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This made-from-scratch Ranch Dressing Recipe is thick, creamy, and packed with fresh herbs, just the way you and your vegetables want it. It’s perfect for dipping, dressing, and tossing!
Homemade Ranch Dressing is really easy to make. And it is, without a doubt, the most kid-friendly of all the salad dressings out there.
This classic American recipe makes frequent appearances on salads (especially Wedge Salads) and as a dipping sauce on a Veggie Platter with broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. It’s also served with fried foods like chicken tenders, Buffalo wings, onion rings, and French Fries. Don’t underestimate it’s ability to improve pizza, burgers, and sandwiches, too!
And while I’m not much of a food snob in general, I’m a Ranch Snob. I’ll pass on the room-temperature, store-bought ranch dressings with their fake, almost cheesy, phony ranch flavor. No thanks, Hidden Valley Ranch.
In a pinch, refrigerated buttermilk ranch dressing from the produce aisle are usually a safe bet. But nothing beats homemade. And for the best ranch dressing around, reach for fresh herbs instead of dried herbs (but I included the conversions to dried herbs in case you need to do that for one or all).
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Buttermilk: I love the little containers of everlasting powdered buttermilk, but don’t use that here. Use the real thing or make your own buttermilk with ½ cup milk and 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar.
- Red onion: A minced shallot would work too, or even chives, scallions, or onion powder to lend some onion flavor.
- Sugar: A pinch of sugar makes the flavors pop, but it’s okay to leave it out.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayo, sour cream, chopped parsley and dill, lemon juice, red onion, garlic, a pinch of sugar, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill until serving time, then drizzle and toss your salad with Ranch dressing to taste.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups Ranch Dressing, enough for 12 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If separation occurs, shake or whisk to recombine.
- Chipotle ranch: Mix adobo sauce to taste for a smoky, spicy flavor (start with a tsp or two and go from there!). If you love spicy, you can process the dressing in a blender with 1 or 2 whole chipotle chiles until smooth.
- Low-fat ranch: Substitute equal amounts of nonfat buttermilk, nonfat sour cream, and low-fat mayonnaise (do not use nonfat mayonnaise because it’s too sweet). Increase the amount of lemon juice to 2 tablespoons and add more pepper if needed (I increase it to ½ teaspoon).
- Bacon ranch: Mix in 2 tablespoons of chopped cooked bacon before chilling.
- Protein-packed: Substitute an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream if you’re looking to sneak in extra protein.
Frequently Asked Questions
This creamy condiment is originally invented in Alaska by Steve Henson, an African American from Nebraska. He flavored buttermilk with herbs and spices and gave it to his plumbing crews to spice up their food and keep them happy. Eventually, he retired in Santa Barbara with his wife on a ranch which he named The Hidden Valley.
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Ranch Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 6 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 tablespoon red onion minced (or 1 teaspoon onion powder, see note 2)
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill minced , or 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill weed
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced , or 1 ½ teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 clove garlic minced or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar
- Pinch granulated sugar (see note 3)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream, red onion, dill, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste (I like ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Chill until serving time and whisk to recombine before serving.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Buttermilk: I love the little containers of everlasting powdered buttermilk, but don’t use that here. Use the real thing or make your own buttermilk with ½ cup milk and 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar.
- Red onion: A minced shallot would work too.
- Sugar: A pinch of sugar makes the flavors pop, but it’s okay to leave it out.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 ½ cups Ranch Dressing, enough for 12 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. If separation occurs, shake or whisk to recombine.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Thank you Meggan for your great recipes I love to cook just like you but I’m not as experienced as you I’m just a 47 year old woman that lost my mom when I was 8 and my dad when I was in my teens so I had to quit school when he got sick and take care of him then myself please keep me in mind and send me more recipes thank you Wendy Huntsville AL
You’re welcome, Wendy! Thank you for taking the time to write and share, I admire your strength, that is a lot to go through. I hope you love cooking these recipes, and if you have any questions, please write! – Meggan