I don't know about all of you, but after parties and vacations and weekends full of treats I'm always craving a
big salad, so I thought this would be a great thing to post today. Ranch dressing is a magical thing. It's served in the fanciest of restaurants and also along side dino nuggets at lunch hour. My toddler will literally eat
anything if he has ranch to dip it in. And I'll be honest; I will too. I grew up in a house where there was a
pitcher (literally that pitcher, only the 1982 version, so totally not as cool) that was constantly filled. It sat on pretty much every table of every meal we ate. It was always the Hidden Valley seasoning packs that I still love today. I've been trying to perfect ranch dressing for years and I finally figured out the one teeny tiny thing mine was missing. Vinegar. The smallest amount of vinegar gave it the perfect tang I was looking for- who knew? Obviously a lot of people knew, but no one ever told me. Jerks! I'm now happy to report that I've settled in on my Buttermilk Ranch recipe and I love it. You can certainly play around with the seasonings and make it to suit you and your family. I purposely used all dried herbs and spices for convenience purposes, but see my note below about substituting fresh. Now what are you waiting for? Go bake up some dino nuggets!
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Recipe by Our Best Bites
*note that all spices/herbs listed below are dried. If substituting fresh, use the rules 1 part dry = 3 parts fresh.
1C mayo
2/3 C buttermilk
1/4 t white vinegar
1 t parsley
1/8 t dill
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t onion powder
1 1/2 t dried chives
1/8 t black pepper
1/4 t seasoned salt
1/8 t dry mustard
Combine mayo and buttermilk
And whisk together until it's lump-free. Add in vinegar and all spices.
Stir, stir, stir...
For best results, make ahead of time and store in the fridge so the dry herbs have time to let all their yummy flavors out. And speaking of official ranch dressing containers-
this is the one that I love. It's been constantly filled in my fridge since I was in college. Tupperware lasts forever!
The only thing that would make a salad with homemade ranch even better is
homemade croutons!
Things you should most definitely dip in Ranch Dressing:
Stuffed Chicken-Bacon Pizza Rolls
Oven Baked Steak Fries
Diner Style French Fries
Breadsticks (c'mon I know you all do it...)
Or use it in
this creamy lime-cilantro salad dressing and dip
taquitos!
Confession time: What do you dip in ranch??
37 Click HERE to leave a comment:
I'm not really a ranch fan! So the only thing I dip in it is the occasional fresh veggie.
I admit I dip pizza. It's very tasty.
I dip everything in ranch...from pizza to french fries, breadsticks, veggies, fried mozzarella, you name it, it's probably been in the ranch. Disgusting, I know!
I second (or third...) the pizza dipping, so YEA!! I love ranch!
But... I don't often have buttermilk on hand; would the sour milk method (vinegar + milk) work?
Thanks for the recipe! I love to dip pizza and taquito's in ranch. Not a huge fan of it on salad though.
I stumbled upon your blog when searching for a recipe for sweet potato fries (which were awesome by the way) and happened to find this recipe too! I just made it and cannot stop eating it even though it hasn't chilled yet. It is absolutely perfect! Thanks for sharing!
I like ranch on just about everything. My kids like it too so it helps me get in their veggies. I'm excited to try it.
Is it plain white vinegar? How long will it keep in the fridge, theoretically, if you had some leftovers? thanks
This makes me want ranch dressing!
Wow! I had no idea that making your own ranch dressing was this easy. This is why I love your blog :) Thanks for the recipe!
April- milk + vinegar would work fine, but I think you get a better flavor with the buttermilk. If you're going to substitute sour milk, use a little less milk since it's thinner than buttermilk and also omit the additional vinegar in the recipe (since you'll get the vinegar from your sour milk)
Jen- thank you! I'm glad you found us and that you've already made this dressing and love it!
Christina- yup, just plain white vinegar. I've never left it in the fridge for long since we eat it so fast! But it will last at least a week I'm sure and probably more.
Thanks to the rest of you for the nice comments as well!
In our house we put Ranch dressing on steamed green beans, it's delicious and brings me great memories of my Grandmother! Can't wait to try out your recipe!
Mmmmm so true, I don't remember a single meal growing up without the big container of ranch dressing, and it is so good on pretty much anything! I have a pitcher (literally... and the 2009 version haha) of cilantro lime ranch in my fridge right now :D
My favorite thing to dip in ranch dressing is buffalo wings. Sometimes I'll add a few dashes of hot sauce to the ranch dressing and then dip plain baked or fried chicken in it. MMmmmmmm!!! I've never made homemade ranch though. I'll definitely try it!!
When reading this it reminds me of my son. Now this is a confession about him not me :D He is 2 years old and will eat ANYTHING as long as there is ranch involved. And many times we have to turn away because he loves to dip his grapes, peaches, watermelon etc in ranch. If he doesn't want to eat the food i put in front of him i dip it in ranch and he says "ok!" and will eat it...it is hilarious!! There are even times i will look at him and he will be spooning the ranch in his mouth. Needless to say we go through ALOT of ranch in our house....Luckily we all love it!
Yep, definitely in one of those 'I need a big salad' moods :) Besides everything you already mentioned to dip in ranch, I also like to dip pizza in ranch. I thought I'd be the only one! :)
I have the hardest time finding the perfect ranch mix so I'll definately have to try this! If I can find it I really like the Uncle Dan's brand. I love to dip my pizza in ranch. At the pizza place in the town I grew up in, ranch was an automatic side!
I'm sooooo like your toddler. I will dip anything in ranch and I've just been waiting for the perfect recipe. I'm so happy you posted this!!
Pizza, pizza bites, chicken nuggets, veggies and on salad mixed with blue cheese dressing!
I make my own fried zucchini sometimes, and ranch is of course perfect with it. I'll have to try the taquitos in it!
Mmmmmm, ranch dressing! Ranch dressing has been a huge craving of mine (pregnant lady here). I do have to admit I've dipped MANY thing in it.
In fact, I really like enchiladas with it...
That will probably change after the babies here!
-chelsey
How awesome!! I cant have commercial ranch dressing anymore(even in the powder package) as the MSG makes my head explode! Not really.. but it does give me a horrible migraine! Thanks so much for this recipe :)
Home made ranch dressing is the best... Thanks for the recipe!
OMG, thank you so much. Cant want to try the champagne cupcakes, I am going to be set for teacher xmas gifts!!!
I am fairly new to your site, but have tried the apple streusel bars, pumpkin muffins, spice honey chicken, monster munch. Winner with every one of them. Thank you for producing recipes that I dont have to go to mars to get the ingredients!! You GALS ROCK!!
This is just what I have been looking for! I cannot wait to give this recipe a try!
We are currently on our third batch of cilantro-lime dressing. I could seriously dip a hot dog in that stuff and eat it straight up!
Ranch dressing is one of my favorites.. As a kid, I used to dip pretzels in Ranch dressing for an afternoon snack. Wishing I had some right now... This looks wonderful!
I recently discored dipping pizza in the ranch, but I love veggies dipped in it, of course, and on a ham and cheese sandwich with tomatoes and lettuce on it. Yes, I eat strange things, but it is really good! Thanks for the recipe, I will have to try! michelle
Now we need someone to do the math so we can make it in bulk and just take X amount out at a time.
Jen, I almost posted a bulk recipe, but my hesitation is that one batch of the ranch has so little of a few of those spices that I don't think everything would distribute well enough to make a good batch every time. Does that make sense? You wouldn't be getting quite the same measurements in each batch. I actually have that issue with the bulk bottles of ranch mix you can buy from Hidden Valley. Sometimes they turn out great, and other times I end up with way too much of one flavor and not enough of another... but hey it's worth a shot! I'll try it and report back :)
I have just discovered your site and I think that me and my family are going to be your biggest fans. The ranch dressing is my oldest daughter's favorite and she loves a salad, so I'll be whipping up a batch of this as soon as I get all the goodies at the store ;o)
When I made this is turned out super thick. Did I do it all wrong, or is that how it is supposed to be?
Jennifer, I'm guessing you measured something wrong. It shouldn't be thicker than any normal ranch dressing you're used to. If you ever have that problem again, just add more liquid until it's the consistency you like.
I have been looking for a "The Best" ranch dressing and this has come close! I did add a pinch or so of sugar to make it a little sweeter. But overall, delicious!
Tomorrow I am making your Chicken Pot Pie recipe~ Love your website!
I am so glad that you posted this ranch dressing recipe. I have been tweeking to get the dressing recipe for years and just couldn't get it. That vinegar has to be the problem. I use fat free cream cheese instead of mayo (home made form powdered milk) and love the creamy texture even more.
I also culture my own buttermilk a lot to extend the quarts that I buy, I use tons of it all over the place ;-)
Glad I found you blog tonight through another one!
Okay, love your site! I've tried several of your recipes and we've loved them all. I made this ranch dressing a few months ago and it was heavenly. But each subsequent time I've made it since then it hasn't really measured up. I've been thinking about it, and I think I used name brand mayo (maybe Best Foods?) the first time I made it. What I have in the fridge now is just the Walmart Great Value brand. Do you think that could be the problem? Thank you!
jmojmo24 at gmail dot com
Do you know I have that same exact Tupperware "dressing bottle"? We have been using it for close to 20 years... We make our own "hot" sauce for tacos and keep it stored in the tupperware. I am so glad to see that they still make them!
Thanks for the ranch dressing recipe. I am the only one in our house who likes it but always seem to be the one to take salad to functions. It is much nicer to bring a homemade dressing rather than a store bought one!!
best foods mayo is the best. all the others do not compare. imo :)
so i made this and it was super good except i didn't have parsley. so maybe it tasted a little too dill-y but i made fried pickles to dip in and it was DELICIOUS! thanks so much!
and now that i think about it, i think i added double the amount of dill. whoops! still yummy and i LOVE this! been trying to find a ranch that tastes like the kind you get at a restaurant and this is definitely it, but better!
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