You’ll never buy a bottle or seasoning packets of ranch again! The Best Light Ranch Dressing uses just a couple of fresh ingredients to make a low-cal version that will blow you away.
Well, friends, it only took me about 2 years to come up with this one! Haha. I take my ranch dressing seriously. Maybe a little too seriously.
It’s been said that you can tell if a restaurant is great or not by their bread alone. But I need to add ranch dressing to that equation. I’ve had some pretty awful ranch dressing in my day, and it totally turns me off to the rest of the food.
So if trained cooks can mess up ranch so easily, I knew that finding my own version to make at home would be daunting–let alone making it lighter. It took me probably about 15-20 times to get this one perfect for my tastes.
It was so worth the work, though! Just like with my Light Caesar Dressing, this is one of the best ranch dressings I’ve ever had, light or not.
WHat Makes This the Best Light Ranch Dressing?
This process took me down many different roads. I won’t bore you with all of the details, but I’ll give you a brief rundown of my takeaways.
Many ranch dressing recipes try to mimic those Hidden Valley Ranch packets, so they rely on dried herbs and seasonings. I like the idea of having most of the ingredients in my pantry so I could whip the dressing up without having to plan too much ahead.
No matter what variation I tried, though, the dressing fell flat. It could be flavorful but lacked that perfect balance of creaminess and the zippy tang of really good ranch.
So I turned to the goddess herself, Ina Garten. She really never steers me wrong. I even hit up Reddit board to see what ranch dressing people recommended the most, and hers was always at the top.
I also heard from friends in the restaurant biz that what really makes a ranch taste great is MSG. Worcestershire sauce has a similar salty/umami flavor, so I added that.
One trick that made a big difference was using just the white and slightly green part of the green onions. When I tried to make it will the full 3 scallions, the onion flavor was overpowering. Use the middle section shown in the picture above, discard the bottom, and save the green tops for garnish or another recipe.
Also, skip the dried dill. It’s in a lot of ranch recipes but, in my opinion, overpowers everything else. Unless you can find great fresh dill (I rarely can), just stick the with what I’ve come up with.
HOw to make the best light ranch dressing
I was surprised by the simplicity of Ina’s ingredients. Many ranch recipes can be overly complicated. Instead of tons of dried herbs like dill, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, etc., she relies on just just three fresh herbs and vegetables: basil, green onion, and garlic. I used parsley instead of basil to keep it classic and paired down the other ingredients to make it lighter and little simpler. The result was heavenly.
What you see in the picture above is my comparison between various ranch recipes. The bottom left is one using all dried herbs. Notice how much I had to add to make it taste like anything, and even then it was dull. I also noticed that after a day or two, the dressings become super runny, almost watery.
The one on the middle right is a full-fat version, using a seasoning packet. Pretty good, but nothing great.
The one on the top left is the clear winner. It maintained its creamy texture days later. My theory is that the fresh garlic and herbs helped emulsify the dressing, which is important since we’re using lighter ingredients that tend to break down easier than their full-fat counter parts.
Now, all you have to do is throw everything in a blender and process until you get the smoothness you want. This is a super easy recipe, takes about 5 minutes tops, and utilizes ingredients you can easily find at any grocery store. Enjoy!
I’d love to hear from you if you make this recipe! It makes my day when you share your pics on Instagram and tag me (@litecravings). Don’t forget to use #litecravingsrecipes to make sure I see it. If I don’t get a chance to scroll through my tags quickly enough, I won’t see your post. I always make a point to look through the hashtags, though, so I’ll see it there!
The Best Light Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup light mayo (Best Foods/Hellman's is best)
- 1/2 cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup plain, unsweetened almond milk*
- 2 small garlic cloves, smashed and peeled**
- 1/2 cup tightly packed, fresh Italian parsley leaves
- 3 large green onions, white and light green parts only (see blog notes)
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
- If you don't have a food processor, mince parsley, onion, and garlic by hand. Then whisk all ingredients together.
- Store in an air-tight container, refrigerated, for 3-4 days.
I assume it’s fresh parsley since you state “leaves”, but wanted to double check. Thanks!
Yes! You’re correct. I’ll update the recipe to make that clearer.
Delicious Geri! The only thing I added was about 1/8t. Sugar. I’m eating with a carrot as ‘I speak ‘.
Yay!! I like the idea of adding a little sweetness. I tested it with some honey and loved that, too. Enjoy your snack.🙂
Wow that’s all I need to say! Easy and delicious as well!
I’m so glad you like it!!
Made this yesterday for salads that we were having for dinner tonight. It was so good. I have made your ceaser dressing a couple times. I love this one just as much.
This makes me so happy! Glad you’re liking my recipes.
Thank you, I had been waiting for you to post this and I’m glad you did! It was absolutely delicious and well received by my picky hubby. The taste was fantastic, but I’m not sure why mine was green, almost the color of your Peruvian sauce. I making this again, 2nd time in 2 weks!
Yay!! Thanks for sticking with me while I try the recipes out. Sometimes when I add more green onion is turned greener, or maybe I kept my parsley chunkier than yours, so that might account for the green color. So happy you and your hubs liked it!
Tastes great! I did mine in my bullet blender and it turned a very pretty green. I did just grab a handful of parsley so that was probably why. Thanks for sharing!
Yeah, the parsley will turn it green if blended finely. But I’m happy you liked the flavor!
I made this to use in the slaw for the crispy Buffalo chicken sandwiches and am so happy I have a big Il’ jar full now because it is SO good!! I used super fresh garlic (called aglio fresco here in Italy) which leans spicy. So, the dressing even has a little bit of heat to it. I love it!!
So happy you like it! I need to try that garlic. Sounds fantastic!
This dressing is fantastic!! I made it for my Mom and me on a salad with our SunBasket pizza and it was delicious! I’m going to use it so often! Next I’m going to try it on a slaw. I’m always looking for more dressing to put on slaws. I would give this 10 stars if I could! Thank you for your wonderful recipe!
Made this today and I didn’t mention to any one that it was ww friendly. Everyone raved about it!! Great dip for a veggie platter!!
That is awesome, Danna!
I made this again, but waited to add the parsley at the end and pulsed it a few times and it was fantastic! Used it on salad, with grilled veggies, and raw mini bell peppers.
Hi Nancy! Love the tip about adding the parsley at the end so you can make it in a food processor – thank you for sharing and so happy you enjoyed it!
Hi there, I made 1/2 this recipe and it tasted great. I was just wondering if you can suggest a way to thicken it up.
Thanks!
You can always use less milk/almond milk to start and then add more to get your desired thickness.
Stuck on the top of a mountain today – which is no hardship – except I don’t have any green onions :/ Any good substitutions? Everything else is all set and ready to go with your air fryer buffalo chicken sandwich!
Hi Sharlene, I love that you’re pairing the ranch with my air fryer buffalo chicken sandwich – it’s one of my favorite combos! If you have freeze-dried chives or some onion powder, those would be the best substitutes for flavor. Or you could always add more parsley to give it a brighter, more herby flavor.
Love the flavor however mine turned green like a green goddess. I also added a little bit of fresh lemon juice.
Thanks Geri!
Hi Pamela – so happy to hear you enjoyed the dressing! I’ve noticed that the dressing can be more green depending on if you pulse or blend the dressing. I whisked the version in my photos, the herbs are more intact.