Ranch Dressing with Fresh Dill (vegan | nut-free)

I’m into sauces. Like, give me all the sauces, plus extra on the side. Dressings, spreads, gravies, pestos, marinaras, quesos, salsas…I want them all and I want them now. And high up there on my list of favorite sauces ranks the one and only ranch dressing. Creamy, herby, garlicky – it’s the perfect companion to anything savory. Pizza, buffalo cauliflower, salad, bbq… ranch works with anything and everything.

This Sunflower Seed Ranch is about as classic of a ranch as you can get, without being classic at all, that is. It’s made creamy because of raw sunflower seeds blended with water and olive oil (crazy, right?). Then just add the ranch-ness with lots of fresh dill, garlic, lemon juice and black pepper. That’s it! So get your pizza crust ready. Give your buffalo caul “wings” a good pep talk. They’re going to be doing overtime now that you have this easy ranch dressing in your sauce recipe arsenal.

Ingredients

1/4 cup raw sunflower seed kernels, soaked*
1/3 cup olive oil
2-4 tablespoons lemon juice ( to taste)*
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh dill, lightly packed
2 scallions, green and white parts (optional)*

To Make

Drain soaked sunflower seeds and add to a high-power blender with olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1/4 cup fresh water, garlic, salt and pepper. Blend until super smooth then add the dill. You can either chop the dill super fine and stir into the dressing or pulse in the blender with the dressing until finely chopped. Add additional lemon juice and salt to taste.

Notes

Soaking sunflower seeds – this helps them blend more easily, simply pour near boiling water over the sunflower seeds, just enough to cover, and allow to sit at room temperature until the water is completely cooled.

Lemon juice – for a super lemon-y dressing use 4 tablespoons lemon juice, stick with 2 for a more mild lemon flavor.

Scallions – I started re-growing my scallion roots in a cup of water so I always have fresh scallions on hand… I’ve been adding them to this dressing and it’s SO good.