Status update. Current obsession: paleo ranch dressing. on ALL of the things.
I blame Juli Bauer and her new fantastic cookbook. I started making all things buffalo chicken related and putting the paleo ranch dressing from her cookbook on EVERYTHING: Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti Squash Casserole, Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps, roasted carrots, broccoli, tomato slices, roasted cauliflower, sweet potatoes, on hard boiled eggs…you name it. I tried it. I can’t get enough.
I even ate carrots and ranch dressing. Talk about a childhood throwback, amiright? The only way I ate vegetables back in the day was if they were slathered in ranch dressing. And by vegetables I mean only raw carrots. Nope, I didn’t eat any other vegetables. I was a really healthy kid, clearly.
Fair question though. What even IS ranch dressing? I mean, now I know how to make REAL ranch dressing from actual ingredients you can recognize. But check out the ingredients on everyone’s favorite brand, Hidden Valley Ranch:
Soybean Oil, Water, Egg Yolk, Sugar, Salt, Cultured Nonfat Buttermilk, Natural Flavors (Soy), Spices. Less than 1% of Dried Garlic, Dried Onion, Vinegar, Phosphoric Acid, Xanthan Gum, Modified Food Starch, Monosodium Glutamate, Artificial Flavors, Disodium Phosphate, Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives, Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate. (From Fooducate)
Well, there’s no way I’d be able to make that at home.
So let’s go with this one instead! Literally chuck all the ingredients (except herbs) in a tall measuring glass, stick in an immersion blender, and boom. Add herbs and blend again.
WHAT IS THIS MAGIC?!
p.s. If you got that Harry Potter reference we are now best friends. For life.
- ¾ cup avocado oil or light olive oil**
- 1 whole egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp mustard (I like dijon or stone ground)
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ⅓ cup packed chopped herbs - equal parts chives, cilantro, and dill (about 2 Tbsp chopped each)
- Place all the ingredients except the herbs in the bottom of a tall measuring cup (that can at least hold 2 cups and has high sides) or wide-mouth mason jar. I like to put the egg and all the other ingredients in first, then add the oil last.
- Let the ingredients settle at the bottom of your jar. Stick the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar, then let ‘er rip! Move the blender around in the bottom of the cup to get some more air in there. You can also move the blender up and down slightly to do this, but don’t pull it out of the mayo unless you want to make a huge mess in your kitchen. It should become completely emulsified and ranch dressing-like in about 30 seconds!
- Add in herbs on top of the mayo, then pulse, moving the immersion blender up and down until all the ingredients are completely mixed. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
- The ranch will thicken up a bit in the refrigerator, and will last for about a week.
**Either use a light-tasting olive oil or avocado oil. If you use extra virgin olive oil here, it will NOT taste good. The flavor is too strong for mayonnaise.
Serving ideas: on top of some Buffalo Chicken Casserole, on sweet potato fries, as a dipping sauce for roasted carrots (or any other roasted vegetable), raw veggie dippers, as a salad dressing, on grilled or baked chicken…the possibilities are endless.
Dig in. Or dip in? whatever. Slather it on all of the things. Or go straight in with a spoon. Nobody else? Just me? Totally normal, I swear.
Inspired by Planks, Love and Guacamole and Juli Bauer’s Paleo Cookbook from paleOMG.
Want more recipes with Ranch?? Check these out!
Buffalo & Bacon Roasted Cauliflower
Buffalo Ranch Sweet Potato Fries
Buffalo Chicken, Bacon & Ranch Skillet with Roasted Brussels Sprouts
I’m excited to try this – not a huge fan of the recipe in the Whole 30 book How long will this stay good for?
Thanks!
You’re welcome! It will stay for about 5 days in my experience, as long as the coconut milk stays good. 🙂
Coconut allergy in the house. Can anything be substituted for the coconut milk?
Hmm. I haven’t tried using almond milk because it seems too thin (and would slightly change the taste), but you could try it! Try 3 Tbsp almond milk in place of the coconut milk, and add more as necessary to thin it out. Let me know how it goes!
Same here, SERIOUS coconut allergy! I’m having a hard time with Whole30 and Paleo because of it, and an added pork/shellfish allergy also. Any suggestions??? My kids and I moved to Scotland from the US and are in need of some Ranch!
Hey Heather!
That stinks! Is it hard because so many dishes are made with coconut milk, or because so many recipes call for coconut oil? My favorite coconut oil substitutes for whole30: ghee (look for a Whole30 approved brand)or avocado oil for higher heat cooking, olive oil for lower heat cooking. As for the coconut milk, it’s kind of hard to substitute the creaminess of full-fat coconut milk with a nut milk, since the consistencies are so different. But I would try cashew milk or almond milk! On second thought to my comment above, cashew milk is much creamier than almond milk, so maybe try substituting 3 Tbsp cashew milk for the coconut milk in the ranch dressing. I’m on vacation but I will try it when I get home and let you know 🙂 And for your reference, any curry recipes on my site (or other whole30 recipes) are fantastic if you substitute cashew milk for the coconut milk!
Here’s two articles I found that should be helpful in substituting for anything/everything coconut as well 🙂
http://paleomagazine.com/allergic-to-coconut-substitutions-in-paleo
http://paleoleap.com/replace-everything-coconut/
Hope this helps!
D
How would I do this in a regular blender or a Ninja single serve blender??! Thanks!
Looks delish!
Hi Holley!
You would need to use a previously-made (homemade or store-bought) mayonnaise to do this in a regular blender or Ninja single-serve. It’s not possible to just dump all the ingredients to make mayo in a blender and let it rip, unfortunately! But if you have mayo made (or bought) already, then you can just dump that and the rest of the ranch ingredients in, and let it go until all the ingredients are blended together!
Suggestions for egg replacement? My almost 2 year old has a severe egg allergy so we keep all egg products out of the house.
I would use an avocado – a chia egg wouldn’t work here. Alternatively, I have this recipe for a cashew-based ranch dressing with no egg! https://www.realfoodwithdana.com/creamy-cashew-ranch-dressing-whole30-vegan-paleo/