Homemade Ranch Dressing

This Homemade Ranch Dressing is so fresh tasting and easy to make. It literally takes less than 10 minutes, and that includes measuring out the ingredients.

I'll let you in on a little secret, I don't even like Ranch dressing that much! At least not the bottled kind or even the kind made from a packet.

I can always taste the additives and preservatives in the prepared ranch dressings, but you have none of that when you make your own homemade dressings! 

What I love about making my own condiments, sauces, and spice blends is I get to control what goes into it!

For example, in this recipe, you can use fresh herbs or dried herbs, sugar or no sugar, adjust the salt, add more dill or garlic. You get to customize it exactly how you like it!

They are also so much better than store-bought dressings and condiments and usually less expensive to make! One thing is for sure, the fresh flavor cannot be beat! 

Suggested Kitchen Tools Homemade Ranch Dressing

• Blender with a smoothie cup attachment (or a hand mixer will work)

Ingredients & Substitutions

The best thing about making your own salad dressings is you can 100% control the ingredients.

I will give you suggestions for substitutions based on my recipe testing, but feel free to experiment and try different combinations!

Buttermilk

After testing the recipe with plain Greek yogurt, I liked the flavor better with real buttermilk.

I also tried making a buttermilk substitute with regular milk and vinegar, but it didn't have the same flavor or consistency. Feel free to try making your own buttermilk substitute if you don't have or can't find store-bought buttermilk. 

Here is how you would make a buttermilk substitute for this recipe: 

• ¾ cup plain milk, lower fat is actually better in this instance
• 2½ teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice

Mix ingredients together and let sit about 10 minutes to thicken.

Heavy Cream

I used heavy cream in this recipe because it helps thicken the dressing without the use of any alternative thickeners such as xanthan gum or guar gum. It does add calories to the dressing, so if you want to use whole milk instead, you can. The dressing will be a little thinner. 

You can also thicken the dressing with just a touch of xanthan gum or guar gum.

I would mix ¼ teaspoon of the gum into the spice mixture and add it just before blending. Xanthan and guar gums tend to clump very quickly when they hit liquid, so mixing with the dry spices will help to distribute the gum and reduce clumping. 

Sour Cream

When testing this recipe I tried several combinations using just buttermilk and heavy cream, but something was always missing and that something turned out to be sour cream.

Once I added that into the recipe, it was perfectly balanced and delicious. You can substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt or even cream cheese if you prefer.

Or, you can use more buttermilk and see if you like it that way. 

Seasonings

I used dried herbs in this recipe to keep things simple, but fresh herbs work too!

The general rule when substituting dry herbs with fresh herbs is usually 1 to 3, meaning for 1 teaspoon of dried dill weed you would use 1 Tablespoon of fresh dill.

If you want to skip the onion powder, I recommend using green onion or fresh chives as they will have the mildest flavor.

The garlic gets a little tricky because raw fresh garlic is very strong especially when it's minced and can be bitter when not cooked. If you don't want to use garlic powder, you may want to try using fresh roasted garlic or add in just a small amount (½ teaspoon) of minced garlic to start with and add more to taste. 

If you decide to use fresh parsley instead of dried parsley, chop it fine and add it after blending the buttermilk ranch dressing or your dressing will be light green in color. 

I do add a touch of white sugar to balance everything, but if you don't want any added sugar, skip it! You can also use your favorite sugar substitute instead. 

I also add a touch of fresh lemon juice to give it just a little more of a tangy taste.  You can substitute fresh lemon juice with bottled lemon juice or use apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or white wine vinegar instead. 

How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing

Blender

I use a blender with a blender cup attachment to make the dressing. If you don't have one, then you can use a regular blender but you may want to double the ingredients so they mix properly.

Kitchen Aid or Electric Mixer

A kitchen aid mixer with the whisk attachment or a hand held electric mixer will also work, but make sure you don't whisk too long or the cream will thicken too much.

Hand Held Whisk & Bowl

Using a bowl and a whisk is another option and the only thing I would change is to whisk the heavy cream by hand just until it starts to thicken and then add in the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine.

Making the Ranch Dressing

Place all of the ingredients into the blender cup. The order you add them does not matter unless you are doing this by hand, and then see note above.

Blend on high speed for 45-60 seconds. Be careful you don't run on high speed too long or your heavy cream may become too thick.

The dressing will be a little thin right after blending, but once you refrigerate it for 1-2 hours it thickens up.

Use on your favorite salad, chicken wings, or dip fresh vegetables in it!

Storage Instructions

How to Store Homemade Ranch Dressing

Homemade Ranch dressing is perishable and needs to be stored in the refrigerator when not using.

You can leave it out at room temperature for up to 2 hours.

Refrigeration

Store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge. Mason jars are great storage containers for dressings.

The homemade ranch dressing will last up to 2 weeks when stored properly in the refrigerator. This time is based on the freshness of the ingredients you started with.

For example if your cream and buttermilk are unopened and not nearing their expiration date when you make the ranch dressing, your dressing will stay fresh longer.

Freezer

I do not recommend freezing the ranch dressing.

More Homemade Condiment Recipes!

Homemade is simply better and these recipes are some of my favorites that I make all the time!

So, skip the bottled stuff and make your own.