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Vegan Dry Ranch

February 19, 2014


Even when a dinner is lackluster, I still try to suffer through the leftovers.  And by “I”, I really mean Josh.  Yup.  I stick Josh with the reject dinners. Every. Single. Time.  For the longest time, he wouldn’t even complain.  Just carried them off to work and afterwards said that it made surprisingly better leftovers.  After a while, I caved and took some of the failed dinner leftovers with me — soooo not good the next day.  At first, I thought maybe Josh’s standards were just a little lower than mine (which is true sometimes when it comes to food) or maybe that tricking me into taking those particular leftovers had been his plan all along, but finally I just asked him.

Vegan Dry Ranch

Apparently, his work has “really good seasonings” he adds to his food.  I asked what they were and he told me.  It was a brand name for MSG.  He was sprinkling my bland food with MSG.  While I might fail at making dinner sometimes, I try my best to at least fill it with wholesome ingredients.  Since that day, I’ve been pretty wary of everything that I’ve once found delicious, inevitably finding MSG or some other scary ingredient, including in precious dry ranch powder.

Vegan Dry Ranch

Not that I use dry ranch powder often, but it’s just so delicious.  My sister made amazing flavored pretzels with them (recipe Friday!) that inspired my sweet mustard pretzels.  It’s also great if you sprinkle it into a breading when faux frying, or even a pinch when my new recipe just isn’t working out quite right.  I took a quick look around the internet and wasn’t happy with my options.  Buttermilk powder?  Weird.  But I didn’t want to lose the flavor profile it added.  My solution?  My usual solution: nutritional yeast.  It does give the slightest hint of a cheesy flavor, but that’s to be expected from a girl who was obsessed with Cheese Ranch growing up.

Vegan Dry Ranch
Author: 
Prep time: 
Total time: 

 

Ingredients
  • 4 tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp. dried parsley
  • ½ tbsp. dried dill
  • ½ tbsp. onion powder
  • ½ tbsp. garlic powder
  • ½ tbsp. minced onion flakes (dehydrated onion)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp dried chives

Instructions
  1. Combine all ingredients, crushing up larger pieces of chives with your fingers or a fork.
  2. If you’d prefer a finer powder, pulse in a food processor or blender for a few seconds.
  3. Store in an air tight container. Use in any recipe that calls for dry ranch powder/mix.

Notes
Makes about half a cup.
I personally like to store my nutritional yeast in the fridge or freezer, where it will keep for months up to a year.
I don’t expect anyone to eat this by the spoonful, but a nutritional estimate shows it’s about 20 calories per tablespoon.

 

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14 Comments
    Lindsay @ VeganYumminess Feb 28, 2014

    Kelly, this looks AMAZING! I have always wanted a vegan dry ranch mix recipe, and this might just be my answer. YUMMO.

    Mary Feb 23, 2014

    What can I Substitute for nutritional yeast??? What other ingredients can. I use? Don’t have nutritional yeast.

      Kelly Feb 23, 2014

      Mary, I haven’t made it any other way. They’ll sell it in the bulk bins at health stores. It’s around $10/pound but it’s so light. You’ll need less than a dollar’s worth for the recipe. Otherwise, you can try omitting or use buttermilk powder like I’ve seen on other websites (but then it’s not vegan, if that’s what you’re going for).

    Gretchen @ Two Healthy Kitchens Feb 20, 2014

    Kelly, I’ve never used nutritional yeast (I know, I know) but in my head, I’ve been wanted to make a ranch seasoning that’s full of goodness. Not yuckiness. So once again, you’ve read my mind. I’m not sure how you’re doing this … but I’m loving how I think something up and then it appears on your blog. Works well for me! And so now, I shall need to venture out and find me some of this nutritional yeast you speak of!
    My hubby suffers through leftovers, too. And often the test batches of stuff aren’t great, but he’s a trooper and smiles through it all. We’ve got great guys! 🙂

    Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl Feb 20, 2014

    I do the same thing with dinner leftovers. I’m not big on leftovers unless a very few select meals, but somehow the other half welcomes them for lunch or snacks with a nod and a thank you. Thank goodness to these boys.

    marcie@flavorthemoments Feb 20, 2014

    I’ve been hearing a lot about nutritional yeast lately, and that it does have a cheesy flavor. This is a great idea, Kelly! I’ve always loved Ranch dressing, so this sounds really great!

    Maureen | Orgasmic Chef Feb 19, 2014

    My husband refuses to eat leftovers. No, that’s not true. He says he eats leftovers but I haven’t seen it happen in 20 years.

    I wonder how he’d be with a bit of this added to leftovers? Worth a try!

    Lan | morestomach Feb 19, 2014

    my husband doesn’t mind leftovers, and i have been guilty of letting him take the leftovers for lunch and i go out to eat. he settles for a healthy crack of black pepper to pep up a dish, thankfully.
    personally i adore ranch but avoid it due to the weird ingredients. i love nutritional yeast but never thought to make dried ranch seasoning with it!

    cleaneatingveggiegirl Feb 19, 2014

    Yum!!! I am loving this. I totally looked for a vegan ranch mix when I was thinking about making vegan ranch dressing…and obviously never found one since I ended up making my own 😉 haha

    cheri Feb 19, 2014

    Have not used nutritional yeast looking forward to picking some up and working with it. Nice recipe. Thanks for sharing.

      Kelly Feb 19, 2014

      Cheri, I LOVE nutritional yeast. It can be a little bit of an acquired taste for some, but I loved it from the moment I first tried it (the first way I tried it was similar to this cheese sauce). I think this recipe is a great introduction to nutritional yeast, too, because there’s lots of other seasonings. You’ll find it in bulk bins at health stores or often alongside Bob’s Red Mill products in the baking or gluten free sections of your grocery store.