Homemade ranch dressing is simple to whip up and tastes lighter and fresher than anything in a bottle. Use it as a salad dressing, or a dip for crisp veggies!
homemade ranch dressing makes (almost) everything better!
Go ahead, try to think of something you wouldn’t want to dip into a jar of freshly made homemade ranch ~ not easy, is it? Just about everything from baby spring radishes to crispy chicken nuggets benefit from a dunk or two. I’ll show you how to make an easy ranch dressing with a few fresh herbs, some garlic, and a squeeze of lemon. No wonder it’s everybody’s favorite, it’s SO good!
Ranch dressing is famous for getting kids to eat their veggies, and this homemade version will do the same for adults, too!
the ingredients
Ranch dressing is famously irresistible, and yet it’s made with just a few common ingredients. I suspect it has something to do with the combination of the fresh garlic with all those creamy elements.
- buttermilk ~ cultured buttermilk is thick and tangy, yet low in fat. Find it in the refrigerated section of your supermarket, near the regular milk. Many people don’t realize that buttermilk is actually very healthy. It cuts the richness of the sour cream and mayo.
- sour cream ~ adds more tang and that creaminess that only a cream product can give.
- mayonnaise ~ grounds so many dressings and dips. It gets a bad rap but actually this classic French sauce is simply a wholesome blend of oil and egg. Make your own mayonnaise and see!
- garlic
- fresh lemon
- fresh parsley, chives, and dill
- salt and pepper
the best way to blend ranch dressing
My choice is a small food processor. You can also use a hand held immersion blender, or a regular blender. This helps to mince those herbs really fine so the flavors can meld together. You can do it by hand, but it requires a lot of very fine chopping.
how to use homemade ranch dressing
This versatile recipe can be used as a dip or a dressing.
- Lemon Chicken Salad with Buttermilk Dressing
- Ranch Potato Salad
- Use it instead of mayonnaise in chicken salad or egg salad or chickpea salad.
- It makes a classic dip for raw veggie cruditรฉs.
- Try it with coleslaw.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic, peeled
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1 Tbsp snipped chives
- 1 Tbsp snipped parsley
- 1 Tbsp snipped dill
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Put everything into a small food processor, a blender, and blend until smooth. You can use an immersion blender if you prefer. Once everything is smooth you can taste to adjust the amount of lemon, or salt and pepper.
- Store the dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Sue, we loooove ranch dressing and I often use a package (no not that one) of dried ingredients which are organic. Hereโs my dilemma because youโve sent this deliciousness I want it now but I have only these ingredients plain kefir, plain Greek yogurt and mayonnaise (we always have best foods) I have fresh garden herbs. Would my wet ingredients work. I donโt feel
Like a market run ! Everything you post is 5 stars!
It’s definitely worth a shot Donnamarie ~ try it! You’re just missing the richness of the sour cream, but your recipe would be a bit healthier.
Hello, if a person wanted to use garlic powder and dried herbs, do you have a conversion for that please? Thank you!
I would go to taste. Just blend up the base ingredients and then stir in your dried garlic and herbs, using as much or as little as you like. You might start with 1/2 tsp each and go from there.