Homemade Ranch Dip with Greek Yogurt
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This homemade ranch dip is adapted from an Alison Roman recipe and uses Greek yogurt as the base in place of labne. It’s topped with a sizzling and spicy oil made with scallions, red pepper flakes, and cilantro — truly irresistible!
This recipe is not the result of a mission to create a homemade ranch dip or even to make a “healthier” ranch dip by subbing in Greek yogurt for the mayonnaise and sour cream.
Rather it is simply the first recipe I spotted in Alison Roman’s new book, Nothing Fancy, that spoke to me. In Nothing Fancy, it’s called “labne with sizzled scallions and chile”, and it’s described as a “very high-brow version of ranch dressing.”
Truthfully, its resemblance to ranch dressing had little appeal — I’m not really a ranch fan — but I took one bite and thought: yes, almost ranch indeed! And also: holy buckets this is delicious! And then: So maybe I am a ranch fan after all?
Hard to say, but what is not hard is making this dip, and should you be in search of something to serve as an appetizer, I think this should be in the running. Served with this homemade pita bread recipe, crackers, or crudité, I have no doubt it will be wildly received.
Overview: How to Make Homemade Ranch Dip
This recipe couldn’t be simpler. In essence, you:
- Stir together labne or Greek yogurt with fresh lemon juice and salt; smear this yogurt-sauce over a platter.
- Heat olive oil with crushed red pepper flakes, scallions, and cilantro in a skillet.
- When the greens and chilies begin to frizzle, pour the oil over the yogurt sauce. Resist the urge to stir; allow the oil to pool in the valleys of the yogurt sauce.
- Serve immediately with crudité or crackers or whatever you like.
Incidentally, I first made this dip upon returning from my parent’s house with a hunk of beef tenderloin in tow but without a lick of horseradish sauce to go with it. This homemade ranch dip so nicely complemented the meat and made me wonder: what else, apart from crackers and crudité, might be nice to serve it with?
I’m thinking: roasted vegetables of all kind, grilled or roasted chicken, or a heap of crispy chickpeas.
5 More Dips to Try
- Real Sour Cream and Onion Dip
- Maydan’s Beet Dip with Labneh and Za’atar
- Black Olive Tapenade
- Tzatziki with Cucumber
- Spicy Cashew Dip or Dressing
Here’s the play-by-play: Gather your ingredients:
Chop a small bundle of cilantro, stems and all, to yield a couple of tablespoons:
Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet with cilantro, scallions, and crushed red pepper flakes.
When the greens and chili flakes begin to frizzle, it’s done.
Combine 1 cup Greek yogurt with a half teaspoon kosher salt and 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
Smear the yogurt sauce over a serving dish.
Get ready to assemble by carefully pouring the scallion oil…
… over the yogurt sauce.
Serve with vegetables or chips or crackers or whatever you like.
Homemade Ranch Dip with Greek Yogurt
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
Description
This homemade ranch dip is adapted from an Alison Roman recipe and uses Greek yogurt as the base in place of labne. Topped with a sizzling and spicy oil made with scallions, red pepper flakes, and cilantro, it’s truly irresistible!
A few notes:
- The original recipe calls for labne, which can be difficult to find. I find Greek yogurt works just as well. I like the Fage 5%.
- 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes offers a nice kick, but if you are sensitive to heat, consider starting with 1/4 teaspoon
- For serving, I especially love the way endive tastes with this dip, but serve it with any vegetables you like. If you can find Little Gems, which are like miniature heads of Romaine lettuce, that would be ideal, otherwise, use Romaine — the smaller, sturdier, inner leaves are perfect here, but outer leaves can be chopped into smaller pieces and work just as well. Treviso is another great option. Watermelon radishes are so pretty, if you can find them. Small, turnips are another great option.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, see notes above
- 1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- flaky sea salt
For serving (see notes above):
- endive, quartered through the core or cut into sixths
- Romaine leaves
- radishes, quartered
- carrots, cut into sticks
- chips or crackers
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the yogurt, lemon, and salt. Transfer the yogurt sauce to a shallow bowl or plate or serving platter. Use the back of a spoon to spread the sauce across the bowl, creating shallow peaks and valleys in the yogurt — the sizzling oil will pool in these crevices.
- Heat the oil, scallions, crushed red pepper flakes, and cilantro in a small skillet or saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the scallions and red pepper flakes start to visually and audibly sizzle and frizzle. Season with a pinch of sea salt and remove from the heat.
- Carefully pour the scallion oil over the yogurt sauce. If necessary, hold the bowl and turn it to allow the oil to spread evenly over the yogurt sauce — resist the urge to try to combine the yogurt sauce with the oil for two reasons: 1. It won’t incorporate very well, and 2. It doesn’t look very pretty.
- Serve immediately with vegetables or chips or whatever you like.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dip
- Method: Stir
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
47 Comments on “Homemade Ranch Dip with Greek Yogurt”
I have the book and made this for a party last weekend. I love it and will definitely make again.
So good, right?
I have made this from her book and did use labne because I remembered to strain Greek yoghurt into much thicker labne, but both work fine. I used Aleppo pepper instead of ground red because I like it so much better. It’s a real keeper – esp. since everything is available all year.
I can’t wait to try this with labne … haven’t had a chance to get to my favorite market, Nora’s, in Albany recently, but am making a trip, soon. Where do you find Aleppo pepper? I’m finding it harder to find these days.
Penzey’s spices (online) has great Aleppo Pepper.
Thank you, Christine!!
Sounds really good. I will try straining some Kite Hill almond milk yogurt for base.
Nice! Love Kite Hill yogurt. I’m thinking this scallion oil would be delicious on hummus or a white bean purée or even a sweet potato mash.
I am one of those who don’t like cilantro. When a dish asks for it, I substitute flat parsley. Would it make a big difference in this dish?
Hi Pat! The amazing thing about this recipe is that you barely taste the cilantro. I would never be able to pick it out if I did not know the recipe. But that said, if you are sensitive to cilantro’s flavor, I would either just leave it out or substitute with parsley. It will still be delicious!
I want to take this dip to a party but feel rude cooking at the house once I arrive. Would this travel well or should keep separate and reheat in microwave once arrived before pouring over yogurt?
Hi Erin! Assemble at your house — put everything in the serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and bring to party. It will travel well!
I didn’t notice this before making it, but I can vouch for taking the labne mixture and the herb oil in separate containers. It’s probably not a good idea to put the oil in the fridge, but taking them separately and plating on site means that you can keep the parts in a secure.
Home or away, I recommend this dip. I got many requests for the recipe.
So happy to hear this Hope! Great tips re making ahead/traveling with it.
Hi Ali,
I made this for our NYE party last night – the prep was quick, the presentation was beautiful, and it tasted so good! Such a nice alternative to other herb dips I’ve made. The men and women always end up it different rooms, and this appetizer never made past us ladies! Thanks!
Oh yay!! I’m so happy to hear all of this, Laura! Especially the part about the ladies enjoying it ALL. Happy Happy 2020 to you!
I made this for NYE and served with endive leaves, which was perfect. People ate it right up! Happy 2020 and thanks for your wonderful blog.
So happy to hear this, Maria! Happy happy New Year to you. Thank you for the kind words 🙂
So delicious! I took your advice and made it for New Year’s Eve. It comes together so quickly; it’s pretty and very light and very, very tasty! Really, it has nothing to do with ranch dressing, which is so heavy and mayonnaise ridden. I served it with Belgian endive and treviso. An excellent addition to one’s repertoire. I’m going to try the scallion oil on the pizza recipe from your book, maybe with no cheese or with a tiny bit of ricotta.
So happy to hear this, Mary! 🙂
Such a great dip! Easy, healthy and unique flavors. The hit of New Year’s party.
Thank you!
So happy to hear this, Claudia!
My mom has made this 5 or 6 times since you posted the recipe! Based on her high recommendation, I tried making it last night. Wow!! I can’t believe how rich and delicious this is! It’s hard to believe that it is also a really healthy dip. So simple to make with ingredients I already had on hand. We ate ours with slices of warm ciabatta (let’s not get TOO healthy.) I also made the greens & pepper oil again this morning and stirred it into scrambled eggs with goat cheese. We will definitely be making this often!
So happy to hear this, Elizabeth! And YES to ciabatta 🙂 🙂 🙂 And WOW re eggs: genius. Love this idea.
The reviews for this from the Superbowl crew here are excellent. Such a nice, fresh addition to the appetizer table!
So happy to hear this, Louise!
We ate all of it so fast. This recipe was not ok 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂 I made this this weekend, too, for a library event … everyone is always so amazed by how simple and delicious it is.
Hey Ali, I never have red pepper flakes on hand but I do have plenty of Asian hot chili oil and ground cayenne. Would either work? Odd that this is listed as a ranch equivalent without any parsley or dill.
Yes, absolutely! I think either would be great. I’m thinking just a pinch of cayenne … you can always add more to taste. I don’t know how spicy your chili oil is, so I would use your judgment there … 1/2-1 teaspoon?
Confession: I don’t even really know what ranch tastes like, but somehow, when I took a bite of this, my brain said ranch 😍 It must just be a combination of the creaminess with the herbs + scallions. I think a little parsley and/or dill would be great.
Excellent dip!! Made this today and left out on counter with tons of veggies and the crispy chickpeas — we will def make this weekly for healthy snacking option!
Great to hear this Lauren! Crispy chickpeas sound amazing with this. Do you have a go-to recipe for crispy chickpeas? I find sometimes I get them right and sometimes I don’t 🙂
I served this on sourdough crackers sprinkled with tiny cubes of gorgonzola cheese. I did make some changes – no cilantro and I have to confess I served it as is – all the ingredients mixed together raw – no cooking of anything. I did however really mince the scallions. It is so tangy and delicious. And fresh tasting.
Amazing! Great to hear this, Betsy!
Such a beautiful way to start a summer dinner (or any dinner for that matter). It’s light and fresh, fast to prepare and very pretty. The directions are perfect! I served the dip with Belgian endive. Happy guests, happy host.
So nice to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂
I’ve made this recipe twice but made a couple of changes the 2nd try. I doubled the scallions and cilantro, fried them until the white parts of the scallion started to brown, and drained on a paper towel. I sprinkled on a little table salt, and reserved a bit of the oil. I really like the fried scallions and cilantro with chili but didn’t like all the oil in the dip. It’s hard to resist eating this straight out of the bowl.
Oh yum! Love the sound of all of these changes Linda. Can’t go wrong with double cilantro and scallions 🙂 🙂 🙂
I was a bit skeptic to make this cause I don’t like ranch dressing lol. glad I did make it though! the ingredients are simple, but somehow transform into a delicious dip. I did add a bit of cream cheese to my yogurt tho 🙂 thank you for sharing Alexandra!
Great to hear this, Luciana 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing. Cream cheese sounds delish.
When you commit to ALWAYS have the ingredients on hand for a recipe, you know it’s love. We can’t quit this one! Thanks for such a winner!
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Love this so much! Thanks so much for writing. This is a go-to for me as well.
Saw the ramps version of this on my coffee break and decided to make the scallion version that night for some friends who were coming over for a bbq. I’m not a cilantro fan and so subbed dill and it was delicious!!! Everyone was a fan.
So great to hear this, Scarlett!! This is one of my faves 🙂 🙂 🙂
I have made this several times and absolutely love it! Not only is it good with vegetables, it’s a nice addition served with chicken (such as greek chicken).
I have been following you since September when I started my sourdough journey (as a non- baker) by googling and your recipe came up with the video. I’ve been following it ever since with much success, and a few failures, but that is part of the process.
I then bought you wonderful book! I mostly make the recipes you send in your weekly email, and what finally made me have to post a comment was this recipe. So easy, and yet, so elevated and exquisite. Cooking the greens and green onions in olive oil before drizzling on to the yogurt with lemon juice is genius. Great use for my flourishing lemon tree! Thank you for all you do- so appreciated!
So nice to read all of this, Amy! Means a lot. I’ll be making this one today as it is one of my favorites… especially when I have freshly baked focaccia to serve with it 🙂 Thank you for reading and writing, and Happy New Year!