Fat-Free Ranch Recipes

Toss out those dressing packets and the bottled stuff and enjoy this easy homemade Low Calorie Ranch Dressing from scratch. Full of buttermilk, light sour cream, fresh herbs, garlic and more making this creamy dressing a favorite for dipping raw veggies or on your favorite salad.

There is a world of difference between store-bought dressing and homemade salad dressings. They can be the difference between craving salad and resisting eating it. Our skinny ranch has great fresh flavor thanks to fresh buttermilk and natural flavors. The only difference is the lower calories.

Making your own salad dressing, like our light Bleu Cheese Dressing or skinny Green Goddess dressing, let's you control the ingredients. It's easy to make light versions using real food simple ingredients and in the case of this low calorie ranch dressing, with classic ranch flavors. They will become your go-to vegetable dip as well as salad dressing.

Greek Yogurt Dressing

This low calorie ranch dressing was easy to slim down just by using reduced fat ingredients. Light mayo, light sour cream and low fat buttermilk still give the homemade dressing the classic buttermilk ranch flavor but cut the calories in half from the original version and lowered the grams of fat from 5 to 2 grams per serving.

We considered substituting nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream but the calories are equivalent to light sour cream and we feel the texture of the sour cream adds to the dressing consistency. You can substitute Greek yogurt (non-fat) for the sour cream if desired.

Light Sour cream. Use light sour cream. There is also fat-free sour cream though some fat is what makes this dressing so delicious.

The Best Homemade Dairy Free Ranch Dressing.

Onion powder or onion salt. Onion powder will add an onion flavor where onion salt is a combination of onion powder and salt so will add a saltier flavor. If using onion salt add it before any kosher salt to adjust the kosher salt to taste.

Combine all ingredients into a medium size bowl: low fat buttermilk, light mayonnaise, light sour cream, dill, garlic, Italian parsley, salt, pepper, onion powder and mustard powder.

Use dried herbs. If you've run out of fresh herbs you can replace them with dried herbs (though we really recommend fresh herbs for the best flavor in this delicious dressing).

Hidden Valley Original Ranch Fat Free Salad Dressing & Topping

Add spices. You can change up the flavor by adding different spices. Try white pepper, paprika, or celery seed.Minced shallots and fresh chivesalso make a nice addition.

Adjust the amount of mayonnaise and sour cream to your liking. Some people prefer to have a bit more sour cream for a tangier dressing.

Whisk by hand. Though you can make the dressing in a blender or food processor, it will turn green like Green Goddess dressings if you do so. Whisking it keeps the white color with flecks of fresh herbs as seen in the photos.

Fat Free Ranch Dip

Tangy, creamy Low Calorie Ranch Dressing is full of buttermilk and herb flavors. Ready in minutes this fresh homemade salad dressing is perfect for dipping vegetables and on favorite salads.

Onion powder will give some onion flavor. Onion salt will also add some salty flavor. If choosing to use onion salt, make the dressing without the kosher salt. Taste it and add kosher salt as needed (if at all).

Pro Tip: whisk the dressing by hand. Though you can put it in the blender it will turn green like Green Goddess dressing if you do.

The Best Paleo Ranch Dressing (dairy Free!) • One Lovely Life

Calories: 25 kcal | Carbohydrates: 2 g | Protein: 1 g | Fat: 2 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4 g | Trans Fat: 0.003 g | Cholesterol: 3 mg | Sodium: 150 mg | Potassium: 35 mg | Fiber: 0.04 g | Sugar: 1 g | Vitamin A: 50 IU | Vitamin C: 1 mg | Calcium: 23 mg | Iron: 0.1 mg

Toni Dash, is a Certified Nutritional Coach and certified Weight Loss Specialist, writer/blogger, photographer, chief recipe developer and creator of Make It Skinny Please. She has been developing easy to make, well-tested recipes since 2010. Her slimmed down recipes using real food ingredients bring excitement to the dining table and never taste like 'diet food'. Toni has been featured in numerous publications and on culinary websites for her creative, delicious recipes and travel features.This recipe for healthy ranch dressing has the classic taste of everyone’s favorite dressing without the guilt (plus a great garlic variation). Make it with dried or fresh herbs!

Why you’ll love it: It’s so easy to make your own and homemade tastes much fresher than bottled dressing (without any preservatives).

Best Ever Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is such a classic. It’s everyone’s favorite, right? On tables at weddings: ranch and Italian. Served on the side of chicken tenders: ranch. Ever dip your French fries in ranch? How ’bout your breadsticks and pizza crust? Ever poured it on top of a baked potato? Oh yeah, and it’s pretty good onsalads too.

The only thing better than reduced fat homemade buttermilk ranch dressing is a reduced fat homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe that still tastes amazing.

Since buttermilk is essential to a good ranch dressing, you’ll still see plenty of that in the recipe. Most of the buttermilk sold in stores is made with cultured low fat milk. Even though “butter” milk sounds rich, it’s actually quite a bit lower in fat and calories than regular whole milk.

Plant Based Ranch Dressing: Whole30, Keto, Paleo

In addition to the buttermilk, I add a little plain nonfat Greek yogurt and just a bit of mayonnaise which gives the dressing a really creamy rich taste without tons of added calories.

Of course, there are plenty of herbs (both fresh and dried) and seasonings, all of which work together to make the ranch dressing you know and love! I’ve included two variations for you so all the bases are covered.

By the way, if you haven’t tried my popular homemade dill vegetable dip, I’d encourage you to give that a try, too. It’s a healthier version like the ranch dressing, made with Greek yogurt and mayo. The vegetable dip is a staple at my house.

Dairy Free Ranch Dip Recipe Made With Coconut Milk. Veggie Dip

I’ll get you started here on the path to making your homemade dressing but as always, look for the printable recipe card near the end of the post. It has complete instructions with measurements and nutrition information. What You’ll Need

If you’re using fresh parsley and chives, rinse them thoroughly and shake off any excess water. Chop them very finely. If you’re using dried herbs, you can skip this step.

Make the dressing in a small jar with a wide opening and a tight lid. Recycled jars are just fine as long as they are sparkling clean. Measure out all the ingredients and put them into the jar.

Better Than Skinny Ranch Dressing

Put the lid on the jar and shake it vigorously. If you find that the dressing isn’t coming together as smoothly as you’d like, remove the lid and use a small whisk or fork to thoroughly blend it.

That’s it! Cover and refrigerate the dressing until you’re ready to use it. It will keep for a week or so in the refrigerator.

While ranch is a versatile dressing, I feel it is best suited to a traditional tossed salad. Here are my recommendations for a perfect salad dressed with ranch. This isn’t an exhaustive list but it should get the wheels turning a bit.

Kraft Classic Ranch Fatfree Dressing: Nutrition & Ingredients

You’ll notice fruit isn’t on the list because I don’t think it goes well with the more savory profile of ranch dressing. For salads with fruit, try white wine vinaigrette, lemon basil vinaigrette dressing, apricot vinaigrette (love this one!), or raspberry vinaigrette.

So many good choices for greens! Baby kale, baby spinach, iceberg lettuce, romaine, leaf lettuce (red or green), shredded cabbage, or mixed greens work well. Fresh herbs are great in this mix too, such as fresh dill, cilantro, mint, and parsley. I love a combination of greens in my salads.

My philosophy with vegetables is the more the better! Tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, jicama, roasted beets, fresh corn, radishes, bell peppers, or peas are all terrific choices.

Raw Fat Free Ranch Dressing

We recommend choosing one of the following to make your salad filling enough to be a main course: Grilled chicken breast (sliced), grilled steak slices, canned beans (rinsed and drained), hard boiled egg, diced ham, tuna, flaked salmon, or shrimp. Crispy tofu is great, too.

Of course you can load up your salad, but we recommend sticking to one or two of these items to let their flavors shine. Grated cheese, bacon crumbles, homemade croutons, sunflower seeds or pepitas, sliced avocado, toasted nuts. This savory granola is an unusual addition to salads and you won’t believe how good it is.

Many commercial ranch dressings are high in fat and sodium. If you look at the ingredients of a popular brand, the first ingredient is vegetable oil, followed by water, sugar, and salt. It contains MSG and other artificial added ingredients. You’ll find 120 calories, 13 grams of fat, and 260 mg salt in every serving. So, not exactly healthy. Keep reading …

Easy Skinny Ranch Dressing

Why not make your own with wholesome ingredients? It’s much healthier and tastes better. The recipe below has only 43 calories per serving, 3 grams of