This Homemade Ranch Dressing recipe is the BEST ever! It’s as simple as combining the ingredients (you only need 3!,) chilling and serving!
You just can’t beat homemade salad dressing, and this Homemade Ranch Dressing is one of the best! Simple ingredients and quick to make.
I am a person of honesty, so let’s start off by saying that I’ve never been a huge fan of ranch dressing. GASP. But when I don’t care for something I can typically make it at home from scratch and learn to like it. Such is the case with homemade ranch dressing.
I love the flavors of dry ranch seasoning mixed into other things. Potatoes. Fries. Chicken. Seafood. It is all good!
Have you ever read the store bought ranch dressing mix ingredients? Let me enlighten you: maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, lactic acid, calcium stearate.
Don’t have those ingredients in your pantry? Why don’t you check out my recipe for ranch mix and then making ranch dressing at home…
What is in my homemade ranch dressing?
- dry powdered buttermilk
- dried parsley flakes
- dried dill
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- dried onion flakes
- ground black pepper
- dried chives
- fine sea salt
- milk
- mayonnaise
You are probably familiar with all of the ingredients in this homemade ranch dressing with the exception of maybe one: dry powdered buttermilk.
Dry powdered buttermilk is just like any other dry powdered milk. It is made from actual buttermilk, which is the liquid left behind after churning to milk butter, but fermented so it is a little funky.
But then dehydrated so it has a much longer shelf life. Let’s be honest, I don’t use that much buttermilk. Maybe here and there for fried chicken, pancakes and waffles, but not on the regular.
So keeping a canister of buttermilk powder in the pantry is my solution for a last minute breakfast or easy homemade ranch dressing.
All of these ingredients I can pronounce and I feel good about feeding to my family. My 2-year old daughter refers to ranch dressing simply as “dip” and won’t eat carrots without it.
Questions about how to make the BEST Homemade Ranch Dressing:
What can I use Ranch Dressing on?
I have one friend who is a self proclaimed ranch fanatic who would tell you there isn’t anything that ranch dressing shouldn’t go on. But the most common uses are:
- Salad, of course
- Corn on the cob
- Baked potatoes
- Grilled or roasted vegetables
- Pizza dipping sauce
- Dipping sauce for French fries and tater tots
- On sandwiches
- For buffalo wings
- On burgers and hot dogs
- As a marinade for chicken or pork
- Dipping raw veggies like carrots or celery
What is the history of ranch dressing?
Ranch dressing was created by Steve Henson as his signature buttermilk dressing. He made it for friends and family until later in life he purchased a ranch with his wife, Gayle.
They started calling it the dressing of the Ranch and then mass marketed. Hidden Valley Ranch is the name of their ranch and the rest is history.
How do I store ranch dressing from scratch?
It is stored best in an airtight container- either plastic or a mason jar with a tight lid. Since it is homemade and doesn’t have any preservatives other than salt, a natural preservative, it only last about a week.
You can make a large batch of the dry ranch seasoning and then make fresh dressing every night though. I doubt it will last a whole week since it is so good!
If you’re a ranch fanatic too, check out these other ranch recipes:
- Creamy Ranch Mashed Potatoes
- Ranch Kale Chips
- Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Light Ranch Dressing
- Bacon Ranch Chicken
Tools for making homemade ranch dressing:
Mini Food Processor– I use this thing daily! It is by far my most used kitchen appliance, it is small and I throw all the parts into the dishwasher, well except the base and cord, of course!
I love it for salad dressings so they are equally blended with no chunks of herbs and spices. Unless you are into that sort of thing, which is fine too.
Measuring Utensils– While I like to eyeball it, most folks prefer to measure. Suit yourself ?
Whisks– I buy whisks in multiple sizes. You never know which one you will need. If you don’t have a food processor, I recommend using a whisk.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dry ranch seasoning mix
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup mayonnaise
Instructions
- Combine all three ingredients in a bowl and whisk or in a small food processor. Mix until combined.
- Cover and chill for 30 minutes for best results.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was!
I do not see the measurements for the dry mix. I only see the three ingredients.
Thanks for catching that! The link wasn’t working, you can click through to our recipe that includes the dry ingredients or buy the dry seasoning mix at the store.
On your recipe for the ranch seasoning mix you include a recipe for ranch dressing that only has 1/2 a cup
of whole milk and 1/2 a cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons of the seasoning mix. Here you say to use 1 cup of whole milk and 1 cup of mayonnaise with two tablespoons of the seasoning mix. Which version do I use?
Thanks for catching that! Our oversight and it is now fixed.
I just love Ranch dressing at restaurants that make their own in house. Now I can make this at my house! Thank you for the recipe!
This dressing certainly looks amazing. The consistency is perfect – just the way I prefer mine to be. Excited to see if it tastes any different 🙂
If you say it is the best recipe ever, then there is no way I can miss it 🙂 I can see so many great dishes I can use this dressing with!
Love this recipe! I’m a huge ranch fan and I’d love to try making my own, thanks for sharing!
This recipe looks awesome. I love homemade dressing and cannot wait to give your version of the ranch dressing a whirl. I love that you know exactly what ingredients you’ll be putting on your salad. Plus no preservatives id HUGE with me.