Healthy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing
Made with greek yogurt, this jalapeño ranch dressing is lower in calorie and higher in protein than other creamy dressings making it the perfect dressing for salads or dip for fresh vegetables.
Eating healthy while eating out can feel like an impossible feat. To make healthy choices feel easier, many people jump straight to the salad section only to have sticker shock at the calorie content in many restaurant salads. Thats right, many salads can actually be some of the highest calorie items on the menu!
While they may feature a bed of lettuce, fun toppings and creamy dressings can quickly load up the calories in a seemingly innocent salad. While there are hacks that you can do to make restaurant salads fit your goals, one of the easiest ways to avoid replicating this at home is to make your own salad dressing.
There are tons of delicious salad dressing recipes to try but this healthier jalapeño ranch dressing is made with greek yogurt and other wholesome ingredients adding tons of flavor without tons of calories to your salad!
Why you’ll love this recipe:
You’ll love this creamy jalapeño ranch dressing because its:
Made with fresh ingredients: fresh lime, fresh cilantro, and fresh jalapeños help this dressing keep your salad tasting fresh and crisp.
A secret source of protein: No chicken on your salad? No problem! This jalapeño ranch is greek yogurt based and is an easy way to add protein to your salad.
Easy to make: dressings are really easy to pull together and this recipe uses just a few ingredients blended together in one blender cup!
Not too spicy: This dressing is family friendly and features the “essence” of jalepenoes. Of course you can add in some jalepeno seeds to the blender if you want your dressing to pack a punch.
I love this recipe and I know you will too!
The process:
This healthy jalapeño ranch dressing comes together in a flash. Simply add all of your ingredients to a blender or blender cup:
…and blend until smooth!
Pour your dressing into it’s container for storage or add it directly to your dinner and enjoy!
What to eat with Jalapeño Ranch Dressing:
Jalepeno ranch dressing is the perfect flavor to add to meals and snacks like:
Taco salad: while some may make their taco salad with Catalina dressing, ranch, or even thousand island dressing, this jalapeño ranch dressing would be great on taco salad and help keep the calories lower than other dressing options!
Chicken fajita tacos: Grilled chicken, fajita veggies, and your favorite tortillas would pair nicely with this dressing recipe.
Chipotle style shrimp bowls: Use jalapeño ranch overtop shrimp, beans, brown rice, lettuce, and grilled fajita vegetables for a nutritious dinner.
Snack trays: Don’t limit this homemade dressing to just mealtimes, use this jalapeño ranch as a dip for fresh veggies and tortilla chips on a snack tray.
If you want a thicker recipe try out this cottage cheese chuys jalepeno ranch dip
Ingredients:
This healthy jalapeño ranch dressing is made with fresh and wholesome ingredients like:
Plain greek yogurt: You can use any fat percentage you would like. Full fat will add more calories than low fat greek yogurt will but any plain greek yogurt is a good source of protein.
Ranch seasoning: You can make your own ranch seasoning or use store-bought.
Lime:. Use a fresh lime for a more robust flavor.
Cilantro: Fresh herbs are an easy way to enhance the flavors of a recipe without adding sodium or tons of calories!
Fresh jalapeño: Remove the seeds to remove any spice. If you want a spicy jalepeno ranch dressing, then keep the seeds in!
Water: This is simply to thin out the consistency and make the recipe pourable. If you would rather use this recipe as a veggie dip, omit the water for a creamy jalapeño ranch dip!
Recipe FAQ:
How long can I keep this homemade dressing in the refrigerator?
This homemade yogurt dressing will save in an air tight container for up to a week.
What if I don’t like jalapeño?
If you do not like jalapeño, you can omit it from this recipe for just a cilantro ranch dressing!
Can I make this into a jalapeño ranch dip instead?
As written, this recipe will give you a pourable dressing. If you would rather use this as a vegetable dip, omit the water from this recipe for a thicker result. You can also try making my copycat chuys jalepeno ranch dip made with another wholesome ingredient!
Healthy Jalepeno Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
Instructions
- Add all of your ingredients to a blender or blender cup and blend until smooth. Add to salads, veggie platters, or store in the refrigerator to use later!
Nutrition information has been approximated.
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Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy-to-make recipes!