Avocado Ranch Dressing
This avocado ranch dressing is definitely a crowd pleaser! Everyone loves ranch, and avocado is the perfect addition to it’s tart, creamy, and herby flavors. The avocado takes the place of mayonnaise in my recipe, which makes it a little healthier too. You can feel GOOD about eating this dressing! (You can still add some mayo if you want to, I won’t tell anyone.) I love avocado ranch on salads, of course, but also as a veggie dip and with chicken wings (or cauliflower “wings”).
How do you get to Hidden Valley?
Most people in America have had the famous powdered ranch seasoning called Hidden Valley Ranch. But did you know there was a real place called the Hidden Valley Ranch? It’s in California and they came up with the original ranch dressing recipe. Thank you Hidden Valley!
Buttermilk is the classic base for any ranch dressing. It gives the dressing a zing, a creaminess, and a thicker consistency. Sour cream and mayo are also traditionally added to ranch dressing for more thickening and creaminess, but we’re going to substitute avocado for the mayo. Avocado is one of my favorite ingredients (hello guacamole!), and I use it a lot! Besides tasting amazing, avocados are full of healthy fat and almost 20 vitamins and minerals. The classic ranch flavors in the dressing come from using fresh herbs. I like the combination of Italian parsley, chives and dill, but you could also use cilantro or basil. Use any leafy herbs you like!
Garlic, lemon juice and hot sauce round things out. If you have a microplane grater it’s a good idea to grate the garlic for the dressing. This way you get the flavor, but instead of having chunks of minced garlic, it melts into the dressing.
Finally, you’ll add some fresh, bright lemon juice and a little heat from a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce (I used Cholula) to create the perfect avocado ranch dressing!
Pour it in a Mason Jar
You’ll use this on everything! It’s the perfect dressing for a barbecued chicken cobb salad, or as a veggie dip, with hot wings, chicken tenders, you name it – if you want it to taste better, put some avocado ranch dressing on it.
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Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Description
You’ll use this creamy, tart, herby dressing on everything!
Ingredients
- 1/2 – 1 whole ripe avocado, depending on size and taste
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream, regular or light
- 1 clove of garlic, grated
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice (you can substitute white vinegar)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 4–5 tablespoons chopped herbs. I used 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, 2 tablespoons chives, and 1 tablespoon of dill, but cilantro and basil are all good too.
- a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce (Tabasco, Frank’s, Cholula)
Instructions
- Put the avocado, buttermilk, sour cream, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper into a blender. Blend until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in the herbs and hot sauce. Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and hot sauce to your liking.
- Pour into a jar or dressing shaker and store in the fridge until you are ready to use.
Notes
If you’d like extra creaminess, or to cut down on the tartness of the dressing, use the whole avocado, or add a tablespoon of mayo.
You can also use dehydrated dill if you can’t find fresh.
