Tangy, creamy homemade Vegan Buttermilk Dressing will add a little extra boost of flavor to all of your summertime salads! It makes a great dip, too. It's made with cashews, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, and fresh herbs, and it'll have even picky eaters craving salad. This easy salad dressing recipe is gluten-free and dairy-free.
Vegan Buttermilk Salad Dressing
I don't know about you, but I prefer homemade dressings to the bottled variety. Bottled dressings are loaded with oil and they're too vinegary for my palate. This Vegan Buttermilk Dressing is one of my favorite homemade dressing
I originally created this recipe a couple of years ago to accompany Asparagus and Chickpea Salad, but I’ve used it in a few recipes since then, because I love it so much. It so tasty that I think it deserves a post of its own.
Dairy Buttermilk
When I was younger, I though the word “buttermilk” sounded really tasty. I loved both butter and milk, so together they must form something that tasted like creamy heaven. It wasn’t something my mom ever bought, and I was so curious to try it.
One day I was babysitting, and the children’s mom told me to help myself to anything in the refrigerator to snack on. I noticed a liter of buttermilk in the fridge, so I poured myself a glass, expecting a cold creamy treat. What I tasted, however, was a sour, lumpy disgusting glass of grossness. I spit it out, poured out the rest of the glass, and rinsed my mouth with water a few times. I can’t remember ever being so mislead by a word before.
Vegan Buttermilk
I’m not really sure what goes into dairy buttermilk, but I can assure you that this vegan version is more along the lines of what I was expecting when I was younger. It’s cool, creamy, and tangy. I’ve learned my lesson, and I definitely wouldn’t drink a glass of it on its own, but it lends itself nicely to dressings, and it helps vegan treats bake up nice and fluffy.
What You Need
- Almond or soy milk
- Apple cider vinegar
- Raw cashews
- Lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- Sea salt
- Garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh chives
Clabbering Milk
To make vegan “buttermilk,” you need to clabber milk. Clabbering thickens and curdles milk, giving it that buttermilk-like consistency. To make clabbered milk, you just need to add vinegar or lemon juice to almond or soy milk. It won’t work with other non-dairy milks because of he protein content, so make sure you use almond or soy.
How to Make Vegan Buttermilk Dressing
This recipe is super easy to make!
- After you clabber the milk, you mix it together with soaked cashews, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic, and a little salt.
- Once it’s smooth and creamy, you pulse in some parsley and chives.
- Then you can pour it over your favorite salad!
Storing Your Dressing
This dressing will last for about a week in the fridge.
It freezes well, so make a double batch and store some in the freezer for the next time you have a hankering for creamy goodness. It will last in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Stir it well after defrosting. It may thicken a little, but you can just stir in a little water until it reaches your desired consistency.
Raw Cashews
As with all of my other cashew-based dressings, I recommend using raw cashews in this recipe. They’re softer and have a milder flavor than the roasted variety.
I have a Blendtec, but I soak my cashews for about 2 hours before making dressings like this anyway to help soften them. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, make sure you soak your cashews longer to help them blend easier.
Vegan Buttermilk Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup almond or soy milk
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked for two hours, drained, and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley loosely packed
- ¼ cup chopped fresh chives loosely packed
Instructions
- Mix together the apple cider vinegar and non-dairy milk, and let sit for 10 minutes. It will curdle, which is what you want.
- Mix the curdled milk, cashews, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, and salt together in a food processor or high-speed blender until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley and chives and pulse a couple times to combine.
Jetta
Love it, its so tasty.
Dianne
Thank you!