This creamy Chipotle Ranch Dressing adds a burst of flavor to any meal. Drizzle it over salad or grilled chicken, use it for dipping veggies, or stir some into mashed cauliflower. Tangy, smoky, and so easy!
Sometimes nothing will do for dinner but a big, crisp salad with all the fixings. Add some meat, cheese, avocado, cucumbers, and you’ve got yourself a healthy keto meal.
But what about the dressing? Forget the storebought stuff and make this delectable Chipotle Ranch Dressing. It’s just the thing to take your keto salads from good to FABULOUS!
And don’t limit yourself to salad either. I’ve got a big batch of this in my fridge and it’s great on grilled chicken or fish, or as a dip for fresh veggies. We can’t get enough of the smoky, tangy flavor!
Why you need this recipe
If you’re like me, sometimes you get stuck in the same old salad rut. You eat it because you know it’s good for you, but it’s the least exciting part of your meal.
But this easy chipotle ranch will remind you just how great salad can be. When everything comes together perfectly and has this much flavor, you actually look forward to eating salad again.
And it’s about as easy as picking up a bottle of storebought dressing. It takes only 5 minutes to make, saves you money, and it tastes better too!
Many storebought dressings contain starches and fillers, as well as unhealthy oils. This way, you control the ingredients so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Ingredients you need
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- Mayonnaise: I use avocado oil mayonnaise like Primal Kitchen. I realize not everyone loves that, but I certainly enjoy it. Just make sure your mayo doesn’t contain nasty ingredients like soybean oil or 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 you 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
Step by Step Directions
1. Mince the chipotle peppers and finely chop the fresh herbs. If you’re using chipotle powder and dried herbs, you can skip this step.
2. Place all ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. Alternatively, you can combine everything in a food processor or blender and blend until combined.
3. Taste and adjust the seasonings and heat to your liking. You can also thin the dressing with a little water, if you find it too thick.
Expert Tips and FAQ
Dairy-free option: If you want to make this dressing 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.
I like to chop the chipotles and herbs and mix in a jar because I like the slight chunkiness of the dressing. But you can blend it all up if you prefer a smooth dressing.
Prefer classic keto ranch dressing? Leave out the chipotles and add some more garlic and herbs!
Frequently Asked Questions
Made with mayonnaise, sour cream, chipotle peppers, and herbs, and spices, this easy Chipotle Ranch Dressing adds bold flavor to salads and other meals.
It’s important to know what’s in the ranch dressing. Many store-bought brands contain starches, sugars, and fillers that aren’t very healthy or keto-friendly. But this Chipotle Ranch Dressing is easy to make and has clean ingredients.
This keto ranch dressing has 1.6 grams of carbs and 0.5 grams of fiber. So it has 1.1g of net carbs per serving (2 tablespoons).
Other recipes you might like
Chipotle Ranch Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoon finely minced chipotle pepper in adobo (or ½ to 1 teaspoon chipotle powder)
- 3 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried parsley)
- 2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill (or ½ teaspoon dried dill)
- 2 teaspoon chopped fresh chives or ½ teaspoon dried chives)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon 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.
Beth says
Very tasty!
Ellen Ingles says
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
Molly says
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!
Sami says
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.
Carolyn says
No, I updated the recipe.
Sami says
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?