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Ranch Dressing: Corn-Free, Dairy/Casein-Free, Egg-Free and Soy-Free

I don’t know about you, but I LOVE Ranch dressing!

I love it on my salads, I love it as a veggie dipping sauce (okay, the veggies are really more of a Ranch delivery vehicle), I love to dip pizza in it and…(close your eyes)…I LOVE to dip my medium-rare grass fed beef tenderloin in it!

Shameful huh? ๐Ÿ˜€

You can take the girl out of the dairy, but you can’t take the Ranch dressing out of the girl!

So, I shared with you the other day that I was finally able to whip up a corn-free, egg-free and soy-free mayo (thanks to the legendary Carol Fenster!).ย  Well, here is the cat’s meow recipe that I used the allergen friendly mayonnaise in on Christmas day…corn-free, dairy/casein-free, egg-free and soy-free Ranch Dressing!

I will tell you straight up that this is somewhat of a labor of love, but it is so worth it!ย  Everyone who tried it thought it tasted very close to the real Ranch (but of course, it didn’t fool anyone outright since yours truly made it…and pretty much a given that “something was up,” LOL!ย  ๐Ÿ˜€

Corn-Free, Dairy/Casein-Free, Egg-Free and Soy-Free Ranch Dressing

adapted from this recipe on AllRecipes.com

(Printable Recipe)

1 cup Corn-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free Mayonnaise

1/2 cup Cashew Cream Cheese (the original recipe calls for sour cream, but since my husband thought the Cashew Cream Cheese reminded him of cream cheese that had been cut with sour cream, I just went for it).

1/2 tsp. dried Chives (or use 1 tsp. fresh)

1/2 tsp. dried Parsley (or use 1 tsp. fresh)

1/2 tsp. dried Dill Weed (or use 1 tsp. fresh)

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Onion Powder

1/8 tsp. Sea Salt (iodized salt contains corn in the form of dextrose)

1/8 tsp. freshly ground Black Pepper

Dairy-Free Milk, Water or So Delicious Plain Cultured Coconut Milk (if you like extra tang) for thinning if necessary

  • In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the added liquid, stir until well combined.
  • If the dressing seems a little thick, thin it down with preferred liquid until desired consistency is reached.
  • Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.
  • I’m only taking a guess here, but this should store well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

NOTE: Prior to the launch of our elimination diet (which required the removal of citrus and vinegar from our diets and therefore the Cashew Cream Cheese is temporarily off limits)…I was doing a little tinkering with the recipe in order to try and thicken up the cream “cheeze” and make it more like dairy-based cream cheese.ย  I found that adding 1 Tbs. of Agar Powder to the mixture (while still in the blender), did a remarkable job of taking the cashew cream cheese to the next level by thickening the consistency.ย  The perfect schmear for a gluten-free, allergen-friendly bagel! ๐Ÿ˜€

Time to announce the two winners of a FREE copy of Carol Fenster’s Cooking Free: 200Flavorful Recipes for People with Food Allergies and Multiple Food Sensitivities Cookbook!

I used the random number generator to pick the two lucky recipients and they are:

#95 Heather Marie and #88 Mary Kimball

Congratulations ladies!!ย  I will email you shortly for your shipping information. ๐Ÿ˜€

Lastly, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I will be back on Monday with a new product review and a giveaway!

Comments

  1. I love homemade ranch!

  2. Yum.Ranch dressing.Just in time for the playoffs. Thanks for sharing. I love your music video only how'd tweety bird grow fins? I didn't know Granny was into interspecies gene splicing.

  3. Heidi

    The recipe looks interesting, I must see if this will help my son eat more raw veggies :). Just curious if the recipe needs 1 tsp parsley in all coz you have 1/2 tsp parsley written twice.

    Niv

    • Hey Niv!

      GREAT eye, I goofed! The second parsley should have been dill weed and I already went ahead and changed it. So sorry about that!

      Have you tried hummus with your son? I need to find something else for veggie dipping while we are on our elimination diet (since this Ranch and most hummus recipes I've ever seen require lemon juice and we can't have that right now).

      Please let me know how this goes over with your little one if you try it.

      Hugs,
      Heidi

  4. What the heck is it about dipping that kids love so much??!!! Grownups too! This dressing looks fab. And I love (LOVE) the homemade mayo. You're a freakin' genius Heidi!!!!

    You know, it just occurred to me – remember buttermilk dipped fried chicken? We could use this dressing for that application, no matter what you're frying. I'd love to try it with tofu.

    Yum!!

  5. Ranch dressing, cashews, and coconut milk yogurt are three of my favorite things. YUM!

  6. Looks great! I can't wait to try with the kids!

    Have you started the diet?! Did you come to CA?

  7. If you can't find or tollerate the cashew stuff what can be used in it's place that is still free of the other items you mention this recipe is free of?

    • Hi Janel,

      I worry that too many nuts in our diet could cause a problem (trying to rotate foods as much as possible), so I'm actively racking my brain on that one…it just hasn't come to me yet!

      I'm confident that it will though. ๐Ÿ˜€

      • Daiya makes a really decent dairy free cream cheese that’s lactose, casein, soy n cholesterol free. The primary ingredients are coconut oil n tapioca starch. It comes in chive n onions n plain flavors. I’m planning to use the onions n chive in place of the cashew cream cheese the recipe calls for. Hope it comes out good!

  8. My son (3) has never had ranch dressing, nor mayo. I am soooo excited that it might be possible to make mayo he can eat, and even more exicted about the possibility of ranch! But it has to be dairy, egg, soy, and nut free (no cashew cream anything), so am I wondering if you know of a way to sub for that?

    • Hi Rebecca,

      Janel had a similar comment to which I replied. I've not figured out/found a nut-free, soy-free version yet but I'm confident there has to be something that will work. My family and I are currently on an elimination diet, so I can't really tinker until lemon and vinegar are allowed back in our diet but rest assured, I'm actively looking for inspiration! ๐Ÿ˜€

      • How about white beans? I don't know if it would work for ranch, but it worked great to replace the cashews in a cashew nacho "cheese" dip we made a while back.

  9. You are unreal Heidi! I'm so impressed!!!!

  10. Ditto what Alisa said. I am in awe. Shock and awe of what you come up with. Your motto fits you so well. I think I would have just given up on some of those things.

    xoxo,

    Tia ๐Ÿ˜›

    • I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to give up on some of these things too…it's getting MUCH more challenging as our food allergies expand, LOL!

      xo,
      Heidi ๐Ÿ˜€

  11. What a great recipe! I am bookmarking this for when my d-free g-kid comes to visit! He loves ranch on his g-free bbq chicken pizza.

  12. I went to a small health food store and found something that might work inplace of the cashew. I tried it in a recipe simular to yours and OMG it is so yummy. Totally reminds me of ranch/dill dip ๐Ÿ™‚ It is wayfare sourcream

    The only bummer which I did not realise until now is that it has oats in it. I am ok with oats but my son isn't, urgh. I may be willing to let him try it though as it is not the actual oat.

    here is the site of the stuff:
    http://www.wayfarefoods.com/node/5

  13. Heidi, this stuff is fantastic. I just wanted to let you know that, of course, and also, I omitted the cashew cream cheese, so I'm not totally sure on the consistency or taste with it, but without was great. My boys (who have never had ranch before) loved it for their veggies. We all thought the flavor was just like the real deal. So hopefully that helps others looking for a cashew alternative. Thanks again, you rock!

    • So what did you make the Ranch dressing from Breanna, just the mayo and the herbs? That is really exciting if that is all you used, I've been racking my brain on a good alternative for the cashew cream cheese for those who cannot have tree nuts, so thank you, you're my hero! ๐Ÿ˜€

      Hugs,
      Heidi

  14. I made this today and it was a HIT! Callum, who is my picky one, loved it! Yay Heidi. Thanks girl. xo

    • Yea!! Thank you so much for the feedback Maggie, even though I've made it several times and my guys really like it…I still haven't been able to taste it, LOL!

  15. This post may be a bit late as I just found this site, but has anyone tried Tofutti to replace the cashew cream cheese. It is dairy free and gluten free. Here is an address for a review http://www.godairyfree.org/Product-Reviews/Alternatives-Cheese/Tofutti-Better-Than-Cream-Cheese-Non-Hydrogenated-Vegan-Gluten-Free.html My local store carries Tofutti ice cream but I haven’t yet tried it. Oh =( sorry I just saw it has a corn derived thickener. Guess it won’t work for those with a corn allergy. This might be a better one though http://store.followyourheart.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=54008&Show=TechSpecs It seems all soy based on the ingredients.

Trackbacks

  1. […] I had some of Heidiโ€™s Cashew Cream Cheese, I knew I had to make her dairy-free Ranch Dressing , which was gobbled up in no time. My kids, especially my two-year old, love to dip. This is a great […]

  2. […] Food (I will use a ‘chia’ egg), Broccoli Slaw from Smitten Kitchen (I will use my GF/DF/EF/SF/CF Ranch Dressing), Apple slices with Homemade Macadamia Nut […]

  3. […] a few to throw in their lunchboxes with various healthy dippers: hummus, Baba Ghanoush, homemade dairy-free ranch dressing (I have a new nut-free and much easier recipe to share next week), dill dip (I’m close to […]