Avocado Ranch Dressing
Creamy and tangy Avocado Ranch Dressing adds richness to your favorite salad dressing, but without oil or mayonnaise. Instead, it features a smooth blend of buttermilk and avocado that’s infused with fresh herbs like basil and dill for lots of bright, summery flavor. This easy recipe comes together in minutes and is wonderful on salads, tacos, grilled meats, roasted veggies, and more.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-cook, Blender
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free option
- Skill Level: Easy
This easy avocado ranch dressing recipe is packed with lots of fresh herbs, plus it’s super creamy from avocado and beautifully tangy from plenty of buttermilk. You won’t need any mayonnaise or oil in this dressing, making it stand out from more traditional ranch dressings – and I love it for that!
Of course, it’s good on salads, but try it drizzled over steak for a bit of extra flavor, as a taco topping, with roasted veggies, or even served as a dip. I know you’ll love this one.
Why You’ll Love Avocado Ranch Dressing
Here are a few more highlights:
- So easy. You need just minutes to make this recipe – simply assemble your ingredients and blend them until smooth!
- A little different. In my opinion, this dressing is very close to a traditional ranch dressing in taste, but it’s just different enough to make it stand on its own. I love adding avocado instead of oil here for both its mellow flavor and creamy texture.
- Super flavorful. Buttermilk on its own is wonderfully flavorful, and when you whirl it with herbs it elevates its tangy goodness even more.
- Naturally gluten free. Another one for the gluten free files, this avocado ranch dressing recipe contains ingredients that are naturally gluten free, so you won’t have to worry about any cross-contamination or sneaky gluten ingredients that could occur with a store-bought dressing. If you need to make it dairy-free, I’ve included some suggestions lower down.
Recipe Ingredients
I’ve outlined what you’ll need to pick up to make avocado ranch dressing below, with some notes, followed by additional tips. Check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use sour cream or plain yogurt thinned with milk to the consistency of heavy cream. You can also add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup, then pour in milk till it reaches 2/3 cup.
- Avocado: Choose a ripe avocado for this recipe, meaning one that is slightly soft when gently pressed but not mushy.
- Honey: A little natural sweetness balances the acidity of this dressing. You can swap maple syrup if needed.
- Garlic
- Basil: I think this dressing tastes the best with fresh basil leaves, but dried will work in a pinch.
- Parsley: You can use fresh or dried parsley.
- Dill: Fresh or dried dill works.
- Rosemary: You can use fresh or dried rosemary.
- Dried Minced Onion: Substitute onion powder if needed.
- Chives
- Salt and Pepper
How To Make Avocado Ranch Dressing
All you’ll need to do to make this avocado ranch dressing recipe is to combine the ingredients! Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Prepare. Place all of the ingredients in a blender.
- Combine. Puree the ingredients until smooth. Add additional milk or buttermilk if you need to thin out your dressing.
Tips & Variations
Dressings are simple recipes to put together, but they benefit from a few best practices, which I’ve detailed below.
- Fresh vs. dried herbs. In the ingredients list, I advise using fresh herbs, and I do prefer to use fresh herbs in this dressing when possible. They infuse it with so much fresh flavor it’s hard to skimp on them! But, dried herbs are also perfectly acceptable. I have given quantities in the recipe card if you want to swap dried herbs for fresh.
- Other spices. Or, you can try some different herbs. The herbs I’ve included in the recipe create a classic ranch taste, but you can try other herbs if you wish. Some good options include thyme or oregano.
- Adjust the consistency. Sometimes you grab a slightly bigger avocado or just want a thinner dressing. In that case, blend in extra milk or buttermilk to thin it out and reach your preferred consistency.
- Let it rest. For the best flavor, make the dressing slightly in advance of when you plan to use it. The flavors will develop the longer it rests in the fridge, making it even more tangy and herby.
- Go dairy-free. If you need to make this avocado ranch dressing dairy-free, you can use dairy-free yogurt or sour cream instead of the buttermilk. To make it more of the consistency of buttermilk, add a little water or plant-based milk to thin it out until it is pourable.
- Make it spicy. Riff off of my recipe for Jalapeño Ranch Dressing and add 2 tablespoons of chopped, seeded jalapeño (or to taste) to the dressing ingredients before you place them in the blender.
Proper Storage
Place avocado ranch dressing in an airtight container such as a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid, and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. I don’t recommend freezing this dip because the dairy will separate when it’s defrosted, affecting the taste and texture.
Make it a Meal
There are so many ways to use this dressing, from, of course, salads to burrito bowls to tacos and more. You can use it as a dip or as a way to add extra flavor to Air Fryer French Fries, and my favorite is to pull together my Mango Steak Salad. Here are a few more of my favorite ways to serve avocado ranch dressing:
- On steak. Drizzle creamy dressing over portions of Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak or Easy Steak Bites to punch up the flavor. It’s also wonderful on Grilled Steak Salad.
- With chicken. Spicy chicken just calls for a creamy ranch, so change up the usual dip when you serve Buffalo Chicken Tenders or Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes.
- Inside tacos. Finish a breakfast of Salsa Egg Tacos with a spoonful of avocado ranch dressing. Or, add dressing as a topping for my Ground Turkey Tacos and Baked Chicken Tacos recipe.
- Burrito bowls. I love adding this creamy dressing to burrito bowls for the perfect finishing touch! Avocado ranch dressing is fantastic with my recipes for Beef Burrito Bowl with Cilantro Lime Rice and Crockpot Mexican Chicken Burrito Bowls.
- Tostadas. Add avocado ranch dressing to tostadas, like my Easy Chicken Tostadas or Beef and Cheese Tostadas.
- Salads. You can use this salad dressing on so many salads, from a simple pile of fresh greens to more elaborate salads like Strawberry Spinach Salad, an Chicken Cobb Salad, or any salad that would take well to a traditional ranch dressing. You can also try it in pasta salad!
- As a dip. Serve avocado ranch dressing as a dip alongside Air Fryer Kale Chips or Air Fryer Tortilla Chips. Or, dip in your favorite fresh veggies or gluten free pita chips.
Avocado Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- ½ avocado
- ½ teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 4 leaves fresh basil
- 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley or ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill or ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion or ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 9 chives
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Combine ⅔ cup buttermilk, ½ avocado, ½ teaspoon honey, 1 clove garlic, 4 leaves fresh basil, 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, 1 Tablespoon fresh dill, 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary1 teaspoon dried minced onion , 9 chives, ¼ teaspoon salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a blender or food processor, and puree until smooth. Blend in additional buttermilk or milk if you need to thin it out, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve right away or refrigerate in a jar or sealed container or bottle for up to 5 days.
Notes
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I was excited when I found this because I had all of these ingredients I needed to use up!
I needed more punch so I added fresh lime juice and creamy horseradish and I felt it needed way more salt than called for because avocado demands it! It was yum!!!
I’m so happy that you were able to adapt the ranch dressing to suit your tastes, Cindy. I try to keep my recipes lower in salt, but I agree with you… avocados need salt!
I just usually mix Mayonnaise in my salad and I’m kinda feeling bored but I don’t know what other dressings are. I found your recipe and it looks delicious and fresh to me! Thanks for sharing your idea <3
I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a new recipe to try, Donna!
How long will this last in fridge
Peggy, if the dressing is in a well covered container in the refrigerator, it should keep well for a couple of weeks.
I am never going back to store bought! This is sloppily delicious!
I am totally addicted to homemade dressings!
I wonder how this recipe would work with a non-dairy buttermilk. I may just have to give it a try. My husband complains about not having a variety of good homemade salad dressings that do not contain dairy, soy, or corn. He loves avocado, so I think this might just fit the ticket. I’m going to pin this recipe so that I don’t forget. Thanks for sharing this week at Allergy-Free Wednesdays! We’d love for you to join us again next week.
Have a great weekend!
~Michelle, AFW Hostess
I didn’t even know they had dairy-free buttermilk! The original recipe from Sumptuous Spoonfuls called for Greek yogurt and milk instead of the buttermilk, so you could probabaly also use some sort of vegan yogurt and another non-dairy milk.
I’ve never seen a non-dairy buttermilk, but you never know. I just add vinegar to my non-dairy milk and let it turn into buttermilk. I’ll been thinking about what kind of non-dairy yogurt to use. It’s on our menu this week, so I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Yes, let me know how it turns out. I am curious.
These photos are gorgeous! My husband loves avocado and he loves ranch even more, so I’m going to have to remember this one. 🙂
Thank you! It was really delicious – I hope you give it a try.
This sounds great, and based on the pic….I want the whole meal!
Thanks. I did post the whole salad. There is a link on this page. It was delish!