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This rich, creamy homemade ranch dip recipe features a blended cottage cheese base mixed with fresh herbs, pantry seasonings, and a scoop of protein powder for a healthy, crowd-pleasing appetizer. Thank you to Naked Nutrition for sponsoring this post; to my readers, I hope you enjoy this dip as much as I do!
With the holidays and all the festivities that go along with them right around the corner, it’s good to have a few healthy appetizer ideas up your sleeve. If you like ranch dip, you’ll love this version made with a base of blended cottage cheese.
Instead of using a ranch seasoning packet, here we combine fresh herbs with a few pantry-staple seasonings. It has all the flavor of ranch, but without the additives/preservatives/chemicals we don’t need.
And to make this creamy dip even more satisfying, we add a scoop of protein powder. Serve it along with fresh vegetables, pretzels, or crackers for dipping at your next gathering any time of year.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- Quick and easy. This takes just 10 minutes to whip up.
- Satisfying and a decent source of protein. With 8.6 grams of protein and 73.2 calories per 1/4-cup serving, this isn’t your average dip.
- Made from scratch. No unwanted additives or preservatives here!
Ingredients
Breaking It Down
Ingredients Explained
In this section I explain the ingredients and give substitution ideas where applicable. For the full recipe (including the ingredient amounts), see the recipe card below.
- Cottage cheese – I use Good Culture 2%.
- Sour cream – Rich, velvety, and tangy sour cream helps create the perfect ranch dip flavor profile.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic adds a ton of flavor.
- Dill and chives – Fresh dill and chives take homemade ranch dip to the next level.
- Vinegar – I use distilled white vinegar, which adds just the right amount of sharp tartness to cut through the richness of sour cream and cottage cheese. If you prefer, you can omit the vinegar and use 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice instead, but we need some kind of acid to kick things up.
- Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper – These pantry-staple seasonings pack a punch of flavor.
- Naked Nutrition Grass-Fed Whey Protein Powder – This protein powder blends beautifully into this dip, and you can’t taste it. If you’re not familiar with Naked Nutrition, it’s a brand I believe in. Their Naked Whey is sourced from grass-fed, free-roaming cows raised without hormones. It’s free of additives and artificial sweeteners, with the only ingredient being whey protein concentrate.
Instructions
- Blend the cottage cheese. Use a food processor or blender to puree the cottage cheese until it’s as smooth as you want. (TIP: If you’re using a high-speed blender, go easy because it can go from lusciously thick, creamy, and smooth to liquified cottage cheese fast. I’m speaking from experience here!)
- Combine. Add the blended cottage cheese and all remaining ingredients to a bowl; stir to combine.
- Enjoy. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Serve garnished with more fresh herbs if desired.
Storage
Store this dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Tips For the Best Cottage Cheese Ranch Dip
- Don’t skip the sour cream. It adds velvety richness and just the right amount of tanginess along with the vinegar. If you want, you can use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, but sour cream is my favorite in this recipe.
- This goes beyond just a healthy appetizer, it also makes a great snack for mid-morning, post-workout, after school, or anytime you’re feeling snacky. It keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge, so mix it up on the weekend and portion it out for quick snacks on the go all week long. Additionally, you can use it as a sandwich condiment instead of mayo!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! And you’ll actually bump up the protein even more.
Technically, yes. But just know that your dip will be green from the fresh herbs if you blend them with the cottage cheese.
Well, it’s not bad, friends, lol! But here we kick things up. With minimal additional effort, we skip the seasoning packet for a much more flavorful, from-scratch dip.
More High Protein Recipes Made With Cottage Cheese
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Cottage Cheese Ranch Dip Recipe
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Ingredients
- 2 cups cottage cheese (I use Good Culture 2%)
- 1/2 cup sour cream (use full-fat for best flavor)
- 3 large cloves garlic (crushed)
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh dill
- 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 30 grams Naked Nutrition Grass-Fed Whey Protein Powder (30 grams of whey protein powder is about 1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Blend the cottage cheese. Use a food processor or blender to puree the cottage cheese until it's as smooth as you want. (TIP: If you're using a high-speed blender, go easy because it can go from lusciously thick, creamy, and smooth to liquified cottage cheese fast. I'm speaking from experience here!)
- Combine. Add the blended cottage cheese and all remaining ingredients to a bowl; stir to combine.
- Enjoy. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Serve garnished with more fresh herbs if desired.
Notes
- Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes about 2 1/2 cups of dip, which is 10 (1/4-cup) servings.
- Storage: Store this dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is automatically calculated and should be used as an approximate.
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I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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