You should bottle this.
You would knock out the competition!
I made this with 11 servings on the toggle bar.
2 cups of cashews I soaked overnight.
3 Tablespoons of fresh Dill Weed.
2 1/2 Tablespoons of Fresh Italian Parsley.
Tastes Delish!!!!
I can see it’s pretty thick now.
Perfect for Dip!
I’ll probably thin it out for dressing once it’s sat in the fridge for a while.
So Happy and Proud of making your Superb Dressing,.
Magic, Wala! Awesome Ranch!
Hi Lili. Thank you for your kind words and wonderful comments! I appreciate both so much! I’m glad you love the vegan ranch!
Delicious ❤️ My non vegan co workers loved it with my carrot sticks
I’m glad the dressing was a hit! Thanks for sharing your terrific review!
This is delicious!!! I subbed the lemon with ACV and added fresh garlic and some black pepper. This is like a blank canvas- I plan to trick this recipe up all KINDS of ways!!! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your great review! I’m glad you love the ranch! Enjoy!
This ranch is amazing! My family loves it. I add a shallow teaspoon of Dijon mustard for some extra tang and it really cancels out any leftover sweetness from the cashews. I did have a question – what do you consider “1 serving” of this ranch? The health information just says 1 serving and I’m not sure how much to serve. Thank you!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoy it! It’s 1 of 8 servings. I think that’s about 1/4 cup, but I just pour on as much as I like. 🙂
This is the best vegan ranch dressing I have tried. I have to leave out the garlic, because I am allergic, and it is still very flavorful. Sometimes, I add a little celery seed too. Thank you for another outstanding recipe!
I’m glad you’re loving the ranch, Colleen! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Looks delicious!
This is so delicious!! Great to mix with Buffalo sauce for a veggie dip!
Could I freeze this after I make it?
Hi Katie. I’m so happy you enjoyed this ranch, I absolutely love it! I think it would freeze well, but I haven’t tried it myself. Let me know how it goes if you freeze it!
The taste is perfect! Just like real ranch but healthier and fresher! It is a bit too thick to easily pour on a salad though. Could you recommend the best way to thin out the sauce please?
All you have to do is thin it out with water to your desired consistency. 🙂 I do this often because it does thicken in the fridge. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the best damned ranch dressing ever! I just made this and it surpasses any vegan (or non-vegan for that matter) ranch I’ve ever made. Simple, easy to make!
I’m glad you love the ranch dressing, Jan-marie! Thank you!
Just made this and all I can say is, WOW!! This is amazing!! I didn’t have enough onion powder so I added a clove of garlic while blending. I made a tofu “egg” salad sandwich using this dressing (as the mayo base) added spicey mustard, onions, celery, and celery seed. Put it in a wrap with lettuce, tomato, and pickles perfect!! Thank you for the recipe definitely a keeper!!
I’m so glad you like it, Erin! Your meal sounds so delicious! Thank you so much for sharing!
Nora did it again y’all! Literally every recipe I have tried of hers has been killer! This is no exception. Perfect balance of creaminess and acidity. Thanks Nora!
Hi Michelle. I”m so glad you love the ranch! Thank you for using my recipes, and for taking your time to share your comments! I appreciate it so much.
Oh! Also wanted to add that I had no rice wine vinegar but white wine vinegar made an excellent substitute. And 2 tsp of dried dill was the perfect amount.
Thanks again!
Oh. Hella. Yeah!
This is amazing. Perfect blend of flavors and very, very easy.
I had to add about 1/4 c extra water as it was blending bc it was just way too thick to chop up the cashews at first. I’m thinking it’s more that I have a pretty weak blender, lol. I may not have measured quite accurately either but in any case I love that it’s fixable! Ty for a wonderful addition to our dairy-free pantry!
Hi Debra! I’m glad you love my ranch dressing! Thank you for your great enthusiasm, and for taking the time to share!
Any substitute for cashews in the vegan ranch recipe? We have a nut allergy in the family.
Hi Melanie, sorry I haven’t tried it with anything else so I’m not sure. Raw slivered almonds or sunflower seeds may work, possibly even hemp seeds, if those are not an allergy food for your family. But I haven’t tested it to know for sure.
I’ve had success replacing cashews with white beans. I almost always use cannellini beans.
This was so amazing and my first attempt at ranch dip with cashews! Could you please share how much a serving size is? Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe!
Omg best ranch dressing ever !!! Thanks Nora 🙂
Thank you! ?
I love this recipe for my salads & dipping veggies!!! I do have a question though, how long does it last in the fridge?
I’m so happy you are enjoying it! It will last about a week in the refrigerator.
Okay, so I’m giving this 5 stars because I know it has 5 star potential- the texture and consistency are perfect…however mine turned out way too lemony to truly taste like ranch. I’m sure that is my fault for picking too large of a lemon, but your recipe call for such. Could you, or others how have had success, possibly give me an idea of how many TBS of lemon juice you use so I can make the recipe a bit more precisely. Thanks!!
Thank you so much! I updated the recipe, because you are correct it can vary a lot! About 2 tablespoons is all you need (a little more if you want more tang). That should help!
Just want you to know this came out amazing!!! Thank you for this recipe! I added a lil but IOC mable syrup to balance out the bitterness oooh soo good!!
What can u sub for rice vinegar ?
More lemon juice or white vinegar works.
Hi Nora, can you use ACV instead of white vinegar?
Sure!
Tasty and very easy to make. It comes out rather thick.
We used this tonight for a creamy pasta salad! It was delicious! Thank you!
You’re welcome!
Im not really vegan but I love your ranch! It is so yummy I brought some to work along with cauliflower “hot wings”! Thank you
You’re welcome!
I may have an addiction to this! I use 5 fresh cloves of garlic, fresh dill and fresh italian parsley. First time I made it, I didn’t let it blend quite long enough. I have to add about 3 tbls extra of water to thin out in blender. This recipe is truly the best, I can’t say it enough! Thank you!
I’m so glad you are enjoying the dressing, thank you!
SO SO SO DELICIOUS – AND SUPER QUICK AND EASY TO MAKE!
Non vegan family members loved as well. Nora, you’re my new go-to vegan recipe source. Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the comment!