Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing

Jumping on the pickle craze with the best of them, this Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing is a super creamy, yet healthy vegan dressing that tastes just like classic ranch. Packed with fibre and nutrients, and endlessly versatile, you’ll want to drizzle it over everything green you get your hands on!

 

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• Why You’ll Love This
• The Ingredients
• Substitutions
• Equipment Used
• How to Make this
• How To Store
• FAQ
• Other Recipes You Might Enjoy

Why You’ll Love This 

Summary

Super Creamy & Dairy-Free: Get all the luscious texture of classic ranch without any dairy, eggs, or mayo, thanks to the magic of cashews.

Quick & Easy (5 Mins!): Just toss everything into a high-speed blender, and you’ll have a ridiculously creamy dressing in about 5 minutes.

Weight Loss Friendly: This nut-based dressing is packed with fiber and nutrients, a delicious way to make eating a big bowl of veggies every day truly enjoyable – it even helped me lose 70lbs!

Endlessly Versatile: Not just for salads! Use it as a dip for chips, veggies, or crackers, drizzle it over roasted tofu, or transform your coleslaw and potato salad.

Dill Pickle Perfection: If you’re a pickle fan, you’ll adore that tangy, briny pop that sets this ranch apart. Plus, it’s super easy to customize with different pickled flavors!

The Full story

Pickles!

They are having a moment, aren’t they?

Not that they ever lost favor in my house (check out my quick pickles if you share my obsession and want to make your own. Actually, no obsession needed. Just make them. You’ll thank me later.)
I use pickles in any way, shape or form in so many of my recipes, to just add that pop of tangy, briny flavor.

Dill-honey is my all-time favourite which I’m using in this dressing, but you could use a spicy version too if you enjoy it. I also add the pickle juice as part of the acidic ingredients, which is a great way to use it up and introduce a tangy and herby note to the already bright ranch flavor.

Made in the blender in minutes

A high speed blender is all you need for this, to pulverize the cashews into a super creamy dressing that gets even creamier on day 2 and 3. Plus it keeps decidedly longer than any mayo/dairy based dressing, which is a plus in my book. Make it as part of your meal prep and enjoy it as dip or over salads all week long.

Nut based

If you read about my weight loss journey, or tried any of my dressings (like this Almond Strawberry vinaigrette) you probably noticed that I adore nut based dressings.
Not just because they are supposed to be better for you due to having more fibre, protein and other nutrients than the extracted oil, that is used in classic ones, but mainly because I find them just irresistibly creamy without having any dairy, eggs or mayonnaise.

Helps with weight loss

There is a whole philosophy attached to it, explained in the book “Eat to Live”* by Dr Fuhrman, which I read while losing weight. Though I just picked some of his best ideas and applied them to my life.
Sourdough bread was one of them, which suited me nicely considering I’m German and love that stuff.
Plus, the ‘rule’ (and I use that word very loosely here, as I can’t stand rules when it comes to food!) of eating one huge bowl of veggies every single day.
I feel those two, plus the rather delicious dressings, hugely contributed to me losing 70lb within a year while being a woman over 40 with arthritis and taking steroids for it.

Trust me, having a ton of flavor on your veg changes the game entirely!

Variations of Cashew dressing to try:

I have made nuts into god knows how many dressings, some of which you can find on my blog.
The cashew based ones are:

• Vegan Caesar dressing on this salad (also, try the crunchy tofu while you are at it!)
• Herbed Garlic Aioli for this coleslaw
• A vegan aioli used on this stunner of a dip platter
• Black garlic cashew ranch, if you want to take your dressing game to gourmet restaurant level.

And now this is joining them in a more classic ranch approach, but with the added crunch and flavor of pickles.

The Ingredients

As usual I’m mentioning the basics here. A full list with amounts is below in the recipe card.

• Cashews – The fact that they are so soft and mild makes them perfect for blending into all sorts of recipes from dressings all the way to decadent desserts.
• Pickle juice – Replacing half of the water and using it instead of vinegar gives a lovely depth to this dressing. Especially if you use a (strained) version with some spices like mustard or juniper berries.
• Lemon juice – adds another layer of acidity and makes the other flavors pop
• Fresh or dried herbs – I love using soft herbs here. Classic would be chives, but I added some dill (and sometimes parsley) for good measure.
• Garlic – I tried both powder and fresh and found the version with fresh garlic has a really pleasant heat to it.
• Onion powder – gives the dressing its classic allium flavor
• Liquid aminos – or Tamari. They add that umami-oomph to the dressing.
• Raisins – These are entirely optional. They add that hit of sweetness to balance out the tangy pickle juice. And I love my dressings with a hint of sweet.
• Pickles – chopped into tiny cubes, they give any salad they touch incredible crunch and a tangy flavor boost.

Substitutions

• Cashew butter – If you don’t have a high speed blender, you could use cashew butter instead of the nuts. If you are allergic to nuts, sun butter would be a lovely alternative!
• Pickle juice – No pickle juice? No Problem. Replace with 2 tbsp of white wine or apple cider vinegar and 2 tbsp water
• Herbs – Basil would be lovely here, so would tarragon or cilantro (unless you have the “tastes like soap” gene, in which case better skip that one). Any soft herb will feel right at home in this dressing.
• Liquid aminos/Tamari – You can use soy sauce too if you like and don’t mind the gluten. I prefer the liquid aminos as they are a little sweeter. You might even try some miso. It makes a fabulous umami addition to dressings!

Equipment Used

Measuring Cups

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knife

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Nutribullet

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*

Note:

Here is a strange thing I noticed when making this dressing a few times:
The Nutribullet *, despite not having the full horsepower of Vitamix *, does get this dressing much smoother.

Now, this might of course be the particular model (A3500) I’m using from Vitamix * and maybe yours does the job better. But if you are considering buying a high speed blender mainly for smaller amounts like dressings, I feel the Nutribullet * is a better choice.
I still use it a lot, despite having a much more expensive Vitamix right beside it.

How to Make this

And we are back at the easy part.

One note first though:

I saw in many cashew dressing recipes, that if you have a Vitamix you don’t have to soak the cashews. To then state to leave the dressing in the fridge for 2h after making it, so the cashews can…well…soak. *scratches head*

Apart from the fact that I find my Vitamix just too big for making about a jar full of dressing and making double just a bit much for the few days I want to eat it in a row, I feel soaking my cashews either for 10 minutes in hot water or, if I ever remember, in cold water the night before, sounds better to me.

But then: choose what works for you. It’ll be delicious anyway.

Back to the actual making of:

Soak

Soak your cashews either in cold water the night before or in hot water for 10 minutes. Drain.

Blend

Add to your blender (high speed like Nutribullet or Vitamix, if you really want to experience the magic of creamy cashews. Trust me. I tried non-high speed and wondered how anyone could like that grainy stuff!).

Decide if you like your dressing classic white with flecks or green

This is the green version of the Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing:

Rip your herbs roughly and throw them in too.

Unless you want pretty defined herb flecks with the classic look shown on top of this post, instead of a bright green one. In which case: Chop them and stir them in last.

Add everything else except the pickles. Blend for about a minute or until super creamy.
Have a taste. Balance the flavors to your liking by adding some salt, liquid aminos, more pickle brine or raisins (or a hint of sugar. I won’t judge.).

Add Pickles (and herbs if you want the white-flecked dressing) and stir in.

Watch The Video Here

How to Serve

Enjoy Dill Pickle Cashew Ranch Dressing drizzled over your favourite salad, as a dip for chips, crisps, veggies or crackers or with this crunchy pretzel breaded and pickle brined tofu.

This makes an incredible dressing for a summery coleslaw for your next BBQ too. Or you could pour this over a potato salad for a mayo-free version that is still super creamy.

And can I suggest you try this as a dip for your pizza crust? Or some pretzel rolls?

Ready to whip up this amazing dressing? Grab the recipe below!

Variations

• Leave out the herbs and add some honey and mustard for an oil free honey-mustard dressing
• Make this into a seriously spicy dressing by swapping dill pickles for some pickled jalapenos!
• Or go the red route and use charred peppers from a jar. They will sweeten the dressing and give it a lovely color.
• Swap the herbs and pickles for a bit of salsa, to give this a Mexican touch. Add a bit of cumin, coriander, lime and smoked paprika while you are at it.
• Add a bit of tahini and lemon for a lovely sesame version.
• Or lemon and honey for a classic flavor
• Balsamic vinegar and basil will make this into a super summery dressing which you could even try on strawberries.
• Miso and ginger instead of herbs and pickles transform it into an Asian flavor
• Add fruits like mango, plum or strawberries to give it a sweeter direction (I adore fruity dressings of any kind!)
• Or throw some avocado in to make it even creamier. Plus all the herbs and the kitchen sink, for a green goddess touch.

How To Store

This dressing will keep in a lidded jar for at least 4 days. Even a week should be just fine.

You can even freeze it if you like. Just defrost for a few hours and maybe re-blend it briefly.

Tips:

• This dressing gets thicker while the cashews soak up more of the liquid. If you prefer a more pourable consistency thin it with some water or maybe lemon juice. Have a taste and add a bit of salt if you feel it needs it.
• Depending on the blender you use you’ll need to adjust both the amount and the layering of your ingredients.
• For the Nutribullet or smaller blenders whose blades are in a lid that is screwed on then turned over, use the amount in the recipe and layer: Cashews, spices, water.
• For the Vitamix or similarly large blender double the amount )you can simply freeze half for later use) any layer: Water, spices, cashews.
• I tried making a smaller portion with the Vitamix, but it wouldn’t properly “grip” the nuts, but rather throw everything around until most ended up on the blender walls instead of being pulled into the vortex.
  
  

FAQ

Now I’d love to hear from you in the comments!

Have you tried this? Did you enjoy it?
What other recipes would you like to see?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please share. It helps me a lot.

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