Homemade ranch dressing is cool, creamy and tangy, with dill, garlic and a little lemon in every spoonful. It is the jar to keep in the refrigerator for salads, raw vegetables, wings and pizza crusts, and it is made from things you may already have in the pantry.
How to make homemade ranch dressing: Whisk mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk until smooth. Add dried dill, parsley, chives, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper, then whisk in lemon juice to taste. Pour it into a jar and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
Why You’ll Love It
- No packet needed. The flavor comes from measured dried herbs and seasonings that sit in most spice racks.
- Five minutes, one bowl. There is nothing to cook. You whisk, pour and chill.
- Dressing or dip. A splash more milk makes it pour; a spoonful more mayonnaise makes it thick enough for dipping.
- A full jar. One batch makes about 1 1/2 cups, which is 24 one-tablespoon servings.
Ingredient Notes
Mayonnaise and sour cream. These two are the creamy base, 1/2 cup of each. The mayonnaise gives body and the sour cream brings the tang.
Buttermilk. Another 1/2 cup thins the base into a dressing. Regular milk also works if that is what you have.
Dried dill weed. Dill is the herb you taste first in ranch. Start with 3/4 teaspoon and go up to 1 teaspoon if you like more.
Dried parsley and chives. A 1/2 teaspoon of each adds the green flecks and a mild onion note.
Onion powder and garlic powder. Use 1/4 teaspoon of onion powder and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder. They dissolve into the dressing, so there are no raw bits.
Sea salt and black pepper. Fine sea salt and finely cracked pepper blend in without any grit.
Lemon juice. Freshly squeezed. Add 1 teaspoon, taste, and add more up to 3 teaspoons for a brighter dressing.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (regular milk also works)
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon dill weed, dried
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley, dried
- 1/2 teaspoon chives, dried
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, fine
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, finely cracked
- 1 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed, to taste
How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing
1. Whisk the creamy ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk or regular milk until smooth.
2. Add the seasonings. Add the dried dill, parsley and chives, the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
3. Finish and refrigerate. Whisk in lemon juice to taste. Pour the dressing into a jar and refrigerate until ready to serve. It should be smooth, with the seasonings mixed all the way through.
How to Make Ranch Dressing Without a Packet
You do not need a packet to make ranch. This recipe builds the flavor from three dried herbs and a few pantry seasonings, all measured straight from the jars. Whisk them into the creamy base and you have ranch dressing from scratch.
One thing to know: this herb mix is its own recipe. It is not meant as an exact copy of a store-bought seasoning packet, so do not swap one for the other spoon for spoon.
The same bowl can go two ways. How thick you make it decides whether it is a salad dressing or a dip.
| You want | What to do | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| A thinner dressing | Whisk in a little more milk | Green salads, drizzling |
| The recipe as written | Change nothing | Salads and everyday use |
| A thicker dip | Whisk in a little more mayonnaise | Raw vegetables, wings, chips |
Add the extra milk or mayonnaise a small spoonful at a time and whisk after each one. It is easy to add more and hard to take it back.
Tips for Success
Why is my ranch dressing too thin?
It has more liquid than you wanted. Whisk in more mayonnaise, a little at a time, until it coats the back of a spoon the way you like.
Why is my ranch dressing too thick?
Whisk in more milk or buttermilk, a little at a time, until it pours.
How much lemon juice should I add?
Start with 1 teaspoon, whisk and taste. Add more, up to 3 teaspoons, if you want it sharper. Lemon juice goes in last so you can stop at the point you like.
Should I use the smaller or larger amount of dill?
Use 3/4 teaspoon for a milder dressing and 1 teaspoon if you want the dill to stand out. Dried herbs need a few seconds of whisking to spread evenly, so keep going until you see the green flecks all through the bowl.
Ranch Seasoning vs. Ranch Dressing
Ranch seasoning is the dry part: herbs, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Ranch dressing is what you get when those seasonings are whisked into a creamy base. In this recipe the base is mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk in equal amounts, so it is not mostly mayonnaise. Each of the three makes up a third of the creamy part.
Variations
Regular milk. Swap the buttermilk for the same amount of regular milk. The dressing will be a little less tangy, so taste before you decide how much lemon juice to add.
Greek yogurt dip. Ranch can also be made with Greek yogurt and less buttermilk for a thicker dip. That changes the base, so the amounts on this page do not carry over one for one.
Storage & Reheating
Ranch dressing is served cold, so there is nothing to reheat. Keep it in a jar or an airtight container in the refrigerator at 40°F or below. USDA FSIS gives 3 to 4 days as its general guidance for refrigerated leftovers, and that is the safe window to use here. Discard dressing that has sat out for more than 2 hours, or more than 1 hour when it is hotter than 90°F. Freezing is not a good idea: FSIS notes that mayonnaise and cream sauces can separate after freezing.
What to Serve With It
Set a bowl of this next to chicken bacon ranch pinwheels or 3-ingredient biscuit ranch bombs for dipping. It is good on the side of a slice of chicken bacon ranch stromboli too. If you like ranch flavor at dinner, try the chicken bacon ranch casserole with potatoes, creamy ranch chicken or slow cooker creamy ranch chicken, with a green salad and this dressing on the side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use in place of a ranch seasoning packet?
For this dressing, use the dried herbs and seasonings in the amounts listed. They give ranch flavor without a packet. It is not an exact match for one packet, so do not use it as a measured substitute in recipes written for a packet.
Can I use regular milk and skip the buttermilk?
Yes. Regular milk works in the same 1/2 cup amount.
How much ranch dressing does this make?
About 1 1/2 cups, or 24 servings of one tablespoon each.
Do I have to chill it before serving?
The recipe says to pour it into a jar and refrigerate until you are ready to serve. It is a cold dressing, so keep it in the refrigerator between uses and put it back as soon as the salad is dressed.
Final Notes
I start with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and taste before adding more, because it is the easiest way to get the tang right. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk regular milk also works
- 3/4 to 1 teaspoon dill weed dried
- 1/2 teaspoon parsley dried
- 1/2 teaspoon chives dried
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt fine
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper finely cracked
- 1 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice freshly squeezed; to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream and buttermilk or regular milk until smooth.
- Add the dried dill, parsley and chives, the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Whisk until combined.
- Whisk in lemon juice to taste. Pour the dressing into a jar and refrigerate until ready to serve. It should be smooth, with the seasonings mixed all the way through.
