Healthy Ranch Dressing

This Healthy Ranch Dressing has all the flavor of traditional ranch dressing without all the calories. Fresh herbs make it taste lighter and even more delicious. 

Why Make This Recipe

• Easy to Make: Just chop some fresh herbs and mix with buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and spices—super fast and easy to do, no special equipment required. 
• Better than Store-Bought: This version of ranch dressing uses only real ingredients, unlike the unpronounceable additives you find in most packaged dressings. Tastes lighter and fresher too!
• Perfect Excuse to Eat Vegetables: A creamy dressing will get me to eat salad every time. And not only is this is a great salad dressing, but it’s perfect as a dip too. Just put out a platter of carrots, cucumbers, and celery sticks and watch this dip disappear. 

🥗 Ingredients

• Greek Yogurt: This recipe calls for non-fat Greek yogurt, but you can use 2% or whole milk Greek yogurt as well. You could also replace with regular plain yogurt rather than Greek yogurt—in that case, you probably won’t need to add any water, since regular yogurt is usually thinner than Greek yogurt.
• Parsley and Chives: I love fresh herbs in this dressing, but you could replace these with dried herbs instead. In that case, use about half of the amount listed in the recipe. 
• Dried Dill: You can replace this with chopped fresh dill as well (just double the amount specified in the ingredient list).
• Dried Mustard: Feel free to substitute dijon mustard for the dried mustard in this recipe. Or leave it out entirely if you don’t have either. 

🥣 Step-by-Step Instructions

Whisk together ½ cup yogurt and ¼ cup buttermilk.

Whisk in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, ½ teaspoon dried dill, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon dried ground mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper.

Now adjust the consistency of your dressing. For a dip, you might leave as is. For a pourable salad dressing, you might whisk in 1-2 tablespoons of water.

Refrigerate in a glass jar or other airtight container, and let sit for 30 minutes before using. 

🧐 Recipe FAQs

👩‍🍳 Expert Tips

Obviously this healthy ranch dressing is perfect for salads of all kinds, but it has many other uses as well. 

• Use it as a dip for fresh vegetables like carrots and cucumbers
• Add a little as a sauce for a lettuce wrap or a burger
• Use it as a dip for chicken nuggets or chicken wings
• Try mixing it with cooked chicken, tuna, or hard-boiled eggs for a different take on chicken/tuna/egg salad 
• Load it on a baked potato with whatever other toppings you enjoy
• Use it to dip sweet potato fries or buffalo cauliflower 
• Add to shredded cabbage to make ranch coleslaw
• Use it to jazz up a simple Side Salad

Depending on the thickness of your Greek yogurt, you may find that you want to loosen up your dressing even more—especially if you plan to use it for a dressing rather than a dip. In that case, you can whisk in a tablespoon at a time of regular milk or water until your dressing is the desired consistency. And if you have extra Greek yogurt, use it for my Greek Chicken Kabobs with Yogurt Sauce recipe!

In a pinch, you can make your own buttermilk. Just take one cup of whole milk or 2% milk and stir in one tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5-10 minutes, until the milk looks slightly thicker. You may also notice that it looks a bit curdled—don’t worry, that will disappear when you use it. Note that with this method, the milk never gets as thick as regular buttermilk, so you may not need to add any water to your final dressing.  

Other Delicious Salad Dressings

If you love salads and vegetables as much as I do, you might want to check out some of my other favorite recipes for salad dressings. If healthy is what you're looking for, try my Sumac Dressing, my Honey Lime Vinaigrette, or my Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette for two great low-cal options.

Or, check out some of these favorites:

If you try this healthy ranch dressing recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me. And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!

Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!