Avocado Ranch Dressing – AIP, Dairy Free

If you like ranch dressing, you’re going to LOVE this healthy avocado ranch copy cat! It’s creamy, tangy, and tastes just like regular ranch dressing. Plus it’s packed with healthy fats that will satiate your hunger, and nutrients to help your cells function.

It’s free of dairy, vegetable oils, gums, and all the other funky stuff that comes in the store bought dressings.

Why Home Made Dressing is Better Than Store Bought

• Home made dressing is healthy, fresh, and delicious
• Dressing you make at home will always taste way better & fresher, than anything you can get off the shelf.
• The ingredients that make store bought salad dressing shelf stable, like canola oil, soybean oil, gums, and preservatives, are inflammatory and irritating to the gut.
• If you’re in the mood for a certain flavor dressing, you can just make it, instead of having the clutter of a million bottles of dressing in your fridge.I make this dressing on a weekly basis because it is so versatile. I use this as a dip for proteins and vegetables. I use this as a sauce for lettuce wraps. I love this as a dressing for salads. It’s just delicious, and I couldn’t do without it.

How to Make Avocado Ranch Dressing

It’s easy! All you’ll need is a jar, the ingredients, and an immersion blender (a regular blender or food processor will work too). Using an immersion blender is my preferred way to blend all my salad dressings because the cleanup is a pinch. You just take off the blade and rinse it. I use this immersion blender, and use it constantly.  I even use the immersion blender for simple vinaigrettes because the flavors marry, and it takes any dressing up a level.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, a regular blender or food processor will work great too! When it comes to cooking, just use what you have, and 9 times out of 10, it’ll always work out perfectly.

This dressing calls for a mix of fresh and dried herbs, but if you only have dried on hand that will still work beautifully.

Another thing I LOVE to add in this avocado ranch dressing is Trader Joe’s Onion Salt. It is SOO much more than a standard onion salt. There is a perfect blend of onion, chives, and salt in there. It adds a rich texture and a ranch-y vibe to this dressing. If you can’t get Trader Joes onion salt, feel free to substitute with dried chives and dried onion flakes.

My favorite coconut milk for this is Aroy-D. This coconut milk is absolute culinary magic. I always try to have some on hand. It’s rich and creamy, and free of guar gum and preservatives that most other coconut milk has. I get these little cartons off of amazon. I don’t buy the cans from amazon because they always arrive dented. It’s also sold at most asian markets, and World Market  (the home furnishing store) as well.

If you can’t get the Aroy-D coconut milk, Native Forest Simple Coconut Milk is also good. It’s sold at most organic grocers, like Whole Foods and Natural Grocers.

From there, the how-to is a cinch. Place all your ingredients in a mason jar and blend with an immersion blender. Have plenty of carrots and celery on hand, because if you’re anything like me, you’ll love this dressing as a dipping sauce!

Variations

Don’t be afraid to adjust anything, of course. This is your dressing after all. Do what makes your taste buds sing. You might find that you need more garlic, or onion, or anything else. Go for it.

• Skip the avocado for a looser, less creamy ranch
• Add cilantro for a southwest vibe
• Try adding 1/2 a fresh green onion for a very punchy ranch
• Italian all purpose herbs work great in this too
• Adding both vinegar and lemon juice make this zingy and fresh!