Homemade Ranch Dressing

This homemade ranch dressing is easy to make in minutes with a buttermilk base. It’s creamy, tangy and tastes so much better than any store-bought dressing.

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Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe

Homemade ranch dressing is so delicious and much easier to make than you may think! I love how thick and fresh the flavor tastes, especially with all the fresh herbs. It’s super creamy without feeling too heavy. We love to drizzle it on buffalo chicken salad!

This ranch salad dressing is a simple recipe and can be made in less than 5 minutes! It makes a great dip for fresh veggies and is the ultimate appetizer dip with jalapeno poppers, homemade chicken wings and potato skins. Yum!

Ingredient Notes

• Sour cream: Adds tangy, creamy flavor.
• Mayonnaise: Helps the salad dressing achieve that perfect creamy, thick texture.
• Fresh herbs. Using fresh parsley makes a huge difference and really packs a gourmet punch of flavor. If you have fresh dill, use that too.
• Dried seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper.
• Buttermilk. I like the tangy flavor in a buttermilk ranch dressing and prefer it over regular milk. You can make your own homemade buttermilk by mixing together whole milk and distilled vinegar.
• Fresh lemon juice: Adds acidity and bright flavor. Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for best taste.

How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing

• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Alternatively, add ingredients to a mason jar and shake.
• Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed then chill the refrigerator.

Recipe Tips

• Full fat. This is one of those recipes where it does make a difference to use full fat mayo, sour cream and buttermilk. It’s what gives the dressing that creamy base and rich flavors. You can swap for lighter alternatives, but it will alter the taste a bit.
• Consistency. For a thicker dressing to dip with veggies, use less buttermilk. For a thinner salad dressing consistency, use more buttermilk. Add a little at a time until the dressing has reached your desired consistency.
• Rest. Although you can definitely enjoy the dressing immediately after mixing, for the best ranch dressing chill in the fridge for a few minutes to help the flavors marinate together. The longer it sits, the more flavor it will have. If the dressing thickens up too much while in the fridge, stir in some extra buttermilk.

Favorite Ways to Use Ranch

Ranch is one of those condiments that people like to put on everything! It’s so versatile and tastes great with salads, appetizers, veggies, pizza and more.

• Just like my dill pickle dip recipe, use it on fresh veggies like carrots, celery, cucumber, broccoli, peppers and tomatoes
• As an appetizer dip for baked Buffalo chicken wings
• Drizzled over a steak salad or a classic cobb salad
• As a dip after baking homemade pizza dough or breadsticks
• Served for dipping with potato wedges or sweet potato fries

Enjoy!