Ranch Dressing Vegan WFPB No Oil

Today I made a vegan, no oil ranch dressing without yeast.  As someone who can’t have yeast, I gotta tell ya it’s an ingredient in a TON of yummy sounding WFPB recipes so I face lots of disappointment when I find recipes for foods I like only to find yeast is a significant part of the flavor profile.

And while there isn’t anything that can really sub for yeast, I sometimes just omit it and other times I try to replace it with something… anything… that at least has flavor.

Here’s the original recipe for this great ranch dressing.  I changed a few ingredients so here is my version.

Ingredients

1 cup of raw cashews that have been soaked (4 hrs) then drained and rinsed

1 cup of cashew milk (or milk alternate of your choice)

2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons coconut aminos

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons onion powder

(add after mixing) 1 Tablespoon dill

(add after mixing) 2 teaspoons parsley

I threw everything except the final two ingredients into my Pampered Chef blender and set it to “grind” setting.  I would think you can do this in a food processor too.

When it was done, I scraped it into a gravy boat then added the dill and parsley (which were dried… maybe I’ll try fresh next time) and mixed it up with a fork.  I’m also wondering how this would taste with fresh onion and garlic rather than powdered.

The original recipe called for 1½ cups of cashews.  I did 1 cup because it’s what I had prepped (as a habit from making cashew milk).  I’m definitely sticking with 1 cup in the future… the dressing is the perfect consistency… almost a little TOO stiff/thick as a matter of fact.

Now, does this taste exactly like full fat and sugared traditional ranch dressing?  Of course not!  In other words, if the average American were to taste the two side by side, the average American would be selecting the fatty, sugary ranch dressing over this every time.  According to many articles on the subject, “… high-sugar and high-fat foods not only taste pleasant to the palate, they may have a link to brain chemicals (e.g. serotonin) which give us feelings of pleasure”. 

The problem is that that kind of fat and sugar aren’t particularly good for our bodies.  So in an effort to be kinder to my body, I am working towards a diet rich in fresh whole fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes, grains, and nuts, while limiting added fats, sugars, and salt.

My point is, there’s no need to compare.  I like this version of ranch dressing because it’s yummy and I know it’s not clogging my arteries or raising my blood sugar levels. 

I figure it’ll keep up to a week in the fridge (as opposed to traditional which probably lasts weeks if not months).  But we’re already in the 80’s (temperature-wise) so salad season is upon us and I’m positive this dressing will be eaten up in just a few days.

If you try this recipe come back and post in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Index of all my recipes