This Tahini Ranch Dressing recipe is easy to make, it’s naturally vegan and gluten-free, and it tastes so fresh and delicious!
Meet my new favorite ranch dressing. ♡
It’s inspired by the classic creamy ranch dressing we all know and love. But instead of starting with that famous dry buttermilk seasoning packet, this ranch dressing recipe is brightened up instead with lots of fresh herbs, fresh garlic, and freshly-squeezed lemon juice. And in lieu of cream, we turn to an even more delicious alternative that instantly kicks all of the flavors up here a major notch — tahini!!
Oh my goodness, if you love ranch, add a jar of tahini to your grocery list stat. Because as it turns out, the toasty, nutty, creamy goodness of tahini is a match made in flavor heaven with classic ranch seasonings. The tahini also does a beautiful job of thickening up the dressing here. And by contrast to most store-bought processed ranch dressings, this ranch recipe is naturally vegan and gluten-free, and made with ingredients you can feel great about.
We’re already 100% obsessed with this one in our house. So I hope you love it too!
Tahini Ranch Dressing Ingredients:
To make this homemade ranch dressing recipe, you will need:
- Lemon juice: You know I’m always a fan of freshly-squeezed!
- Tahini: To make the dressing thick and creamy.
- Dill: I really, really recommend chopping up some fresh dill if you can. But if not, dried dill will work in a pinch. Feel free to add 1-2 tablespoons, depending on how much dill you prefer in your ranch.
- Dijon: Just a little bit — either creamy or whole grain.
- Garlic: You can either press or mince a fresh garlic clove, or use garlic powder as a shortcut.
- Onion powder, salt and pepper: For seasoning.
- Water: To thin the dressing out however much you would like.
- (Optional) fresh chives: I always love fresh chives in my ranch, but they’re not required.
How To Make Ranch Dressing:
To make ranch dressing, simply:
- Whisk the base ingredients together until combined. Or feel free to add them to a mason jar, cover, and shake-shake-shake until combined. (Heads up — the tahini will continue to thicken up the dressing as you go.)
- Season with salt and pepper. Give the dressing a taste, then generously season with a good pinch of two of salt and pepper as needed. Feel free to also add extra water to thin the dressing if needed.
- Enjoy! Then either go ahead and serve the dressing right away, or refrigerate it in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
Possible Variations:
Want to mix things up with this tahini ranch dressing recipe? Feel free to:
- Use dried herbs: If you can’t get your hands on fresh dill (or chives) for this recipe, dried herbs will work too! Just substitute in 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs.
- Add extra fresh herbs: If you happen to have fresh parsley or basil on hand, chop them up and add them to the dressing for an extra herby twist.
- Make it creamier: If you don’t mind adding dairy to this recipe, it’s also delicious with an extra 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt mixed in.
- Make it more mustardy: If you really love that zesty mustard kick, feel free to double or even triple the amount of Dijon in the recipe.
Ways To Use Ranch Dressing:
This tahini ranch dressing recipe would be delicious as a:
- Salad dressing: Such as in this delicious Tahini Ranch Avocado Chicken Salad recipe, that I’m also sharing on the blog today.
- Veggie dip: Omit the water and serve this ranch as a dip with your favorite veggie sticks or crackers!
- Sauce: Drizzle it on burgers, chicken, roasted veggies, fries, pizza — you name it. Ranch makes everything better, right?! ;)
More Favorite Salad Dressing Recipes:
If you’re looking for some more salad dressing inspo, check out these favorites too:
- Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Chipotle Honey Dressing
- Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Thai Peanut Dressing
- Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing
- 4-Ingredient Honey Mustard Dressing
Tahini Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 small clove garlic, pressed (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, tahini, water, dill, chives (if using), mustard, garlic powder and onion powder until well-combined.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Also, if the dressing is too thick for your liking, feel free to whisk in an extra tablespoon or two of water.
- Serve the dressing immediately, or transfer to a sealed jar and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I was looking for a good tahini based dressing, and this hit the spot! So good!
Love this! So yummy 😋
I times it by 8!
I love this. Add the yogurt. Delicious. Thanks!
Absolutely LOVE this dressing and make it often. Flavorful, versatile and delicious!
Can’t wait to try your recipe!!! But I would also like to find the vinaigrette bottle in your picture! Where did you purchase it?
Thank you. Blessings
This is incredible! My only regret is that I didn’t triple the recipe!
My household LOVES this ranch! It is quite addicting – you’ll find yourself making things just to use this ranch. Not to mention dipping anything available in it in the meantime! It’s that good!! I go a heavy on the dill and lemon – will try more mustard next time!
Tonight I used it to dress Ali’s Italian Potato Salad. Check it out too! GREAT COMBO! Yummy. Made it for friends and family and everybody raved!
This dressing is SO GOOD!!! I was thrilled to use up some tahini the first time I made it but now I’ve made it numerous times and love it. Sadly I use dry dill because its what I have on hand but it still turns out great. I use the full amount of dijon mustard, add a little greek plain yogurt to make it creamy AND I add olive oil to make it a little richer. I use my food processor and usually double the recipe. Thanks Ali….my “go to recipe gal”
This is my go to recipe for ranch dressing. I’ve attempted to make ranch dressing out of nuts and other vegan/raw ingredients and nothing has come close to achieving the flavor and consistency of ranch dressing like this recipe. It is incredibly easy to put together and I almost always double or triple the recipe.