Herby Ranch Dip – Simple Bites

Dressing or dip, this versatile Herby Ranch Dip is creamy and delicious, easy to make, and uses ingredients you have on hand.

This herby ranch dip is where delicious meets practical! It was developed with my usual zero waste cooking habits at the forefront of my mind, but with the need for a tasty summertime dip that goes with everything.

Inspired by the first fresh chives sprouting in my herb garden, this herby ranch dip is designed to help you waste less food, such as wilted herbs and dairy dregs, and at the same, time, eat more vegetables. It’s going to become your go-to dip recipe for spring, summer and beyond.

With Earth Day just around the corner, I wanted to revisit some of my most useful zero waste kitchen tips. You’ll find those in this post, along with loads of variations for this yummy dip.

Zero Waste Hacks for Springtime

Earth Day is April 22, and spring in the perfect time to revisit eco-friendly kitchen habits.

Let’s get back into the groove of using up fruit, vegetable and other food scraps in creative ways. By the time we are slammed with the abundance of summer produce, these zero waste techniques will feel old hat!

Herby Ranch Dip

Everyone needs an endlessly customizable dip recipe in their repertoire. This herby ranch dip is the perfect do-ahead pot-luck appetizer.

I love a giant crudité platter for healthy snacking and serving it with a homemade dip just takes it over the top. This one comes together quickly in the blender and keeps for a week in the fridge.

It includes both dried and fresh herbs for an extra punchy ranch flavour (plus a secret ingredient!).

Zero Waste Tips for Herby Ranch Dip

A successful zero waste recipe is more of a formula; a versatile master recipe, if you will.

The home cook should be able to assess which ingredients need to be used up first, plug them into the formula, and create an appetizing dish. My Any-Ingredient Fruit Crisp is a good example.

In this dip, our two players are fridge ingredients that infamously go bad on us:

• Fresh Herbs: Classic herbs for ranch dressing are chives, parsley and dill. I’ll also toss in basil, oregano or thyme if I need to use them up.
• Dairy Dregs: The last of a container that doesn’t amount to enough for a baking recipe. Sour cream. Cream cheese. Buttermilk. Kefir. Cottage cheese. Greek yogurt.

For the dip, I give a base recipe and then suggestions for substitutions. This will help to avoid tossing wilted herbs or spoiled dairy!

Chef’s Tip: As always TASTE as you go along, some herbs are more bold than others or you may want to punch up the acidity. If I’m serving the dip with salted potato chips, I never salt the dip – that’s just personal preference.

Spicy Tex-Mex Ranch: If you want to serve this dip with tortilla chip and salsa, or as a condiment on tacos, make these adjustments to the recipe. Swap lime juice for lemon, add a chopped up jalapeño pepper (no seeds!) and finish with a pinch of ground cumin. Delicious!

A Note on Texture

Nailing the proper texture is just as important as perfecting the taste in a recipe. A blender (or food processor) helps us blitz up all those herbs into a creamy, dreamy dip.

RANCH DIP: You’ll notice this dip is quite thin as you are blending it up and adjusting the seasoning. Don’t worry, it firms up nicely in the fridge. Just give it a few hours to chill or better yet, an overnight. As demonstrated in the photo above, it thickens into a proper ranch dip consistency.

RANCH DRESSING: For a pourable consistency that’s suitable for salads (and well, just about everything) you’ll need to thin down the dressing before chilling. While it is still in the blender, add 1.4 cup of buttermilk or plain kefir. This brings a delightful tang as well as the desired dressing consistency. You’ll probably need to add a bit more salt to taste.

Ranch Dip Secret Ingredient

A dash of umami always takes a simple salad dressing/dip to the next level. I often punch up my Kefir Green Goddess with anchovy paste, when it doesn’t need to be strictly vegetarian, and add a splash of soy sauce to basic vinaigrettes.

This Herby Ranch Dip has a secret ingredient too: Worcestershire sauce. It’s an essential ingredient in my Caesar salad dressing, and brings a similar salty, umami flavour to the ranch.

Chef’s Tip: If you really have additional parsley, oregano or cilantro to use up, make a spicy Chimichurri. The versatile sauce will keep for a week in the fridge and is delicious on grilled meats, eggs and potatoes.

Other Uses for Ranch Dip

Over the years, I’ve found this ranch dip to be a highly versatile condiment. Having a jar in the fridge is so handy when a dish needs something a little ‘extra’. Here’s how I like to use the dip:

• Sandwiches. I’m all about building a better sandwich, and let me tell you, crafting a toasted tomato sandwich with herby ranch dip in place of the mayonnaise is a game changer!
• Tacos. I love a zesty crema with my fish tacos, but if I have a jar of homemade ranch on hand, I’m reaching for that instead.
• Roasted Potatoes or grilled vegetables – this dip goes well with both!
• Potato Salad – need a shortcut potato salad? Follow this recipe and use herby ranch dip for the dressing. Mmmmm. Ditto for your favourite macaroni salad.
• Dip for chicken wings, pita chips, or alongside tortilla chips & salsa.

Onto the recipe!

• 1/2 cup light herbs packed, parsley, chives, etc
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
• dash Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup cream cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup Greek-style yoghurt high fat

• In a high powered blender, pulse the herbs a few times to chop them. Parsley and chives are classic ranch herbs, but you could also use a mix of basil, dill and oregano.

• Add the lemon juice and the Worcestershire sauce. Scrape down the blender and pulse again.

• Add the cream cheese and mayonnaise to the blender. Scrape down the sides and blend until the ingredients come together in a creamy, pale dip.

• And the spices: garlic, dill, salt and pepper. Scrape down the blender and mix again! Finish the dip by adding the thick Greek yogurt and blending one last time. The dip will be quite thin, but it WILL firm up in the fridge to the perfect consistency, trust me.

• Taste the dip. Adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes….more lemon juice for tang, more pepper for kick, more yogurt if it’s tasting to punchy.

• Pour the dip into a jar, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Dip will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Dip will look thin, but it thickens in the fridge!
For an extra creamy dip, substitute sour cream for the Greek yogurt. 
If you’re serving the dip with salted chip, omit the salt in the recipe.

More Healthy Snacking!