Ranch dressing: you either love it, hate it or hate that you love it so much. I’m definitely the third one. When I was much younger I went through an Italian dressing phase. It was Wishbone Italian dressing and I put it on everything; pizza, pasta, mashed potatoes and burritos. I purposely left out salad there because I didn’t have much of a salad tooth growing up.
I was pretty particular about my Italian dressing and have a very clear memory of flipping my mother off in the salad dressing isle because she wouldn’t get me the kind I wanted. I’m pretty sure I got an hour in my room for that! The ranch phase came after the Italian dressing one and lasted for quite a while. These days you won’t find me in the salad dressing isle because I’m pretty obsessed with making my own salad dressings and they are much better than the store bought stuff.
I usually just make a quick dressing using olive oil, lemon juice and liquid aminos but today I decided to go all out and make this delicious, creamy jalapeno ranch dressing! It is so creamy and has a bit of a kick from the jalapeno and is the perfect dressing for a taco salad, which is exactly what I have been using it for lately.
Check back on Thursday when I’m sharing my favorite Sweet Potato Taco Salad with this amazing Vegan Jalapeno Ranch Dressing!
PrintVegan Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight or boiled for 30 minutes
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced*
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried dill
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 green onion, diced
- 1/4 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place the cashews, almond milk and apple cider in a blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. Add all of the remaining ingredients and blend again until creamy, about 1 minute.
- Enjoy on all of your favorite foods that you would enjoy ranch dressing with!
Notes
*You can add more jalapeno if you would like it spicier.
Makes about 3 cups. Will stay good in your refrigerator for 5-7 days.
- Category: Dressing, Gluten Free, Vegan
I made this and it wasn’t what I would call creamy. However, I did use cashews that were salted and roasted. I had never boiled cashews before so maybe I did something wrong. It was more grainy to me than creamy.
Hi Paris, I always use raw unsalted cashews and that may be one of the reasons yours wasn’t super creamy. What kind of blender did you use? I find that a really high powered blender like a Vitamix is necessary to make a creamy cashew sauce.
haha I have this image of you flipping your mom off at the store!! Too funny! I used to smother EVERYTHING in ranch dressing, especially as a kid! And then I realized how um, not great it was for you! I need to try this – it looks fantastic!
I’ve always loved ranch dressing, and I love the jalapeno-vegan twist you gave it here! I definitely need to try that cashew cream! Pinned. 🙂
This vegan jalapeño ranch dressing looks so full of awesome flavors. One of the most beautiful dressings I have ever seen.
Haha! I’m totally there with ‘ya in the #3 category—and I thought I was the only one! LOL. I seriously think that I would have even LESS control around this gorgeous stuff! I currently have a TON of jalapenos on hand, so I can definitely see a few double-batches of this liquid gold in my near future. 😉
Now I’m picturing little Izzy in the salad dressing isle flipping off her mom, lol! You seem so sweet but don’t get between you and your ranch! 😉
I definitely went through a Ranch phase but I tend to choose Italian now because it’s so much lighter. However, that might be different if it were a vegan ranch dressing, especially one made with jalapeno. It sounds amazing and I can’t wait to see it on that salad!
I do like ranch but sometimes the store-bought stuff tastes really chemically…love this healthy version of yours, Izzy! Looks delicious. Plus…jalapenos!
I could probably live off of ranch dressing, it seriously just makes food so much better. I could probably also live off of this ranch too! Plus it’s better for you, so I wouldn’t feel so bad about eating it 😉
I love using cashews to add creaminess! This dressing looks fabulous 🙂
I put ranch on everythingggg too! I love it so much. I always have a jar in my fridge. I can’t eat pizza without it! Loving this jalapeno version. How good would this be on tacos?!
This is the prettiest salad dressing I’ve ever seen! I love the pale green color!
Nail on the head – I hate that I love Ranch dressing so much. We’ve been trying to make our own, but there’s just something so delicious about that chemically store bought kind. I basically hang my head in shame every time I buy it. This spicy version looks delicious! I love that there’s nutritional yeast in there — it’s a big favorite in our house.
I absolutely LOVE ranch dressing, so this was made for me! I used to dip my pizza into it and pretty much put ranch on every type of sandwich or wrap that I eat. This jalapeno version sounds fantastic!