This healthy 21 Day Fix ranch dressing (or dip!) is SO delicious and uses my favorite not-so-secret-anymore ingredient: cottage cheese! It's such a creamy, dreamy, protein-packed ranch!
Ok, so everybody knows that putting some yummy ranch on the side of a kid's plate greatly increases the odds of those veggies actually getting eaten, right? Well, the truth is, there are plenty of adults out there who need some help in that area, too (looking at you, my two beautiful sisters!)
I think it's pretty fantastic to make your own sauces and dressings for plenty of reasons (especially when it's as easy as this!). Have you ever read the back of a bottle of Kraft Ranch Dressing?
Aside from the fact that a 2 - tablespoon serving will cost you 110 calories and 11 grams of fat (and that most people really have no idea how much they're putting on their salad and are probably using more than that) there are all sorts of ingredients on there, that personally, I've never seen in nature.
I mean, have you ever seen monosodium glutamate (MSG, btw), polysorbate 60, artificial colors (that's right, in a WHITE dressing - what?!) or calcium disodium EDTA in their natural habitats? I didn't think so. Plus, you'll feel like Martha-freaking-Stewart. Maybe next you'll churn your own butter or something.
Alright, let's now put those yucky words out of our minds and think of some nice ones. Like... creamy, dreamy, delicious, low in fat, 21 day fix approved, no artificial anything, super-fast, easy, fresh, protein-packed and oh-so-tasty. Personally, I like those a whole lot more.
Side note: My favorite thing in the world to make this in, is one of the cups that came with my Ninja blender. They're the perfect size for making dressing and are quick and easy to clean-up! Bonus: my Ninja is a great, high-speed blender, without the Vitamix price-tag!
You can leave this a little on the thick side for a dip, or I've given instructions to thin it out for a dressing. Either way, those veggies are about to disappear!
Save this 21 Day Fix Dip (or dressing!) to Pinterest! ↓
📖 Recipe
21 Day Fix Ranch Dressing or Dip
Ingredients
- ½ cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 2 tbs 1% or 0% Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tbs (2 ½ tbs if you want to use this as a dressing) low-fat milk, skim milk or unsweetened plain almond milk
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon dried dill
- 1 ½ tbs green onion, minced
- 1 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
- a pinch of salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a blender, add in the first 7 ingredients (through dill) and blend away until the mixture is SUPER smooth.
- Pour into whatever container you're going to keep your ranch in (it should last a good 5 days in the fridge). Stir in the minced green onion and fresh parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Yum!
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Counts per Serving: This recipe is a RED, count it as you would cottage cheese or greek yogurt. If you use half of a red container, count it as half of a red. If you use a quarter of a red container, count it as ¼ red.
Weight Watchers Freestyle Points: 0
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 6 tbs for a dip; 3 tbs for a dressingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 68Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 182mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 1gSugar: 7gProtein: 7g
21 DAY FIX RESOURCES:
Kathy says
About how long will this keep?
Stephanie says
I usually keep it about 4-5 days.
Katie says
This is amazing. So easy and yummy. Now I don't have to cheat 😉
Stephanie says
Thank you and yay!!!
Courtney says
How long is the dip good for after made?
Stephanie says
I'd say 5 days or so :-).
Lindsey says
Thank you so much for this recipe! The flavor is amazing!
I made this today and it was great with my veggies. However, I noticed it is quite gritty in texture....is this normal or did I do something wrong?
Thanks!
Stephanie says
Hey Lindsey! No, it definitely shouldn't be gritty, it should be nice and smooth. The only thing I can think is that maybe you didn't blend it long enough?? I'm not actually sure what would be in it that would make it gritty though... unless you blended everything together? (the recipe calls for leaving out the green onions and parsley and just stirring those in at the end, if you blended those also that could have made it gritty). Hope this helps!!
Katie says
Mine was gritty too but I still ate it bc Ranch. I think I may have put too much .
Angela Retzer says
If I did a full red ehat exactly would the calorie content be?
Stephanie says
It would be 62 calories, Angela!
Portia Porter says
Hi there! You wrote that for a dressing, the serving size is 3 tbs. So this is equal to 1 orange container? Mine only holds about 2 tbsp.
Portia Porter says
(Note: I said orange because dressings go in the orange container 🙂
Portia Porter says
Ugh, I realize you said this recipe is RED container. Ignore my crazy 'orange' comment, lol.
Same question about the serving though- you said one serving is 3 tbs (for dressing). So do I count this as a certain portion of a red container? I"m thinking if it's a red maybe it would be 1/4 container, if that much. Sound right?
Stephanie says
Yep, exactly right! Why didn't I add that in? I'm going to add that in. I think when I originally posted this recipe, I just gave serving sizes so I could figure out the calories and fat for my non-fixers out there and then was basically saying, fixers, use as much as you want, just count it as a red. If you use half of a red of it on your salad, that's cool, just count half of a red. It's confused a bunch of folks though and I think I haven't done that great of a job at clarifying. Thanks, Portia!
Portia Porter says
No worries, thank you for responding to me! I just made it, and it was delicious! So nice to have an alternative to oil-based dressings.
Stephanie says
Oh good, I'm glad you liked it!
toddwilliams says
Ok sorry if I have missed it. But it says blend the first 7 ingredients. what do you do with the last 3 or 4? Did I miss the part where they are added and blended again?
toddwilliams says
I'm sorry I just read what I obviously missed! so for a dressing I measure with a red container or with tbsp.?
Stephanie says
Hi Todd! I'm so sorry I'm so late getting to you about this! My family and I just moved to Alaska and I haven't really gotten to the blog as much as I'd like. Can't wait to get settled! Anyway... you would measure this using your red container. 🙂
Nikki says
Quick question, is the whole recipe equal to one red? So when it says the dip is two servings is each serving a red or is a serving a half of a red? New to 21 day fix so just making sure I'm doing it right. Thank you!
Stephanie says
Hey Nikki! Sorry this is somewhat confusing... You would count this just like you would greek yogurt or cottage cheese. If you use half of a red container, count it as half of a red. If you use a full container, count it as 1 red. In this case, I gave particular serving sizes so that I could leave calorie/fat counts for those who are not using the container system, but you can just count what you use. I hope that cleared it up!
Ashley says
Thank you for sharing this! I've been CRAVING ranch dressing for my salad at lunch but just can't bring myself to eat the store bought because of all thefat content. I can't wait to try this!
Stephanie says
I know, right?! It's crazy! I hope you like it, Ashley!
Dawn says
what is the size for 1red? is it the full red container?
Stephanie says
Yep!
Alesha Haley says
Love this recipe!! I've included it in my latest blog post, 21 day fix recipe round up! Thanks so much for sharing! - Alesha Haley
Stephanie says
Aww, I'm glad you like it! And thank you so much for sharing my recipe with your readers, Alesha, your blog looks awesome!
Angie says
My only question is....in the 21 day fix book you should be having 2% cottage cheese for the protein, not low fat cottage? So which is right?
Stephanie says
Hi, Angie! They're one in the same, generally speaking. Some brand's low-fat is 1% and some brand's low-fat is 2%, but the stats between 1% and 2% (which are both labeled "low-fat") are very similar and won't affect your results either way. My store doesn't carry 2%, so I have to buy 1%. Hope this helps!
Mychele says
I was wondering what I could sub in for the dill. I've never been a fain of dill, but I know it needs more green than just the parsley. Do you have any suggestions? I'm not a fan of rosemary or thyme either.
Stephanie says
Hmm... that's a tricky one, Mychele! Dill is one of the main ingredients in regular store-bought ranch. It's really what makes ranch taste like ranch. If you normally like ranch dressing, I would suggest you make it as is, but maybe start with a small amount of dill and see what you think. If you're still not feeling the dill, maybe try some fresh basil? It would be different from regular ranch, but I bet it would be really tasty!
Lil says
I love to add chives and parsley to my homemade ranch dip - cannot wait to try this one!
Stephanie says
Thanks, Lil!
Devan says
could this be used to cook with? I have a recipe I love that has all kinds of veggies and chicken in a big steamer with ranch. I didn't know how it would turn out with yogurt and cottage cheese in it. Thanks!
Stephanie says
Hi Devan! I think it would be ok, but can't say for absolute certain. The only time I've really heated it was when I made a broccoli, cauliflower and ranch pita pizza. It worked out great for that, but it didn't need to cook very long. Sorry I can't be more help, if you try it out I'd love to hear the outcome, it sounds delicious!
sydney eedy says
ok seriously a ranch pita pizza! where has this been all my life! that sounds amazing
Stephanie says
It's THE BEST!! I really should put an actual recipe for it on the blog <3
Kim says
I love ranch and can't wait to try and make it healthier. Thanks!
Stephanie says
Yay! I hope you like it, it's definitely a staple at our house 🙂
Maya says
Looks absolutely delicious! But I live in a country where there is no dried dill 🙁 So is it possibly to use fresh dill instead?
Stephanie says
Thank you, Maya! You absolutely can use fresh dill here! Fresh is always best if you ask me 🙂 I used dried dill here because I always have it on hand, but either way will work!
Elizabeth says
This is awesome! I am new to 21 Day Fix and looking for a way to eat so many greens! So if the full container (dip) is 1/2 red, but it contains 2 servings, then I would mark 1/4 red off on my chart when I have some correct? Thanks!
Stephanie says
I can see where this was kind of confusing, sorry! This recipe is a red. Mark off however much you use whether it's as a dressing or a dip. The amounts that I listed were serving sizes that I felt were appropriate (and helped me give calorie/fat stats for those not on the Fix), but just mark off however much you use, just as you would if it was straight up cottage cheese. Hope this helps! By the way, thank you for bringing it to my attention, I changed how it was worded in the recipe so it will be more clear!
Hayley G. says
I'm new to 21 Day Fix as well, and I'm wondering how this serves as a red. I was thinking it would be an orange since it is a dressing. Can you tell me how to keep from making this mistake in the future?
Stephanie says
Hi Hayley! It's about the ingredients. Most dressings are an orange, you're right about that. But since there isn't any oil in this dressing, it only has "red" ingredients, you'd count it as a red. The orange container is a fat container, since there isn't any added oil you can just count it as a red. I hope this cleared that up for you! Feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have!
Kelly says
I do not like cottage cheese, is there a substitute for that in this recipe?
Stephanie says
Absolutely! You could definitely make it using all greek yogurt, a lot of people do that. But I will say that when it's blended with that little bit of yogurt and all of the seasonings, it doesn't taste like cottage cheese at all 🙂