This ranch dressing is dairy free, contains no junky oils, and comes together in minutes with only 3 ingredients!
Best Dairy Free Ranch Dressing (Paleo Friendly and Whole30 Compliant)
Every person has their condiment of choice. Some people like to drown each bite of their eggs and steak in ketchup. Others like to slather everything from morning frittatas to evening pizza in Tabasco. There’s the mustard people, the Sriracha people, the mayo people, and the apple cider vinegar people. While I enjoy all those fabulous sauces from time to time, there’s one condiment that is MINE. I am a banner-waving, button-wearing, proud ranch dressing enthusiast.
Store-bought ranch dressing is full of vegetable oil (we know to avoid because of rancidity and an unbalanced Omega-6/Omega-3 profile), sugar, and nonfat buttermilk. While grabbing a bottle of the famous vegetable dip is easy and appealing, I’m here to tell you that you CAN make it from home and that it’s easy. as. pie.
Does Ranch taste like Mayo?
While it may have some underlying flavors similar to mayo (because that is the base of the dressing, afterall), between the additions of lemon juice and dried dill, the dressing itself does not have an overwhelmingly mayo-y taste.
Whole30 Ranch Ingredients
You only need three really simple ingredients here:
- Mayonnaise – the base of this dairy-free ranch dressing is mayo — youโll need about 2 cups here.
- Lemon Juice – to thin the mayo and brighten the dressing, youโll need a ยผ cup of fresh lemon juice. This is equivalent to the amount of juice from about 2 juicy lemons.
- Dried Dill – 1 tablespoon of dried dill weed really brings the classic ranch dressing flavor!
How To Make Ranch Dressing
The process is incredibly easy: youโll just add all of the ingredients to a bowl or jar and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
How do you make ranch dressing from scratch without buttermilk?
Itโs so easy! Youโll just add the mayo, lemon juice, and dried dill to a bowl and whisk until combined — no buttermilk (and no fussy instructions) needed!
Serving Suggestions for Whole30 Ranch Dressing
If youโre a ranch-lover, you KNOW that ranch can literally go on anything. And if you arenโt a ranch-lover, you probably know someone who is, and that someone probably puts it on *all* of the things. This homemade, 3-ingredient ranch dressing can go on anything youโd use normal, store-bought ranch on. Here are a few recipes that we think are especially perfect for a good ole ranch finish:
- Pizza Ranch Chicken Casserole
- BBQ Ranch Meatloaf-Stuffed Tomatoes
- BBQ Chicken Cobb Salad
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
And, of course, ranch is always a delicious dipping sauce for crunchy veggies, chicken tenders, and pizza!
How to Store Dairy-Free Paleo Ranch Dressing
Your homemade ranch can be stored in an airtight container (a mason jar works great!) in the refrigerator.
How long does homemade ranch last in the fridge?
This homemade dressing will last for about 1 week in the fridge. Plenty of time to slather it on all of the things you can think of!
How do you thicken ranch dressing?
Because the base of this easy ranch dressing is mayonnaise, it really doesnโt need any thickening at all. The lemon juice thins out the mayo to the perfect consistency.
Dairy Free Ranch Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
- 2 cups avocado oil mayonnaise
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together until fully combined.
Nutrition
What is the shelf life if the mayo and ranch?
I’d give it about 7 days.
I’m new to the paleo lifestyle and I’ve never made the paleo mayo recipe until now. I figured I would take it a step forward and try your ranch dressing recipe and I have to say I was impressed. It taste very good, thanks! It was even better the next day.
Awesome! Thanks, John!
I attempted your recipe 2x and followed it to the t and failed. It keeps coming coming in a liquid consistency ๐ I even took 3+ minutes of pouring the evoo in the blender and I still got the same result :/ HELP!
Oh no! The temperature and size of the eggs can make a big difference. To help create more structure for the dressing, we can add in additional egg yolk. Toss in an additional egg yolk with the whole egg, blend it (by itself) until it starts to get fluffy and thick. At that point, add the lemon juice and salt and then blend again. THEN, follow the instructions to slowly drizzle in the oil.
I hope it works for you!
Thank you for the recipe, I used it on my Whole 30 blog! https://mekwhole30.blogspot.com/
Fantastic!
Thanks for the recipe! Instead of just dill, I used a tablespoon from this homemade ranch mix:
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. dried dill weed
2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. dried onion flakes
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. dried chives
1 tsp. salt
Turned out wonderful, but I’ll have to invest in some better olive oil as the flavor was more pronounced than I hoped.
Thanks again!
Good tip! Thanks, Esther. I hope the different olive oil gives you the mayo you want next time ๐
How is yours white? Mine looks the color of the oil & it looks like oil {I used an emulsion stick blender, which I read is the best way to make mayo/dressings?}
Hm, good question Julia. While some people make mayo using an emulsion blender, I recommend using a food processor to get the same results as in my photos. That being said, I do have an emulsion mayo recipe on my to-do list for a video in the future ๐
do you think you could use avocado oil instead?
Absolutely! I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t vouch for what flavors to expect …but the science should be the same.
Because it’s not full of preservatives to keep it on the shelf or fridge for an eternity, how long do you estimate homemade condiments, such as this ranch dressing, last in the fridge before spoiling?
Great question! I would give it about one week.
I just went to the store and didn’t realize it’s dried dill… I bought fresh. Is that ok??
Totally okay!
Hi Cassie, thanks for this great recipe. A question, what are the risks associated with eating a raw egg? (or am I missing something?)
Hi Chris! Good question. There are some risks (percentages of which are all debatable) associated with consuming raw egg. I buy local, pasture-raised eggs which tend to have less risk of disease compared their mass-produced cousins. It’s still a personal choice. I enjoy eggs over-easy and use raw eggs in my homemade mousse {}. You can also learn more about the awesome healing powers of raw foods (eggs, meats, dairy, etc.) from my friend Melissa Henig over at https://rawpaleo.com/. I hope that helps!
Maybe this is a stupid question, but why are we not concerned about eating an uncooked egg?
Not a stupid question at all, Lindy! See my answer to Chris. Hope that helps!
I added more dill, some garlic powder, some onion powder, and fresh cracked pepper and it was very good. It had more of a mayo flavor than I usually like in ranch but still worth making.
Glad you liked it, Tilly!
Followed the recipe, end result in the processor was a perfect consistency, it was beautiful with the dill added in…and then I tasted it :/ I bought a store brand light tasting olive oil and maybe that’s the problem, but yuck. I was so disappointed too, I found your recipe through stupideasypaleo’s buffalo chicken recipe and wanted to pair them. Is there a specific brand of light tasting oil that I should use in the future?
I’m sorry about the bad taste! The right olive oil makes all the difference. I’ve used Bertolli Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil before and it worked well. Hope that helps!
Was looking for a good paleo ranch dressing and found your blog via Michelle Tam! And then you made me homesick with the HEB bottle!! No HEBs here in Tennessee (and boy do we need ’em!).
Hubby loves this recipe – thank you!!
That’s so awesome!! Which link of her’s led to me? (just curious) ๐
Also, I’m so sorry about the HEB teaser! I usually try to post photos of brands that can be found everywhere, but this puppy was all I had at the time. It’s a great grocery store!
I am so excited to try this ๐ Thank you!
my condiment of choice would be bbq sauce or mustard. I want to make a recipe for a good bbq sauce to share on my blog ๐
Oooo, yes please!! I’m happy to taste test for you ๐