Homemade Ranch Dressing, how to make ranch dressing from scratch with easy ingredients like buttermilk and fresh herbs and spices. You can easily change it up to make it dairy-free, spicy, and many other variations.
A delicious Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe for you today! If you’re wondering how to make ranch dressing like what you’d get at a steakhouse restaurant, you’ll love this easy ranch dressing recipe. You can easily change the ingredients too for your family’s preferences. Or try my Homemade Ranch Seasoning mix to store for future use.
I’m a bit of a ranch addict. Totally normal right? I could put it on everything! Ok, maybe not EVERYTHING, but almost everything.
Unfortunately, the stuff you buy at the grocery store just does NOT compare to a homemade ranch dressing. This buttermilk ranch dressing is the best! If you want more homemade dressing recipes, try this Lemon Rosemary Creamy Salad Dressing which is similar to this one but with lemon and rosemary.
How to Make Ranch Dressing
Making homemade ranch dressing is easy! There are a few different ways to make it.
You can mix together the mayonnaise and sour cream, then whisk in the buttermilk. Then stir in all the chopped herbs and spices including the garlic, fresh parsley, green onion, dill, salt, pepper, and paprika.
Be sure to cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours or refrigerating overnight is even better. I like to store in a large mason jar. Depending on the expiration date of your ingredients and how fresh your herbs are, the dressing should last a few days or a week or so.
If you don’t want to chop all the herbs, the other way to make homemade ranch dressing is in a blender (or food processor). This is generally the method I go with.
BUT please do not put everything in the blender (or food processor) all at the same time. I’ve done that and the ranch dressing will come out very thin.
So to start, I put the mayonnaise, a little buttermilk, and the (not very chopped) herbs and spices in the blender and process until the herbs are finely chopped. Then I pour in a bowl, and stir in the sour cream and whisk in the buttermilk until desired consistency.
I like that this saves some time chopping the herbs, but you do of course have to clean the blender. So your choice which you’d rather do.
You can easily change the recipe for your family’s preferences. It’s naturally gluten-free (just double check your ingredients to be sure). You can use lower fat or light mayonnaise and sour cream but know that the dressing may not be as thick as using the full-fat ingredients.
You can also make homemade dairy-free Ranch Dressing quite easily!
Dairy-Free Ranch Dressing
For a dairy-free Ranch Dressing, you’ll need to substitute something for the sour cream and buttermilk. Mayonnaise typically does not have dairy, but double-check the ingredients on your favorite brand just to be sure.
For the sour cream, you can substitute unsweetened plain coconut yogurt or almond milk yogurt, or a dairy-free sour cream. For the buttermilk, you can substitute unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, or your favorite milk substitute.
The taste will NOT be the same as regular ranch, but if you’re used to almond milk (or coconut products), it’s not too bad.
For other variations, you can add your favorite herbs and spices like more garlic, red pepper flakes (for a spicy ranch dressing), oregano, or anything else you can think of.
I suggest starting with this basic recipe the first time, then the next time, change it up a little.
This homemade ranch dressing is great on salads and sandwiches, and great as a dip too! You won’t believe how much better this buttermilk ranch is than store-bought ranch dressing.
Great dip for my Mini Buffalo Chicken Calzones and Buffalo Chicken Biscuit Poppers.
Would love to hear what changes you make!
Check out this fun video my son Jordan did showing how to put this Ranch Dressing together…
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- dash paprika
Instructions
- Whisk mayonnaise and sour cream together, then whisk in buttermilk.
- Mix in parsley, garlic, green onion, dill, salt, pepper, and paprika.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Notes
Nutrition:
(Nutrition data is provided when available for informational purposes only and calculated using an online nutritional calculator. For the most accurate information please calculate based on specific ingredients and brands you use as well as any changes you made to the recipe. I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician and any nutritional information provided should only be used as a general guideline and estimate.)
Patty Jo says
Thank you!! Do you know how long it’s good for once opened in the refrigerator?
Lisa Huff says
Depends on how fresh all your ingredients are but should last at least a few days to a week(ish).
Chef Wayne says
This is excellent. Highly recommend. Since my garlic clove was very large, I only used one.
Lisa Huff says
Thank you so much! Hard to go back to bottled ranch after making your own. :)
Danielle says
The BEST ranch I have ever made. I did it your way with a small food processor then mixed in a bowl. My daughter is obsessed with ranch and she can’t get enough. Thank you!!
Lisa Huff says
Thank you so much Danielle! Happy to hear your daughter enjoys the Ranch! :) It’s hard to go back to bottled after making it fresh!
Sandra Creech says
Excellent dressing!.Nothing in the store can compare with it.
Michelle says
I have tried many ranch dressing recipes and this is BY FAR the best!!!
Lisa Huff says
Awww thank you Michelle!
Shannon says
Very very good. Thank you!!
Lisa Huff says
Great, thank you!
Omega says
I love this recipe so much, I will never buy the bottled dressing again. I added a tablespoon of Tahini and blended well… yum
Lisa Huff says
Awww thank you!! It is definitely hard to go back to bottled after you make your own!
Marie Popal says
The most balanced and excellent homemade ranch recipe I have tried. The bottled stuff stinks and tastes off ever since I started making it from scratch. For this recipe, I didn’t have buttermilk so I opted for “cheatermilk” (milk + lemon juice, let stand for 10 minutes) and I was a bit short on mayo, but used what I had. Skipped fresh herbs and garlic for powder and dried. Despite my shortcomings ingredient-wise, this dressing still came out a winner. Perfect as a dip for chips, too.
Barbie says
How long is it good for in the fridge ?
Lisa Huff says
Generally about a week, but it depends on the freshness of all your ingredient so could be a few days to a few weeks.
Patricia A Harmon says
This and the Boom Sauce both sound delish. Thanks.
Ellen says
We love ranch dressing! Homemade dressings are so much better than store bought. We need to try this recipe.
Carissa says
Homemade ranch dressing is the BEST! And thank you for the dairy-free options.
Marie – Not Enough Cinnamon says
I love the tip about not putting all the ingredients in the blender at the same time – I admit I would have done that :)
Beth says
That is such a great idea to make your own ranch! I have made “buttermilk” out of almond milk too with a bit of lemon juice to give it that tang! I am definitely going to give this a try!
fiona saluk says
Yum! Dressings are one of my favourite things to make homemade as it’s so simple and tastes SO much better than the processed stuff you can get at the store. I love that you included dairy free options!