I like to give The Foodie Groom grief about some of his eating habits. Because I’m mean. And it’s fun 🙂 Back in the day, the only green food he would even consider eating was guacamole. And regardless of the restaurant, if they had chicken quesadillas on the menu, he ordered them. When we went out to eat at a quesadilla-less establishment, I used to scout the menu online before leaving home so I could convince him that he wouldn’t starve.
These days, I have a lot less material to work with. I still find myself stuck with that terrible habit of going down the menu and telling him what he would like… even though he’ll try just about anything now. And he gives me The Eyebrow when I say, “Oh, look! They have X. Or Y – that’s made with Z. You like Z.” I might not have a lot to pick on, but I still have barbecue sauce.
My husband uses barbecue sauce the way others might use ketchup. Or salt. It goes on everything. He thinks it’s the perfect food. I mean, he can dip french fries, potato chips, chicken tenders, and his turkey sandwich in it. Heck, he’ll even go so far as to put it on grilled meat every once in a while. And as I was getting The Eyebrow for mocking his barbecue sauce love while I was dipping a bite of pizza into ranch dressing… Okay, so maybe I have a goofy habit or two, myself.
I use ranch dressing the way that others might use ketchup. Or salt. It goes on everything. Is it not the perfect food? I mean, you can dip both french fries, pizza, and broccoli in it. Heck, I might even go so far as to put it on a salad every once in a while.
Ranch dressing is super, super easy to make. You don’t need a pack o’ powder to do it, either. It takes more time to gather the ingredients than it does to make it. I use a blender – I’m a big fan of dump-it-in-the-bowl-and-turn-the-machine-on recipes. You absolutely can chop the herbs and use a spoon or a whisk if you’d rather go that route.
No preservatives. No high-fructose corn syrup. Creamy, tangy homemade ranch dressing in 5 minutes!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise (low fat is fine)
- 3/4 cup sour cream (low fat is fine, consider splitting with fat-free Greek yogurt)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 small bunch of chives
- Small handful of parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients with 1/4 cup of buttermilk in a blender
- Blend for 10 seconds. Check consistency and blend in additional buttermilk if desired. Less buttermilk for dipping, more for dressing.
- Store in an air-tight jar in the fridge for a week or more.
Notes
Yields: 16 2-Tbsp servings
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, 2004
Estimated time: 5 minutes
42 comments… add one
I have a funny story…I call my husband “Chicken Sandwich Man”…he only orders chicken sandwiches no matter where we eat…when asked, he says it is what he likes and he cant eat anything else. Great recipe for the Ranch.
A lovely top picture oozing with yummyness!
I need to get some mason jars too, they’re cute.I have to agree… There are few foods that don’t go well with Ranch dressing. Your little story about your husband was funny – My husband is similar with the BBQ sauce! Great recipe!
Perfect timing on this recipe! My 7-year-old son and I were talking the other night about “fake” store-bought salad dressings while we were eating homemade blue cheese dressing, and I was thinking that I needed to find a homemade ranch dressing recipe!
I can’t wait to try this!!
Jonella
I love that you’re taking time to calculate and post calories with some of your new posts. Thanks!
Yumm…homemade ranch is SO much better than the kind in a bottle!
Marlis
Oh yum. Looks delicious. I make a killer balsamic dressing but haven’t tried Ranch yet. Will try because my dd is a Ranch fiend. As to the hubby. Mine is a bit more adventurous. He asks me to be the lab rat first. If I OK a dish he’s more likely to try. And when we go out to a new place I have to help him by recommending what he’ll like. I haven’t struck out yet 🙂 Well, once, but he ate it because I loved it and we were newlyweds. In the name of love he ate steak tartare. LOL
Heidi
Just found your blog. Love it! I’ve been searching for a homemade Ranch dressing that I can make for my kids. I make Creamy Jalepeno Ranch Dressing, but it was a bit to spicy. Thanks! I’m also a fan of dump and whir. Cute jar!
Christina
Oh my bizcuits!!! I LOVE RANCH!!! And yes… it’s so much MORE versatile than even mere ketchup!! And yes, pizza dipped in ranch is exquisite!!! Probably my favorite combo, better than peanut butter and jelly!!! I typically make my own ranch but using the powdered crap from “the valley you can’t see”, lol… but now… I am SO excited, I’m going to try your recipe!!! Thank you thank you!!! (and yeah bbq sauce on everything, ick!!!) lol
Mmmmm! I’ve always been a huge fan of ranch dressing, but I’ve never had it homemade. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
Looks great! I’ll have to try it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Just made this with black pepper, and doubled the recipe. Superb! Thanks, Shawnda, for another delicious formula! 🙂
mabel
thank you so much i have not had ranch in so long cus im alergic to msg .. i turn ino a puffer fish .. but again thnks so much
Mandie
how long will this keep in the fridge before going bad? As long as the date on the buttermilk? Thanks!
A little more than a week, 7-10 days.
Denise
If you add some whey from yogurt and let the dressing sit on the counter for about 7 hours, then refrigerate, the dressing will keep several weeks. It will also be rich in probiotics. Never lasts that long for us though. Also, if you chop the parsley, garlic, and etc. rather than blending all of it, it is more flavourful.
Denise
Rebecca
This was a great recipe! My family goes through Ranch dressing like its going out of style!
My question is- did anyone elses turn out with a green tint? I used all fresh ingredients and kept to the directions….Any help would be awesome!
I get a little green sometimes, too, it comes from blending the fresh herbs. You could pulse the herbs in or even chop them a bit first so the blender doesn’t have to do much work if you don’t want the greenish tint.
I can’t wait to try this. My whole family bathes everything in ranch. I’ve always hated the additives that are in the package mixes but haven’t found a good substitute. I hope this one will fix that problem. Thanks for sharing.
Leslie
Has anyone tried to freeze this? I want to make it, but I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to eat it all before it spoils!
I wouldn’t recommend freezing it, but you could make a half batch instead.
Congratulations Foodie Bride and Groom! Very nice to meet you! Great recipe! So much better than store bought. I have a recipe for you. Make your Ranch Dressing thick for spreading. Spread it on a slice of bread. Top it with tomato slices and a few Spinach Leaves. Then layer on some Roast Beef. Have you hubby put his bbq sauce on top of that and another slice of bread. Thank you! Mary
Gloria
Just made this AMAZING ranch! I cook a lot from scratch, so I already had all the ingredients on hand. I poured this ranch in with some leftover shredded chicken, added grated cheese and made yummy sandwiches for the kids….they loved it! Thank you for sharing this fabulous RANCH recipe!
Wow, that sounds terrific!
Christy
I am a ranch addict so I made this and WOW! It is the best ranch that I have ever had. Thank you!!
Just made this to go with Paula Deen’s fried pickles. The ranch was so easy to make and I had everything on hand. It tastes soooo much better than most store bought I’ve tried.
Walethia
I love Ranch dressing on most everything. Yes, I put Ranch on pizza!
Have you tried this with 1% or skim milk? Just lookiong for a way to bring the fat content down a little more.
Kelley Highway
I have to read every label, though, to ensure none of the jarred ingredients contain HFCSyrup, “cane juice,” etc. Frustrating, but homemade is out-of-this-world better than store bought! YUMMO!
kaci
Are the nutrition facts for one serving or the whole thing?
Per serving
marissa
My grocery store was out of fresh parsley-all I could find was dehydrated. Will this work, and, if so, in what quantities? Any help is appreciated!
Start with 1 tsp – its easier to add than take away. And hard to judge strength/freshness of dried herbs. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes, taste, and add more if you think it needs it.
marissa
Thank you for your help and for sharing this wonderful recipe. It turned out delicious regardless of the lack of fresh parsley!
Joy
I make this often for our salads and it is good on about anything! I even change it up once in a while and add Bleu cheese which I adore but no one else in my family likes.
Okay, how much do I love you right now? I know I don’t really know you, so this probably sounds weird, but I LOVE ranch. Just found out my sweet girl can’t have any foods with MSG, so we’ve all been going through serious ranch withdrawal. This was excellent!! Thank you so much for the recipe. I found your blog via your strawberry cake recipe (love that too) and now on a search for homemade ranch. Thanks so much. You rock!! I’d like to share your recipe and link to you on my blog if that’s okay with you? I’ve been accumulating “friendly” recipes for her. Thanks!
Suz
etta
can’t wait to try it to try this recipe, I love ranch dressing and it will cheaper to make.
