Today I want to share a recipe for a healthy Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing. As I have tried to improve my health while still having moderation, I really wanted to come up with something creamy to put on my salads. The main ingredient? Cottage cheese. “What?” you may say. Yes, cottage cheese. Yes, it IS creamy, and yes, it satisfies a healthy alternative to the standard ranch dressings. The second ingredient? Avocado. This adds a nice flavor and richness to the dressing along with healthy fat to the dressing. The base dressing is a bit bland, but there are MANY variations you can use to help the flavor POP! It works great as a vegetable dip as well as a dressing for salads or a spread for sandwiches. Why not try and make it today?
How many of us love vegetables but love them even more when we can dip them into something creamy and yummy? I know that I do. I really do like eating my veggies and having diversity. I also like salads and making them interesting with different toppings and combinations. One such inspiration was this Deviled Egg Salad. (I’ll post a link to the recipe soon!!!)
I used what I had on hand as well as vegetables I got from the organic farm and put them together for this salad. I really wanted a ranch dressing to pour on top but was also trying to be healthy. Thus came the inspiration for this recipe. I’ve seen using cottage cheese in the past, but I wanted something more. Then it clicked – Avocado. Creamy goodness, healthy fat, great flavor. Yum. Thus the recipe for Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing was born.
I knew that in order to achieve the texture I wanted, I needed to use my Vitamix. I LOVE my Vitamix and use it pretty much every single day. For this recipe I used avocado, cottage cheese and 1% milk. The thickness really depends upon your cottage cheese and how much milk you add. For a vegetable dip, add less milk. For a salad dressing, add more milk. I put these ingredients into my blender and blended until smooth. Now for the flavor. This was a bit trickier. I started with a tablespoon of ranch powder. I then added some seasoned salt and blended the seasonings in. I really liked it, but my husband said it was a little bland. To shake things up, I tried a few different variations.
The first variation was to add 1 T of Italian Dressing. This was REALLY good! It gave enough of a kick while still being creamy. Sort of a creamy Italian dressing. I added some Dill Weed and it really hit the spot. The next variation I tried was using some Taco Seasoning. Yum!!! I like using the Premium Taco Seasoning that I got at Costco. I used this variation as a dressing for my Black Bean Southwest Salad. Overall I think it was a success!
Here is the recipe for the Creamy Avocado Ranch Dressing:
- 1 c cottage cheese
- ½ c 1% milk (you could also try almond milk)
- ½ avocado (scooped out of skin with seed removed)
- 1 T ranch powder
- ½ tsp. seasoning salt
- ½ tsp. dill weed (optional)
- Combine all ingredients into a blender or food processor. (I used my Vitamix.)
- Blend on high until creamy and smooth.
- Add more or less milk as needed until desired consistency is reached.
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