Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing is made with fresh and dried herbs and easily mixed together in a glass jar. Drizzle it over any fresh salad or serve as a dip for some veggies!
This might come to a shock to most of you, but I didn’t grow up eating Ranch dressing. It wasn’t something my mom kept in the house. I prefered my salads plain. Very plain. Zero dressing until I was well into my 20’s. It wasn’t until then that I realized most people love Ranch dressing and even have it with their pizza! I wouldn’t go as far as putting it on my pizza now, but I sure do love it. Especially my homemade version. It would be exceptional along side my Chicken Taquitos or if you are a pizza fan, you could even dip my Pizza Bites into it.
Buttemilk Ranch Recipe
Ranch dressing wasn’t ever a “thing” in my house growing up. My mom only liked Thousand Island Dressing and in fact, we didn’t grow up eating many salads.
The first time it even showed up on radar was when I first met my husbands family as an engaged couple. We sat down for dinner and the biggest bottle of ranch dressing made an appearance. Every single family member used it as a dipping sauce for one thing or another.
It wasn’t until years later that I finally fell in love with this creamy and herb-y dressing. In a pinch I’ll use the packet to whip up some for a salad, but making it from scratch is always best!
How To Make Homemade Ranch Dressing
I like to use a combination of fresh and dried herbs. If all you have on hand is dried, that works too. Fresh herbs just elevate the flavor all that much more!
- In a large mason jar combine mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk together.
- Add in herbs and seasons.
- Tightly place lid on the jar and vigorously shake to combine ingredients.
- Store in mason jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- You can add more or less buttermilk to desired consistency.
This recipe calls for buttermilk. Most people don’t feel it necessary to buy a large container of it to use such a small amount of it in a recipe. I not only use it in this, but I like to have it on hand when I make my homemade Buttermilk Pancakes. If you still aren’t convinced, I have a simple solution below.
How To Make Buttermilk
You can make your own mock buttermilk with just milk (2% works best, but you can use 1%) and a little acid like lemon juice. A good rule of thumb is for every cup of milk add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.
Mix them together in a bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes. The acid mixes with the cultures of the milk and turns it into buttermilk. It sounds so simple, but it makes all the difference in the world.
More recipes I know you’ll like!
- Pigs In A Blanket
- Corn Chowder
- Orange Chicken
- No Knead Artisan Bread
- White Chicken Skillet Lasagna by The Recipe Rebel
Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing Recipe
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Mayonnaise
- 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
- 1/3 Cup Buttermilk
- 2 Cloves Garlic Minced
- 1 TBSP Fresh Parsley Finely Chopped
- 2 TBSP Fresh Chives Finely Chopped
- 1 TBSP Fresh Dill Finely Chopped
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Pepper
Instructions
- In a large mason jar combine mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk together.
- Add in herbs and seasons.
- Tightly place lid on the jar and vigorously shake to combine ingredients.
- Store in mason jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
- You can add more or less buttermilk to desired consistency.
Nutrition
*Originally posted October 2020 and updated July 2024.
Patsy J Messer
October 22, 2020 at 4:49 pmdo you really use fresh dill every time? can dried dill be substituted?
This looks amazing- I make my own ranch already but is just a little different & I can’t wait to try it!
Amy Williams mynameissnickerdoodle.com
October 27, 2020 at 8:54 pmHi Patsy,
I use fresh dill when I can, but I always have dry on hand. You can certainly use dry, but you won’t need as much.