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This Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing recipe is easy to make, is high in protein, and doesn’t have all the additives and preservatives that many store-bought dressings have. And it comes together quickly with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen.
Have you seen the new viral trend of whipped cottage cheese desserts? You need to check out my Cottage Cheese Chocolate Pudding; it’s so rich and creamy & delicious! Well, that got me thinking about making a savory version. And, I’m always a fan of ranch dressing. So, it seemed like a natural thing to try!
And, I love the flavor that this has!
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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
How to make ranch dressing
If you’re looking for a creamy and delicious way to dress up your salads or veggies but want to keep it healthy, look no further than this amazing Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing recipe!
This recipe also showed up in my popular recipes of 2023! Check out my Best Recipes of 2023 today!
Packed with wholesome ingredients like protein-rich cottage cheese and flavorful herbs, this easy-to-make dressing is the perfect addition to any healthy meal.
The full printable recipe ingredients and instructions are available in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. You can find important tips and tricks in the post.
This is super simple to make. Simply pop all the ingredients in a food processor or blender, scraping down the sides once or twice. And blend until smooth and creamy.
I’ve made it a nice thick dressing that’s great to dip veggies into or to toss onto salads. If you prefer it a bit thinner for your salad, add a little milk, about a tablespoon at a time until it’s the consistency you like.
Also, feel free to double this recipe if desired. Simply use the servings slider on the recipe card to have it do the work for you.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! In fact, ranch dressing tastes better once the flavors have time to meld, so this is a perfect make ahead and keep it in the fridge recipe.
Store the homemade ranch dressing in an airtight container; I love keeping it in a small mason jar, for up to two weeks in the fridge.
Also, I find that organic cottage cheese stays fresh longer than non-organic.
What are some serving suggestions for this Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing?
While the Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing can be used as a salad dressing, it can also be used in other ways.
Use it as a spread for sandwiches or wraps.
For an easy snack, serve the cottage cheese ranch with veggies for dipping. Try baby carrots, sliced bell peppers, broccoli, or cauliflower. Or dip Cottage Cheese Tots into this ranch dip.
Try it with crackers, chips, or pita.
Smear it on some Cottage Cheese Bread for a great high protein snack!
Great on burgers too.
Dip your Pizza or chicken tenders into it
Make it thicker for dipping or thinner for pouring on salad.
Also fantastic with blue cheese mixed in like Gorgonzola or Cambozola.
Salad dressing recipes
I’m a big fan of homemade dressings. They’re usually healthier, no preservatives, and you can adjust the flavors to your liking. Be sure to try my Mom’s Salad Dressing, Homemade Italian dressing, Skinny Buttermilk Ranch, and Chipotle Vinaigrette Dressing.
More tips
How can I make this recipe lower in calories?
Use the dairy of your choice. Full fat, low fat, fat free. Dairy with fat will have more flavor and creaminess, but if you want to reduce your calories, by all means.
Allergies and dietary restrictions: It’s important to consider any allergies or dietary restrictions you may have. For example, if you’re lactose intolerant, you may not be able to consume this recipe as it contains cottage cheese and sour cream.
In such cases, you may want to try some alternatives or variations like vegan cottage cheese or sour cream. Also, you could use plain vegan yogurt in place of the sour cream. And, thin it with a neutral flavored plant-based milk.
Can I adjust the herbs and spices to my liking?
While this recipe is delicious as is, you may want to make adjustments or variations to suit individual tastes or preferences.
For example, some people may prefer more or less seasoning, or may want to add other ingredients such as avocado or lime juice.
play around with it!
Feel free to play around with the recipe. You could even make it a little differently each time you make it!
You could even use the cottage cheese base and add some of a packet of store-bought ranch if you want! I won’t tell anyone!
Can I use fresh herbs?
Yes, you can use fresh herbs. I wanted to make the dressing with dried herbs so that it’s easy for anyone at any time of year to make. And you probably have everything in the pantry to make it now.
It’s also very budget friendly with dried herbs.
But maybe you have fresh dill growing in your garden. Or lots of chives. Feel free to use them.
Mix and match too – use some fresh chives and dried parsley. Or however you like!
The general rule of thumb for using dry to fresh herbs is 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. That also makes the conversion nice and easy.
Because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you’ll need less if they’re dry.
For the garlic, it’s roughly 1/8th of a teaspoon of garlic powder equals one garlic clove. Keep in mind some garlic is more potent than others, but this is a good starting point.
1 tablespoon of onion powder is about1 cup of chopped fresh onion.
For this recipe, fresh herbs conversions would be:
- ½ tablespoon fresh chives
- ½ tablespoon fresh parsley (flat leaf preferred, but if you have curly, use a little less than ½ tablespoon as curly is stronger than flat leaf)
- ½ tablespoon fresh dill leaves
- 2 fresh garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chopped fresh onion, but I’d round that to about 2 tablespoons of fresh finely chopped onion
How many servings does this recipe make?
About 8 servings at 2 tablespoons per serving.
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Recipe
Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 tablespoon milk
- ½ teaspoon dried chives
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- freshly squeezed lemon juice adjust to taste, approximately 1-3 teaspoons
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides a couple of times.
- Store in an airtight container, like a mason jar, in the fridge for you to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Amy Nash
This idea is inspired! I’ll admit I’m not a huge fan of raw veggies without plenty of ranch to go with them and this is a way better option that keeps me more full!
Baby dd
Yumo my dog baby dd wuvs salad but it must have ranch dressing on it so this was a great way to save on fat and calories and still taste delish – she can’t tell the difference and either can I !
Laura
I was craving ranch dressing but didn’t have any; this was delicious and healthy! Looking forward to making it regularly instead of keeping storebought ranch.
Shelly
Made this today. OH So Good!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Sue Ringsdorf
Genius way to use cottage cheese! My family gobbled it up and it made our salads delish!
Kathleen
Oh my goodness, so rich, thick and full of flavor. I had some fresh dill in my garden and threw a teaspoon in! YUM!
Janelle
This dressing is messing with my head. I know there is cottage cheese in it, but I cannot see or taste it. My new go to recipe!
Jules
I try and make all of our dressing homemade and boy did we enjoy this one. I’m making another batch for a charcuterie board tomorrow!
Laura Ashley Johnson
I love this texture! So yummy!!
Caroline
Loved it with extra lemon!
Annie
I was concerned that the whipped cottage cheese would have a grainy texture. It does have a mild grainy texture to it. Not the fault of this recipe, just the properties of cottage cheese. Adding extra sour cream helped. I was also worried that adding acid like lemon juice would cause it to curdle but that was not a problem. Not the same mouth feel as a dressing made with mayo, sour cream etc, but pretty good overall, especially considering how much protein is has.
Portia
I love this recipe! I have made it several times!! I eat it with all kinds of raw veggies!! Great alternative to mayo filled Ranch!
Sara
I LOVE this dressing! The only changes I made the second time I made it was cut the dill in half. For my taste, it was too dill forward the first time I made it. I used lime instead of lemon juice, simply because that is what I had on hand. I made the second batch with 4% cottage cheese vs. 2% the first time. The 4% made for a more creamy texture. Try this recipe if you are a ranch lover!
Bill
I have made it twice now. It is AWESOME! Ranch lovers will not be disappointed.
Emily
Best ranch hands down
Joyce
Delicious! I used low fat yogurt instead of sour cream and lime juice instead of lemon because that’s what I had. Added a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. Best ranch dressing we’ve ever had! Tons of flavor and tons of protein. Definitely a keeper.
Marcia
This is delicious and healthy! I do add extra milk as I like it more pourable to use as a salad dressing. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Would love to know if you have a healthy French dressing.
Debi
Marcia, Thanks so much! I don’t have a French Dressing. I do have this dressing https://lifecurrentsblog.com/moms-salad-dressing/ that my mom made when I was a kid. It has lots of sugar though, so I wouldn’t say it’s healthy at all, but it is delicious and very similar to French dressing. Maybe you could leave all the sugar out of it or use a sugar sub.
Here’s a list of all my dressings https://lifecurrentsblog.com/?s=dressing if you want to take a look. The search engine picks up some extras as well.
Kristen
This was shockingly amazing – so much better than store bought!! Not to mention better for you.