This Homemade Ranch Dressing is the best tasting dressing! Buttermilk, mayonnaise, sour cream and the perfect blend of seasonings and garlic!
A CREAMY HOMEMADE SALAD DRESSING RECIPE
I just love a good salad. Crispy green lettuce. Red ripe tomatoes. Fresh cucumbers and crunchy croutons. And if you're making a salad a meal, why not top it off with something special? Now, I got no bones against bottled dressing. I use it all the time and y'all have seen it make an appearance a couple times on the blog here. It is actually pretty easy to make your own salad dressing if you have a few basic ingredients on hand. And the taste is really something special!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Simple ingredients of real mayonnaise, real buttermilk and sour cream along with garlic, dill, parsley, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Most restaurants/steakhouses make their ranch dressing from scratch. It is so easy to make homemade ranch dressing and the fresh ingredients make all the difference. Only real, full fat ingredients should be used - no substitutions. Real buttermilk (not the fake kind that is made with combining milk with lemon juice and/or vinegar).
It can be depending on how often you eat ranch dressing. If you don't expect to eat it very often then it is probably cheaper to buy the bottled stuff (it just won't taste as good!)
The full fat, fresh ingredients along with freshly minced garlic (very important!) along with the dill, parsley and onion powder. Freshly grated onion can also be used.
No. Ranch seasoning is strictly a powdered seasoning. I have a recipe for ranch seasoning here. Ranch dressing is the prepared ranch salad dressing which is basically the dry seasoning combined with mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk.
Homemade ranch dressing doesn't have any added preservatives so it will usually last about 2 weeks in your refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- mayonnaise
- buttermilk
- sour cream
- garlic
- dried dill
- dried parsley
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING:
In a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients.
You want to make sure you really mince your garlic. I have a garlic press so I used that but if you are chopping it up by hand, get it as finely minced as you can. The fresh garlic adds a ton of flavor to this dressing.
Store in a jar or bowl with a lid in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. I think it gets even better tasting after it's been in the refrigerator for at least a day. It really helps the flavors come together.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 Tablespoon fresh dill)
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley (or 1 Tablespoon fresh parsley)
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
- Store in a jar(s) or bowl with a lid in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- This dressing will thicken up slightly as it sits in the fridge.
Video
Notes
- If you want a thicker dressing, to use more for dipping, try substituting sour cream or plain yogurt for the buttermilk.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: March 2012
Updated and republished: January 2022
Emily
Love this recipe!!!
Sharon
Is it possible to use regular milk instead of buttermilk?
Jennie
OMG this dressing is amazing. It is the closest thing I’ve found to a ranch dressing at a restaurant in Normal, Illinois when I was in college. I didn’t have any parsley so I doubled the fresh dill (a plus for me since I’m a pickle freak). It was sooooooo good. Thank you for sharing!!!!