Break out of your dinnertime rut with this homemade chipotle ranch dressing. Drizzle it over salad, grilled chicken or fish, or use it for dipping fresh veggies. It’s tangy, smoky, and ready in no time!
I absolutely adore the smoky heat of chipotle pepper and I work it into all sorts of savory recipes. It’s such a unique flavor and brings out the best in chipotle lime chicken or keto carnitas. I even add a little to keto ketchup for a bit of a kick.
This creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing is a family favorite. Homemade salad dressings are infinitely superior to store-bought and this one is no exception. It takes only 5 minutes to make, saves you money, and it tastes better too!
★★★★★
Katy says: “FLAVOR BOMB!!! So much flavor with the fresh herbs, the creaminess! Added bonus is that since there is so much flavor, you don’t need as much as you might use with store bought. I followed your directions to the letter“
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Mayonnaise: You can use any kind of mayo you like, but try to make sure it doesn’t contain unnecessary sugar.
- Sour cream: Full fat sour cream provides a rich, creamy consistency.
- Chipotle peppers: I recommend getting canned chipotles in adobo for the best color and flavor. They are usually found in the International Foods aisle of most grocery stores. You can, however, use chipotle powder instead, and adjust the heat to your liking.
- Whipping cream: This replaces the buttermilk used in most ranch dressing recipes, as it’s lower in carbs.
- Lemon juice: Add a little tanginess to the chipotle ranch with some lemon juice. Lime juice works as well.
- Herbs: I like to use fresh herbs when I have them, but dried herbs work well too. This chipotle ranch recipe takes dill, parsley, and chives.
- Garlic and onion powder: These seasonings give the dressing a classic ranch flavor.
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Chipotle Ranch Dressing
There are two simple methods for making this keto salad dressing:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined.
- Place all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. For this method, you only need to coarsely chop the chipotle and herbs, so it’s even easier!
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Adjust the seasoning to taste. Don’t like a lot of heat? Cut back the chipotle and add more only after you taste the dressing.
Do note that the heat develops more over time so don’t add too much spice from the get-to!
Adjust the thickness and consistency. You can thicken it with additional mayo and sour cream, or thin it out with more cream and lemon juice.
Make it dairy-free: Use coconut cream in place of the sour cream and add some additional lemon juice for tanginess. Then simply thin the dressing with water to your liking.
Frequently Asked Questions
More Keto Salad Dressing Recipes
Chipotle Ranch Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (74.67 g) mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup (76.67 g) sour cream
- 3 tbsp finely minced chipotle pepper in adobo, (or 1/2 to 1 tsp chipotle powder)
- 3 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp (1 tbsp) chopped fresh parsley, (or 1 tsp dried parsley)
- 2 tsp chopped fresh dill, (or 1/2 tsp dried dill)
- 2 tsp chopped fresh chives, or 1/2 tsp dried chives)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) salt
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. Alternatively, you can blend or process the ingredients until smooth.
- Taste and adjust seasonings and heat to taste. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, add a tablespoon of water as well.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Delish! Thank you!
Although we did not have any fresh ingredients, this turned out amazing! This also makes a wonderful base for other flavors. In one batch, we substituted smoky paprika for the chipotle peppers. Wow! Great as a vegetable dip.
Hey! Just a note: I love cilantro, so I’ve always used it in place of the parsley when making Ranch dressing. It works well in this recipe. I have also substituted canned green chilis for a different flavor profile. Love your recipes! Thanx.
Sounds wonderful!
what’s your go to Mayo?
Any avocado oil mayo I can find that isn’t crazy expensive! 🙂
FLAVOR BOMB!!! So much flavor with the fresh herbs, the creaminess! Added bonus is that since there is so much flavor, you don’t need as much as you might use with store bought. I followed your directions to the letter, but made my own homemade mayonnaise and I will NEVER go back to anything else! Thanks once again, Carolyn, for your genius, mad skills! Katy
Very tasty!
what’s your go to Mayo?
thanks, my family just loves anything Mexican/Southwest
It’s getting hot here in WV and salad season is ramping up. always love new salad ideas. this dressing will be going on everything
Carolyn, do you know of a brand of chipotles in adobo sauce that doesn’t contain sugar/high fructose corn syrup or soybean oil? Thank you!
Molly, I used the chipotle powder for that reason. Really, really excellent recipe!
An old email I saved listed Bacon Chipotle Ranch Dressing on it but when I click the link it brings me to this recipe with no bacon. So I used your search box and found it listed but still brought me to this Baconless recipe. Are you just using this recipe and adding bacon or maybe bacon grease? Or is there a completely different recipe I’m missing? Also many of the comments here are talking Bacon.
No, I updated the recipe.
An old email I saved listed Bacon Chipotle Ranch Dressing on it but when I click the link it brings me to this recipe with no bacon. So I used your search box and found it listed but still brought me to this Baconless recipe. Are you just using this recipe and adding bacon or maybe bacon grease? Or is there a completely different recipe I’m missing?
The link I clicked on said this was a Keto Bacon Chipotle Ranch dressing. How much bacon to we add?
I updated it.
This sauce is DELICIOUS! I make it Dairy Free with Vegan Mayo, Plant Based Sour Cream & Dairy Free Heavy Whipping Cream. I follow the recipe exactly how it states and it is amazing. I love spicy so I use it on so many dishes. I even take it with me to the Mexican Restaurant and add it to my dishes. This is definitely and keeper!!
I’m allergic to lemon juice. What can I use in it’s place?
Lime juice? If allergic to that as well, just skip it.
I’m going to do that this week when I try it. I’m not allergic but lemon and lime give me stomach issues
Could a non-dairy yogurt work instead of sour cream? Or maybe some non-dairy milk (almond or soy ogm-free milk) with a pinch of xanthan gum? I don’t do very well with coconut cream and I’d need an alternative to sour cream since here I rarely found a good one and often the result is disappointing, I don’t want to ruin the recipe…
Sure… try with just the non-dairy milk and see if you need to thicken it.