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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! I have another new savory cottage cheese recipe, Cottage Cheese Everything but the Bagel Dip that you should check out!
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
cottage cheese
For the cottage cheese, use fat free, low fat, or full fat – your choice.
Obviously, fat free will have fewer calories, but it also tends to be a bit more watery and less flavorful. Full fat will make a thicker and more flavorful tot, but will add more calories to your snack. So, it’s your choice.
I usually use Lucerne full fat large curd cottage cheese. I find the flavor is always good, and the texture is great. Recently I bought a different brand of cottage cheese because I was shopping at a different store that didn’t carry Lucerne.
If you start with a thin watery cottage cheese, the end product will be thinner. Now, in the case of ranch dressing it may not be a problem to have be thinner. But, if you’re using cottage cheese in a baked good, the extra water can have an effect.
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.
Debi
Dar, sounds like you missed the step where you blend the cottage cheese, or maybe your blender doesn’t blend very well. Once the cottage cheese is placed in the food processor or blender it should be nice and smooth.