For more delicious salad dressings that you can make at home, try my recipes for Lemon Poppyseed, Fat Free Dijon, or Tzatziki. Before sitting down to write this blog, I had just finished eating a humongous salad with this easy ranch dressing recipe amply drizzled atop it and I have no regrets. Why is it that I can have no regrets after eating what was basically a cup of ranch with a couple pieces of lettuce and some cucumbers buried in it? Well, because it’s HEALTHY! That’s right, new year, new you (or new me) and all that. I am one of those people that LOVES ranch. I could dip everything into it: carrot sticks, pizza, chips, chicken, maybe even chocolate. (I’ve never done it but let’s not take it off the table just yet.) And, while I’m one of those “everything in moderation” kinds of people (I mean, have you seen the amount of desserts I like to make and enjoy? Seriously just click on my dessert link and see all my recipes, or save yourself sometime and just check out these BEST Ever Super Chewy Gooey Brownies), the word “moderation” for me has been on somewhat of a sliding scale of late. So, I figure I could go ahead and dunk my vegetables and everything else in a cup o’ the regular ranch, OR I could make it in Greek yogurt and be just as satisfied, and feel better about my healthy choices!
HOW DO YOU MAKE GREEK YOGURT RANCH?
Making this fat free ranch dressing is a cinch! All you have to do is get out a food processor or blender and add in the following ingredients, in any order: Greek yogurt, dill, chives, parsley, garlic and onion powders, salt, rice vinegar, water, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, pour over any of your favorite salad toppings (if you’re looking for a great salad, check out my Chicken Avocado Salad.) or put it in a dish if you are using as a dip. If you’d like it a little thicker or thinner, add less or more water, depending on how you like your healthy ranch dressing.
HOW LONG DOES HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSING LAST?
First of all, and I hope this goes without saying, but you should refrigerate the dressings. Second, if you’re looking for a measure of how long you can keep homemade dressings in the fridge, I say milk-based dressings will be okay up to one week, and oil-based are good for about two weeks (if you can keep them that long).
WHAT GIVES RANCH DRESSING ITS FLAVOR?
This low-fat ranch dressing has all the flavor of full-fat dressing, which is a good thing, right? But where does all that flavor come from, you might be asking? Well, I’ll tell ya. First, and foremost, ranch dressing has to have that creamy component. Usually, that comes from using milk, sour cream, and/or mayonnaise (or some combination). In addition to the creamy factor, the flavor also comes from the spices that we use. While they might vary slightly from recipe to recipe, three that are nearly always added are chives, garlic, and dill. I like to add the rice wine vinegar to give just a touch of that tanginess I love in my ranch dressing.
WHAT CAN YOU PUT RANCH ON?
I’d say “everything” but I know I should probably give you just my top-10 list for foods that greek yogurt dressings like this ranch one can make even better!
