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.
Keisha says
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!!
Peggy says
I’m allergic to lemon juice. What can I use in it’s place?
Carolyn says
Lime juice? If allergic to that as well, just skip it.
Roberta says
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…
Carolyn says
Sure… try with just the non-dairy milk and see if you need to thicken it.
Ronda says
I love this dressing however mine came out SO hot. I think it was because for the peppers I also put the Adobo sauce in, should I leave that out or do you have a recommendation to make this a little less spicy? The flavors are outstanding but doing low carb I can’t grab a piece of bread to cut the heat (or milk) :)!
Carolyn says
So you put in some sauce in addition to the 3 tbsp diced pepper? I think you can really just add more mayo and almond milk here, to dilute the intensity.
Eden says
This was so good and I loved that you use Primal kitchen Mayo because it’s our favorite!!
Kellie Hemmerly says
Making this NOW and putting it on EVERYTHING!
Krissy Allori says
Absolutely yummy dressing!
Chelsea says
This dressing is absolutely amazing!! Everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Kristyn says
Oh, wow!! This is so good! Love the combined flavors going on!
Amy Thiessen says
I am OBSESSED with this mayo! We’ve tried to make our own at home… (failed).. then I tried this and I feel like WHY would I keep trying… someone has obviously perfected the method ;D
This looks soo good.. basically all my favorite flavors.. mayo, bacon & chipotle! Thanks for the share!
Carolyn says
Well, just so you know, I have a really good blender avocado oil mayo that will be coming out in my cookbook in the fall. 🙂 But I use their avocado oil for it. And I do love their mayo when I need store-bought!
Susie says
This is SOOOO GOOD!!!! I’m just wondering if I could sub out the almond milk for half n half or heavy cream for non-paleo and make it more kept? Thanks Caroline 🙂
Susie says
Keto, not kept….silly auto correct
Carolyn says
Absolutely! It may be a touch too thick so thin it out with water.
Susie says
Thanks so much, Caroline!!! LOVE your recipes!!! 🙂
Kapu says
What could I use instead of that mayo and would crashew milk work?
Jan says
This looks good! I’m not a huge fan of spicy mayo so I may leave out the pepper to start with. Would it taste more like regular ranch that way? I LOVE ranch, but was trying to find a recipe used with Thrive mayo! Thanks!
Carolyn says
Yup, it will just be bacon ranch that way and still very tasty.
Jackie says
Anyone care to share a recipe for a nice mayonaise? I’ve pretty much given it up since everything I find contains sugar.
Carolyn says
You can make this with any oil: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2012/02/walnut-oil-mayonnaise-low-carb-and-gluten-free.html
Jackie says
Thank you! I did search but it probably helps if you spell Mayonnaise properly 🙂
Carolyn says
LOL. It’s not always an easy one to spell!
Cary says
The best mayo recipe I have is from theclothesmakethegirl and it’s so easy and foolproof
1 egg cracked in the bowl of a small food processor or blender (or glass bowl if using an immersion blender) with two TBS of lemon juice. Let them sit together at room temp for 30 mins or up to 2 hours. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard and salt to taste. Then add 1/4 c of EXTRA LIGHT TASTING OLIVE OIL (super important). Blend together. Then with the blender/processor running slloooowwly add 1 cup of EXTRA LIGHT TASTING OLIVE OIL. Should take a few minutes. I leave the top on my small food processor and pour the oil in the well with the small holes in it and it’s perfect!
Hope this works for you!
KalynsKitchen says
Happy November! Just letting you know that I featured this recipe in my October 2015 round-up of Deliciously Healthy Low-Carb Recipes. Hope a lot of my readers will click over here and try it!
Jenny D. says
Looks great, Carolyn. And perfect to modify into a dip for football this weekend, which I’ll be doing.
I stumbled upon this mayo at the farm market where I get raw milk, and it’s fantastic! Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve *never* been able to make homemade mayo, so this stuff is nearly a God-send. I only wish it were available in a bigger jar because we go through it so quickly.
Vivian says
Love this idea! Looks wonderful and I really need a new dressing! I do make my own mayo but I am going to look for this and give myself a break! Thanks!
Sarah G says
I’m very excited about this mayo! Being pregnant though, I’m definitely avoiding raw egg. Is the egg raw in this mayo? I looked at the website and couldn’t tell. Do you know? I assume not since it’s probably shelf stable for awhile.
Cary says
Hi Sarah – the eggs used in Tessemae’s are pasteurized so they are safe to eat raw and have an extended shelf life. I asked the companypecifically. Hope that helps!
Sarah G says
Hmmm, I guess they’re still raw though.
Carolyn says
Sarah, as long as they are pasteurized, I think you are okay even in pregnancy. I can’t remember, it’s been six years since I was pregnant, but I don’t think I ever had to shy away from pasteurized dressings.
Sarah G says
Ok, I so love mayo but won’t eat the soy stuff.
Carolyn says
I’ve got an email into them asking about the pasteurization
Carolyn says
By the way, from the FDA website on pregnancy and food… http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/HealthEducators/ucm082362.htm
“Note: Commercial mayonnaise, dressing, and sauces contain pasteurized eggs that are safe to eat.”
Carolyn says
I can certainly ask them. They don’t call out the raw egg on the bottle which makes me think it’s pasteurized because I think by law, they’d have to do that raw egg warning you see on most menus and products. And it is shelf stable, it only needs to be refrigerated after opening. And hey!!!! Congrats on your pregnancy!
Sarah G says
Aw, thanks!
Sarah G says
Thanks for checking on it! Very excited to order this product.
Cary says
While making homemade mayo IS easy, it’s nice to have some ready made. I personally LOVE the Tessemae’s mayo – regular and chesapeake! It has a more subtle flavor than Primal Kitchen and it’s just the best! You should definitely try that (and their dressings) all of which really help me stay low carb (except for the BBQ sauce) and my husband and I put their wing sauce on EVERYTHING!!!