Vegan Avocado Ranch Dressing
Make your own Taco Bell Avocado Ranch Sauce at home! This easy vegan copycat recipe for avocado ranch dressing is perfect for drizzling on tacos, nachos, burgers, fries, pizza, your whole life! It’s a delicious sauce made lighter and healthier by using silken tofu to replace the sour cream, but you won’t miss a bit of flavor!
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I’m picky with avocado recipes, but this healthy avocado ranch dressing passes all my tests!
It’s a creamy sauce made in your food processor with simple ingredients in under 5 minutes, so you’re ready to dip in no time. It’s a Taco Bell copycat recipe as-written but can be adjusted to taste more like the Chick-Fil-A version also.
Most Taco Bell avocado sauce recipes call for sour cream to be blended with the avocado, but we’ve used silken tofu to lighten that up a bit, keep things dairy-free, and add a plant protein powerhouse to the conversation.
Ever since I made this, I’ve been pouring it all over our California Burgers, dipping potato wedges in it, and licking it off every spoon I can, so let’s get to it!
Why is this the best avocado ranch dressing?
- This tangy sauce has a depth of flavor you wouldn’t believe. The avocado really takes things up a notch in terms of creaminess, and the jalapeno adds a spicy hit to jazz things up.
- Our homemade version of Taco Bell avocado ranch only takes 5 minutes to make. Add everything to your food processor, zip it around until it’s creamy, and serve! Almost as easy as buying it.
- It’s healthier than its classic counterpart. This creamy avocado dressing is so creamy and dreamy; no one will believe it’s made with silken tofu!
Avocado Ranch Ingredients
You’ll need 7 ingredients plus a few common spices to make this easy avocado ranch dip.
- Ripe Avocado – Make sure they’re ripe! When an avocado is ripe, it should yield to gentle pressure when squeezed gently but should not be too soft or mushy.
- Silken tofu – We’ll use silken or soft tofu to replace the sour cream in traditional versions of avocado ranch sauce.
- Unsweetened plain plant milk – Make sure you use a plant milk that is both unsweetened and plain. We highly recommend the unsweetened line of plant milks from Elmhurst. They have lots of options – cashew milk, almond milk, oat milk, etc.!
- Small jalapeno – Seeded and chopped. Add more or less depending on how spicy you like it. You can also omit this entirely or use a less spicy pepper.
- Garlic
- Lemon juice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Spice Cabinet: sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder
Substitution Options for Avocado Ranch Dressing Recipe
If you don’t have or can’t tolerate any of the above ingredients for this avocado dressing, here are our best substitution tips. Remember though, substituting any of the ingredients may lead to a varied degree of difference in the final product. Let us know in the comments if you try any subs and how they work out for you!
For the silken tofu: Soft and silken tofu can be used interchangeably in most recipes. You can also replace this with vegan sour cream from a brand like Tofutti, Forager, or Kite Hill. In this case, you may not need the salt / extra apple cider vinegar. Taste first to be sure. Vegan yogurt or vegan Greek yogurt are other good options, but I’d taste before adding the vinegar / salt here too. And make sure you use something plain / unsweetened.
For the plant milk: You may be able to sub with half silken tofu + half water. Using just water is an option but may lead to a less creamy result.
For the jalapeno: Get creative and use your favorite green peppers here! Serrano peppers, shishito peppers, poblanos. Even or green bell peppers would work for a non-spicy version. You could also sub fresh herbs like parsley for a different vibe.
For the fresh garlic: Use 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic for each garlic clove the recipe calls for. If you are using garlic powder, use 1/8 of a teaspoon per clove of garlic. If you don’t like garlic, you can try subbing green onions, chopped white or yellow onions.
For the lemon juice: Lime juice is an easy switch here to make more of an avocado lime ranch dressing like you find at Chick-Fil-A.
For the ACV: Sub white wine vinegar, rice vinegar, rice wine vinegar, or white vinegar for the ACV.
How to Make Avocado Ranch
This easy Taco Bell copycat sauce could not be easier to make at home!
Add everything to a small food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Depending on your device, you may need to stop and scrape the sides down a couple times to really blend everything.
That’s it; told you it was a simple recipe!
How to Serve Dairy Free Avocado Ranch Dressing
Use this ranch sauce as a dip with veggies and tortilla chips or pita chips.
It also makes the perfect veggie burger sauce, drizzled on a vegan grilled chicken burrito or nachos! It’s also a great sandwich spread and pizza crust dip.
How to Store Light Avocado Ranch Dressing
Store this avocado ranch sauce recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
When stored properly, it should stay green for at least 3 days and start to slowly oxidize after that. To help with oxidation, you can add an extra squeeze of lemon or lime juice to the top of the sauce before you cover and refrigerate.
We do not recommend freezing this sauce because silken tofu does not hold up well to freezing. It turns into a weird cottage cheese type texture when defrosted.
Vegan Avocado Ranch FAQ
Traditional avocado ranch is made with a base of avocado and sour cream. Our lightened up vegan version uses avocado and silken tofu to achieve the same effect with less fat and no dairy!
Avocado ranch tastes like a creamy zingy ranch dressing with an added depth of fresh and earthy flavor thanks to the avocado! Many versions include jalapeno for a hint of spicy as well.
Avocado ranch is not always vegan. Versions from Taco Bell and Chick-Fil-A both contain dairy, and many recipes do as well, usually in the form of sour cream. It’s easy to make a budget-friendly vegan avocado ranch at home using silken tofu!
No, the avocado ranch sauce at Taco Bell contains dairy and is not vegan. It’s easy to make your own copycat version at home in under 5 minutes using silken tofu instead of sour cream!
I hope you love this avocado vegan ranch sauce as much as we do! As I’m writing this, I’m already dreaming about making another batch to drizzle on a sandwich for lunch. Ah, the possibilities!
When you make it, can I ask a favor? Leave a star rating and review in the comment section below the recipe card. This helps more people find our vegan recipes, and we love hearing about your experiences with our recipes.
Enjoy!
Taco Bell Avocado Ranch Sauce (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 medium avocado
- 4 oz. silken tofu
- 1/4 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
- 1/4 – 1/2 small jalapeno seeded and chopped (add more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
- 2-3 large cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Add everything to a small food processor or blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Use this ranch sauce as a dip with veggies or tortilla chips. It also makes the perfect veggie burger sauce or taco drizzle!
Notes
How to Store Leftover Avocado Ranch
- Store this avocado ranch sauce recipe in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.Â
- When stored properly, it should stay green for at least 3 days and start to slowly oxidize after that. To help with oxidation, you can add an extra squeeze of lemon or lime juice to the top of the sauce before you cover and refrigerate. Either pour it out or mix it in before serving.
- We do not recommend freezing this sauce because silken tofu does not hold up well to freezing. It turns into a weird cottage cheese type texture when defrosted.
