Homemade Ranch Dressing
Homemade Ranch Dressing is all-natural, loaded with buttermilk and fresh herbs, quick and easy to make, and SO delicious that you'll never go back to store-bought again!
If you enjoy homemade salad dressings, you don't want to miss this versatile Ranch Dressing Mix, this zesty Homemade Italian Salad Dressing, or this classic Balsamic Vinaigrette!
Who loves creamy, flavorful Ranch Dressing?! I've coined this ranch dressing recipe "the best" because...well, I honestly think it is, y'all.
As in, I could drink it straight out of the jar, no lettuce required.
As in, my kids have scarfed down giant, veggie-loaded salads with nary a complaint every day this week.
And as in, ranch salad dressing and I go waaaay back...and I've never had better.
When I was a kid, my mom always made "homemade" ranch dressing using those (not homemade) dry seasoning packets. In college, I was introduced to glorious Hidden Valley Ranch goodness in a bottle. In fact, my roommates and I always had a jumbo jug in the fridge. We didn't keep it on hand for salads, mind you...everyone back then knew it was for dipping our pizza. 😉
But once I had kids and began to pay more attention to the quality of food that I was feeding my family, I started religiously reading labels. And consequently, I was aghast to discover some not-so-natural ingredients in my beloved HV.
I tried other varieties of all-natural or organic ranch dressing, but they all tasted terrible to me. So if I couldn't have the "authentic" ranch taste that had been training my taste buds for so many years, I begrudgingly decided that I would just go without ranch altogether.
And then one day, it occurred to me that maybe it would be a worthwhile experiment to attempt my own from-scratch Homemade Ranch Dressing, in hopes of recapturing my ranch-loving days of yore. And you know what? The dressing I whipped up was surprisingly good. So I just kept on adjusting and tweaking until I arrived at a ranch dressing recipe that honestly puts every store-bought brand to shame!
Homemade Ranch Dressing Ingredients
I truly believe that the perfect balance of complementary ingredients in this ranch recipe is what makes it SO gosh darn good.
- Mayonnaise. Now I'm going to sound like my good buddy Ina for a minute here and recommend that you use "good quality." While the flavor of the mayo certainly fades into the background after a suitable chilling time, you still want to enjoy those hints of its underlying flavor.
- Sour cream. Depending on how decadent you're feeling, you can use regular, low-fat, or fat-free.
- Buttermilk. Regular milk will work, of course. But I think buttermilk adds a nice undertone of tang, not to mention creaminess (that's why Buttermilk Ranch Dressing is so popular)! And no worries if you don't have any buttermilk on hand! Simply scroll down a bit for instructions on how to make your own.
- Parsley and dill. Fresh herbs contribute such lovely flavor and color to this dressing if you have 'em. But if you don't, no worries...you can substitute â…“ the amount of dried herbs (which are more potent, so you use less) instead.
- Apple cider vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Don't leave these ingredients out, because just a tiny amount of each contributes to the delicious flavor of this dressing.
- Garlic powder and onion powder. While I looooove fresh garlic, I feel like it (and fresh onion) would overpower this recipe. So using powders instead is the perfect compromise.
- Salt and freshly-ground black pepper. In particular, don't skimp on the salt...it's what makes all of the other flavors in the dressing pop.
How to Make Ranch Dressing
Sometimes making the things you love at home from scratch can be a bit intimidating, but I promise that this ranch dressing recipe is worth the minimal effort. It's healthier (as in, no additives or preservatives), more budget-friendly, and quick and easy to whip up in a flash.
In fact, here's how straightforward it is:
- Whisk together the mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk.
- Blend in the herbs, flavorings, and spices.
See? Couldn't be any simpler.
However, there is one final, very important step that does require a bit of planning ahead and/or patience:
Refrigerate your ranch dressing for four hours (or ideally, overnight) to let the flavors come together.
I promise, Homemade Ranch Dressing just won't taste good until you allow it to chill.
And if, in the process, it thickens too much, you can always stir in a little extra buttermilk before serving to thin it back out.
How to Make Buttermilk
Buttermilk is one of those ingredients that most people don't keep in their fridge. But I do feel like it's an integral part of this recipe, as it gives ranch dressing its slightly tangy taste. The good news is that you can easily make your own buttermilk!
Making buttermilk is as easy as using 1 tablespoon of acid for every cup of milk.
So for this recipe:
- Add 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon juice (or white vinegar) to a 1-cup measuring cup.
- Fill the rest of the way to the half-cup mark with whole milk and stir to combine.
- Let the mixture sit for five to ten minutes, stir, and it will have thickened and curdled, turning into buttermilk!
Is Mayonnaise Really Necessary?
And now to address another common question about making your own ranch...
I should say that, first of all, I don’t like to taste the mayonnaise in my ranch dressing, which is the problem I have with most of the bottled ranch dressings out there. Yet I find mayonnaise to be a necessary component in ranch.
Fortunately I've discovered that by using equal parts mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk -- and allowing the flavors to blend while the dressing chills (!!!) -- the prominent notes of mayonnaise disappear, the flavor of the dressing is balanced, and its consistency is perfect for salads.
Just keep in mind that if you want to keep your Homemade Ranch Dressing “real food” quality, you need to pay attention to the ingredients in the mayonnaise that you buy. If you’re feeling really gung-ho, you can even make your own from scratch! But don't feel obligated...there are store-bought jars of mayo with decent ingredients, so just be sure to read the labels.
All About the Herbs
When I have fresh herbs at my disposal, I love to use them in my ranch. But dried herbs work just fine as well. In fact, I've learned to always keep Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix -- which features dried herbs -- in my pantry for whipping up homemade dressing any time.
I often find myself with fresh parsley on hand, but no fresh dill. So in those instances, I happily stir fresh parsley and dried dill into my ranch dressing recipe. Works swimmingly!
I think this buttermilk ranch dressing is perfect using parsley and dill as its only herbs. However, feel free to toss in your favorites and experiment with the flavors. Chives add a nice little bite if you're into onions (which I am vehemently not). Or you can even add a bit of basil or cilantro for a totally different twist!
How Long Does Ranch Dressing Keep?
Because this ranch recipe contains mayo, sour cream, and buttermilk, it definitely needs to stay chilled.
And it will be fine in the fridge for up to a week or so...if you can keep from eating it all before then, that is! I typically pay attention to the expiration date of the buttermilk and sour cream to know if my ranch will keep for less than a week.
How Do I Make Ranch Dip?
If you enjoy Ranch Dip, adapting this recipe is as simple as leaving out the buttermilk and subbing extra mayo and sour cream in its place. I can assure you that your carrot sticks will never be so happy!
I really hope y’all give this Homemade Ranch Dressing a try! It’s soooo simple to make and it's absolutely delicious. The most time-intensive step is chopping the herbs, if you happen to be using fresh. Other than that, it’s just a matter of measuring, whisking, and then remaining patient as the dressing chills.
So if you’re a fan of ranch, I encourage you to make this recipe STAT!
It’ll have your family and friends begging for more.
It’ll make you crave salad for breakfast.
Heck, it may even infiltrate your dreams!
Because -- let's be honest -- the best recipes always do. 😉
More Homemade Salad Dressings
- Lightened-Up Honey Mustard Dressing
- Zesty Greek Dressing
- French & Catalina Salad Dressings
- Asian Salad Dressing (Sesame Ginger Vinaigrette)
- Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Thousand Island Dressing
- Creamy Feta Dressing
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup good-quality mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons fresh minced parsley, OR 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh minced dill, OR ½ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk until smooth. Stir in parsley, dill, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Blend well and adjust seasonings, to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for ideally 8 hours (4 hours at a minimum) or overnight. If the consistency is too thick after chilling, thin out the ranch dressing with a splash of additional buttermilk.
Video
Notes
- If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by pouring 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon juice (or white vinegar) into a 1-cup liquid measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup up to the ½-cup line with milk (whole milk is preferred but low-fat/skim milk will work). Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes and stir before proceeding with recipe.
- To make Ranch Dip (instead of dressing), use a total of ¾ cup mayonnaise, ¾ cup sour cream, and eliminate the buttermilk.
Nutrition
Post originally published on May 7, 2015. Updated on April 16, 2019, and again on May 2, 2020.
This is now my favorite ranch!! I do add more salt as I like a bit more! This is great for salads, veggies and dip and and pretzels!! Oh and just for a bit on my finger!
I absolutely love this ranch dressing!! The only change I made was to use yogurt instead of sour cream.
This recipe is the most delicious ranch that I’ve ever made! Thank you for giving us this wonderful recipe with beautiful pictures!
This is delicious! I used fresh grated garlic instead of powder and added a couple lemon squeezes 🙂 thank you for the recipe- I will definitely be making it again!
How can long will this last in the fridge? Can't wait to try!
Have made this twice now and this second time I tripled the recipe. Everyone loved it! I added lots of chives and fresh pressed garlic the second time bc we love our garlic! So nice knowing exactly what’s going into what we are eating! I used a really high quality buttermilk from a local dairy and, wow! Thank you so much for a fabulous dressing!
Can you use homemade buttermilk in this recipe? Or stick with homemade? The smallest carton of buttermilk I can find is 1 litre and that's a bit much for my needs.
Thanks in advance!
Love this stuff!! I always make my own mayo (super easy and yummy) plus I use powered buttermilk so I can make it as thick as I want. I'd never go back to store bought, even organic
I'm with you, Marcia...this is the only ranch dressing I'll eat! Even the organic bottled stuff doesn't compare. Happy to hear you enjoy it so much! And I love the idea of making your own mayonnaise...I'll have to try that next! 🙂
This is exactly the recipe I'm looking for! Also, a special thank you for indicating the dry herb equivalents for those of us who don't always have fresh herbs on hand. That's a huge help.
I wanted to thank you for this recipe! I was such a Hidden Valley fanatic that my boyfriend bought me several bottles for our anniversary! Recently I developed an allergy to something in the dressing, that makes my tongue and mouth burn. I've tried a couple recipes and the little splash of vinager (most others I've found use lemon) really makes it just right!
Oh good, Emile...so happy to hear that you enjoyed this so much! Yes, that little bit of apple cider vinegar makes all the difference. I used to be a Hidden Valley fanatic as well...it's the only bottled ranch dressing I liked (and actually, I loved it). But I haven't bought it since I started making this recipe, and now HV tastes weird and artificial to me. Homemade is the way to go! 😉
I just tried it. Because I used yoghurt instead of sour cream (I guess)...it was too watery. Then I hit on the idea of putting in a bit of potato flour. Thickened that baby right up without altering the taste. Thanks for the recipe.
I would think that the brand of mayo you use can impact the flavor tremendously. What brand do you like to use?
Hi Kenneth! I apologize for my delayed reply, but that's a great question. I have always been somewhat of a mayonnaise snob and, for years, I would only buy Hellman's because I thought it had the best flavor. However, lately I've been buying whatever brand of organic mayonnaise that I can find. I don't care for the flavor as much on a sandwich, but I've found that in a recipe like Ranch dressing, the mayo flavor becomes much more subdued once the dressing have been allowed to sit for several hours (preferably overnight). I actually don't like Ranch dressing that tastes like mayonnaise at all, so I always make this dressing well ahead of time. By the time it's served, the ingredients have melded and the mayonnaise flavor is not detectable...it just takes like Ranch. So I think the brand of mayo used in this recipe is less important than allowing enough time for the flavors to blend. Hope that helps! 🙂
I made this Ranch Dressing yesterday for dinner and it is truly the BEST this old lady has ever had! I can't wait for more salads. Hubby is also crazy about it. The next batch, I think I'll use homemade mayo so there will just be 100% natural ingredients in it. I might also throw in some home grown chives, although it's better than perfect just the way it is.
Made this dressing today and it was delicious!! I'm sure this will be a summer favourite with the family. I just wondered though how long it would keep refrigerated? Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi, Linda...so happy to hear that you enjoyed this dressing! When I make it, it honestly never lasts longer than a couple of days before it's all gone. 🙂 But due to the ingredients, I think a week is probably the longest that I would expect it to keep in the fridge. It could also depend on the expiration date of the ingredients (like the sour cream and buttermilk) that you use. Hope that helps...have a great rest of December!
the dressing was terrific! Thanks so much! Bottled dressing is the worst, no matter how much they dress it up. Homemade is the only way to go and your Ranch recipe is aaawwwwwsome!
Thank you, Dave! I'm with you on bottled dressing...homemade is better in every way. 🙂 Very happy you enjoyed this one so much!
I made this dressing the other day and my daughter who is 36 years old found it when she was visiting and fell instantly in love with it as did I. She is a big ranch dressing lover but like you she hates all the fake stuff that they put into bottled dressing. She is committed to feeding her precious daughter only homemade everything like she had while growing up and this recipe is one we will keep and make forever. Thanks for sharing. Will be trying your creamy vinaigrette next.
Your comment made my night, GaleMarie...I'm so happy to hear that you and your daughter both loved this ranch dressing! I try to feed my kids homemade as much as possible, too, so there are lots of other recipes along those lines on the blog! 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know that this dressing was a hit with your crew, and I hope that your week is going well!
Oh yeh! My fav dressing...especially homemade. Looks so tasty. Thanks for sharing with us at Weekend Potluck.
Isn't ranch dressing the BEST, Marsha?! We just ran out and I'm itching to make this again! Thanks for hosting WP each week...can't wait to stop by on Friday! 🙂 Hope you're having a wonderful week... 🙂
Yum! This Ranch looks amazing, Samantha. I love Ranch dressing, but it's really hard to find a good-quality Ranch that doesn't taste like it has lots of fake stuff in it. I'm so excited that I can make my own now!
Yay, Erin...hope you love it! 🙂 Homemade is worth it when it tastes so much better and doesn't have all of the icky ingredients, right? 😉
I was scrolling through the linkup this morning and caught your post. I'm a ranch nut and I used to love Hidden Valley but it just feels kind of "canned" to me now and I don't really like what they put in it. I'm going to give yours a shot! The idea of using mayo + sour cream + buttermilk sounds just about perfect. I think that is what my homemade attempts have been missing!
Oh, I hope you love it, Mirlandra! Fingers crossed that the mayo/sour cream/buttermilk combo tastes perfectly "ranch-y" to you... 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by!