Gluten Free Salad Dressing – How To Make Ranch For Salad
You’re sick and tired of the regular mushy ranch dressing you find in the supermarkets. Why don’t you give this recipe for a healthy raw vegan gluten free ranch salad dressing a try?
It’s a fantastic way to enjoy your favourite dip without having to worry about putting anything horrible in your body.
This simple, delicious raw vegan ranch dressing can also double up as a dip! So if you’re up for serving finger food at a party, this would be the perfect addition to top off that delicious spread while staying healthy.
Plus, you get the added wow factor of telling your guests that you made this gluten free ranch dressing all by yourself!
This raw vegan gluten free ranch salad dressing is incredibly versatile and is probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done in the kitchen. There’s definitely no way of going back to store bought ranch dressing after you try this recipe.
So let’s dive right into it!
Raw Vegan Gluten Free Ranch Salad Dressing
Serving size: 3 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- One cup of raw cashews (optional recommended step: soak the cashews in water for 2 hours before draining and using them)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 pitted date fruits soaked in 1 ½ cups of water
- ½ cup of the remaining water used to soak the date fruits
- 3 large cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of red onion
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon of finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped green onions (spring onions)
- A pinch of sea salt
- A pinch of oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary.
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Vegetable knife
- Blender
- Airtight container
Instruction
The instructions are extremely simple for this recipe of raw vegan gluten free ranch salad dressing, with virtually nothing else except the cutting of your vegetables and blending them.
It’s that easy! We can simply shorten this recipe into these three simple steps: cutting your vegetables and other ingredients, blending them together and finally chilling it.
We’re going to go a little bit more in depth in the next few steps so you’ll know what to keep an eye on while you prepare the dish.
Step 1: Preparing Your Ingredients
The raw cashews would be best when they’re soaked as this would allow for the cashews to become slightly softer, which would give your ranch dressing a smoother texture once blended.
If you would prefer a slightly grainy texture, or if you don’t have the time to do this step, you can skip it as it is only a recommendation.
Parsley, dill and green onions (spring onions) should be finely chopped, but don’t worry if you can’t get them chopped evenly. A small trick is to simply use a pair of clean kitchen scissors, which would do the job much faster and neater.
The rest of the chunkier ingredients such as the garlic and red onions do not need to be diced. However, do cut them into a size that your blender would be able to withstand.
Step 2: Blending The Ingredients
Take all ingredients except for the fresh herbs (parsley, dill and green onions) and place them in your blender.
Usually instructions just call for an immediate blast to high power on your blender, but I prefer pulsing the mixture a couple of times before blasting it to high power.
Feel like this really allows the mixture to mix together a little better first. When blending, you want to get an even, creamy consistency.
So make sure that when you’re done blending, there aren’t any chunks of ingredients left in the mixture. Everything should be very smooth. Once done, pour the mixture into an airtight container with a lid.
Step 3: Mix In The Herbs
Now for the next step, we’re going to want to mix in the fresh herbs we have (parsley, dill and green onion). I don’t like to just dump everything into the blended mixture because it’s quite hard to get an even spread that way.
I usually prefer to take a handful and sprinkle it on top of the mixture evenly before taking a spoon and mixing it in using small, even folding movements.
This will really work the herbs into the mixture and ensure that they’re spread evenly amongst the dressing.
No one wants their dressing to have a chunk of herbs in one spot with the rest of the dressing bare!
Step 4: Dressing Or Dip?
The great thing about this gluten free recipe is that you have the option to choose if you want your finished product to be a dip or a dressing!
To have a dip, you don’t have to do any additional steps. But if you would like it as a dressing, we have to thin down the mixture a little.
Add about ½ a cup - 1 cup of water, depending on how runny you want your dressing to be. Be sure to mix it well with the mixture to ensure that there is an even consistency.
I would recommend adding a little bit of water at a time in order to prevent it from becoming too runny.
Step 5: Chill Your Dressing/Dip
Pop it in the fridge for about 1 - 2 hours to allow your dip or dressing to congeal and thicken before serving it! It also lets the ingredients mix together a bit more so you’ll have a more flavourful and crisp end result.
Step 6: Devour It!
If you’re using it as a dressing, get your favourite salad and drizzle it all over! This would be perfect for virtually any combination of salads.
I hope this recipe proved to be as simple and delicious as I promised. For anyone who has problems with dairy, this is really great as it isn’t chock full of dairy unlike other ranch dressings.
What’s more, it’s a raw vegan and gluten free recipe, so it caters to virtually all stomachs. So get ready to serve this up at your next gathering, or as a healthy dip when you’re snacking.
