When both of my boys were babies, neither could handle dairy. So for a span of one year and another for 10 months, I was dairy free. Which if you know me is a tough feat because I love cheese, milk, well basically anything dairy. I just recently did an elimination diet where I found out that milk triggers my autoimmune disease symptoms which means that I’m going to be dairy free for a long time! Guess those two-ish years were good practice for me! One of my favorite discoveries was this dairy free ranch recipe I’m sharing. But I can’t share the dairy free ranch recipe without sharing this buffalo chicken dip one. My normal buffalo chicken dip has all the cheesy goodness of sharp cheddar and cream cheese. I set out to come up with a small solution that I could enjoy (either with or without help! Ha!). I’d love to hear if you make these!
Dairy Free Ranch Dressing
1 cup mayo
1 & 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (for super thick ranch, chill the can and use the cream at the top! )*
1/2 teaspoon dried chives
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon dried garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
Mixed lemon juice and coconut milk and let sit for 10 minutes. Mix the coconut milk mixture with mayo and rest of spices. Whisk all together and put in a container in fridge. Let sit at least half an hour.
*You can also use unsweetened soy milk in this recipe and it turns out good too!
Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken (single/double serve)
1 & 1/2 cups shredded chicken*
1/4 cup Frank’s buffalo sauce
1/4 cup dairy free ranch
1/4 cup coconut cream from top of a coconut milk can**
1/4 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Mix all together in a small microwavable bowl (I used a small round pyrex dish) and microwave for 4-5 minutes. Serve with any chips or veggies or crackers.
Notes:
*Start with one cup. If you have super chopped chicken, you may have to add some chicken to yours before you microwave. The coconut cream will be liquid when heated so you’ll want to adjust for that when adding in chicken.
**To get the cream to the top of the can, I put mine in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then open from the top. And discard the coconut water underneath
