Greek Yogurt Ranch Salad Dressing (Low Calorie)

Why We Love This Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing Recipe

Given that I have shared quite a few ranch recipes over the years, from my Healthy Ranch Dip, my Maple Ranch Dressing and my Horseradish Ranch Dressing, I knew I better share my healthy classic ranch recipe with you. I have finally put the finishing touches on it and I have to say, it came out so well!

As the title suggests this recipe is made with Greek yogurt, which is how we can get away with much less mayonnaise than a typical homemade ranch dressing. But unlike a lot of other recipes for Greek Yogurt Ranch, this one is unique in that it has both buttermilk and buttermilk powder added to it for authentic farmhouse-style ranch flavor.

We also added in fresh chopped shallot and dill which make it taste fresh and light and so much better than store-bought dressing. It goes well over a simple garden salad, to dunk veggies into, or use for Air Fried Buffalo Cauliflower Wings. I won’t judge if you want to dip your pizza into it, and I even have used it to dress pasta salad and everyone loved the classic creamy taste!

This ranch dressing recipe is yet another awesome homemade salad dressing to try from the dozens I have shared here on Healthy Seasonal Recipes. If you haven’t tried any of them yet, make sure to check out my Lemon Vinaigrette and my Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing. Those are two of our top-rated! And since you’re a fan of creamy dressings, you’ll probably want to check out our Healthy Blue Cheese Dressing and our Light Creamy Italian Dressing.

Key Ingredients For This Recipe

Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

To shave 388 calories off the total for this recipe, we used non-fat Greek yogurt. If you happen to have full-fat it will work too, but note that the nutritional information won’t be accurate.

Mayonnaise

I’ve found that only a little mayonnaise makes a big difference in the overall flavor of the final dressing. Not only that, it gives it a good mouthfeel and a little fat which is important for both the way we perceive flavors and to help digest the vitamins in your salad. For the whole batch, we only need about 3 tablespoons to do the trick which only contributes 3 grams of fat per serving. Well worth it in my opinion!

Buttermilk Powder

I keep dried buttermilk powder on hand to make my Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes and other baking recipes that call for fresh buttermilk. It lasts in the fridge for months! But I also like keeping it on hand because it also is a great secret ingredient for making ranch. It gives it that classic Hidden Valley flavor in a concentrated way without thinning out the dressing too much.

Find it in the baking aisle or with powdered milk. If you cannot find it or are looking for a substitute you can use nutritional yeast or omit it altogether.

White Vinegar

White Vinegar has clean bright acidity without any additional fruity flavors. It is the ideal vinegar to use for classic tasting ranch dressing.

If you don’t have any white distilled vinegar you can substitute rice vinegar which is slightly less acidic but doesn’t have any strong additional flavors. I do not recommend apple cider vinegar because it is too fruity and floral and will add too much additional flavor that is not traditional in Ranch dressing.

White wine vinegar would be the third choice after rice vinegar. You can read all about my obsession with choosing which vinegar is best for certain recipes in my guide to vinegar.

Agave Syrup or Sugar

All ranch dressing has a little sugar in it. Here I’ve opted for agave syrup which is neutral in flavor. Honey and maple are too strong if you are trying to imitate ranch dressing. That said, my Maple Ranch is on point if not traditional! If you don’t have agave, white sugar is your next best bet for sweeteners.

If you are looking for a sugar-free alternative, I like granulated monkfruit (just make sure it completely dissolves.)

Shallot & Dill

I tried this recipe with granulated onion powder and we felt that the taste of freshly chopped shallots was better and gave the dressing that homestyle fresh from the farmhouse kitchen flavor. If you want to use onion powder, use 3/4 teaspoon.

I also made the dressing with dill weed and came to the conclusion that fresh dill tasted better for the same reason. So just note, that you can sub 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed if you like, but we really liked fresh better.

How To Make This Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

While I am a fan of blending dressings with a blender, immersion blender or mini-prep food processor, we loved the more rustic texture of the ranch dressing when it was whisked together by hand.

Simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk them until they are completely combined. Make sure that if you are using granulated sugar (or monk fruit) that they are dissolved and that the buttermilk powder is not clumpy.

More Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings To Try

• Try this Tarragon Vinaigrette over your spring greens. It pairs well with asparagus and goat cheese.
• This Thai Peanut Dressing is savory and delicious on power bowls, noodles or try it on a green salad with cucumbers, scallions and radishes. Our Japanese-inspired Carrot Ginger dressing is our Benihana Copycat!
• This Asian Sesame Dressing with soy is great on fresh mesclun greens or tender spring lettuce and toasted sesame seeds. Nothing more!
• Our love of maple syrup in salad dressing runs long and deep. A few favorites include this Balsamic Walnut Vinaigrette, this Maple Tahini Dressing and this Sherry Maple Vinaigrette.
• We also love Lemon Tahini Dressing with Middle Eastern-themed dinners and for drizzling over our pita pockets.
• Our Mustard Salad Dressing was inspired by the lovely dressings we had on our recent trip to Germany. Try it with a big composed salad!
• For those who like fruity dressings, two favorites include this Raspberry Almond Vinaigrette and this Cranberry Salad Dressing.
• Our egg-free Caesar dressing is tangy and bright and this traditional Caesar Salad dressing is creamy and thick- like from a restaurant!
• If you love Salad Nicoise, try this caper-spiked Salad Nicoise Dressing.
• One of our other yogurt dressings is this Cumin Seed Yogurt Dressing. It is great with kale and feta with homemade croutons!