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The best homemade ranch salad dressing tastes better than anything store-bought and only takes a few minutes to make. Ranch dressing is delicious on salads and as a dip for fresh vegetables.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
There aren’t all that many recipes here on the blog that I label as “the best.” With nearly 1,500 recipes here, there are less than 20 that have truly earned that label.
I figure that everyone’s tastes are different and who knows if someone else’s opinion on the “best recipe ever” is going to match mine? These recipes though? They really are the best of the best.
And this ranch salad dressing? It is hands down the BEST Ranch Salad Dressing that I have ever tasted. Without fail, the people who try it, have all agreed. Just scroll through the comments to see how everyone raves over it.
Ranch Dressing Recipe
Plenty of garlic, dill, and other spices make this a memorable ranch dressing. Just thin enough to pour smoothly, without becoming too liquid or watered down: the creaminess of the dressing is well balanced by the tang of the fresh lemon.
This dressing has had a permanent place in my refrigerator for almost five years now. My kids reach for this ranch dressing or our homemade ranch dip at least once, if not twice, a day to eat with fresh vegetables.
Most nights, I set out our produce boxes and a bowl of this ranch dressing each day as I am getting ready to make dinner. The kids happily snack on vegetables for half an hour or more while we chat and cook dinner.
Ranch Dressing
This is easily the most popular salad dressing I make. We have friends that insist I bring this Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing along every time we get together for a meal.
Everyone who has tasted this dressing has been convinced at first bite that they need to make it for themselves. This recipe has become not only the most popular salad dressing on this website but one of the most popular recipes overall.
After all, what’s not to love about the BEST ranch dressing you’ll ever taste?
How To Make Ranch Dressing
Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk in a small bowl or jar, and whisk until smooth. Add the dill, parsley, chives, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, and fresh lemon juice. Whisk again to combine.
Taste the ranch, I recommend dipping fresh vegetables into it for the perfect taste test. Adjust the spices or add more lemon juice for extra tang. Pour into a jar and refrigerate until ready to serve. This will keep well in the fridge for as long as the dairy ingredients are good, usually at least a week.
Salad Dressing Recipes
For more great dressing recipes to try, Honey Lime Jalapeno Vinaigrette, Creamy Poppyseed Dressing, and these Balsamic Vinaigrettes are a few more of my go-to homemade dressings.
If you love ranch but want to bump it up, Pepper Dill Ranch is packed full of crushed pepper and loaded with fresh dill, this dressing is a great addition to our usual dressings and dips for our raw vegetables.
I have this Avocado Lime Salad Dressing by Inside BruCrew Life and this Green Goddess Salad Dressing by Kalyn’s Kitchen on my future recipes to try list.
The Best Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk
- 3/4 – 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon dried chives
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon finely cracked pepper
- freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste approximately 1-3 teaspoons, adjust to taste
Instructions
- Whisk together the mayo, sour cream and milk until smooth. Add the spices and whisk until combined. Add the lemon and whisk again. Pour into a jar and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This dressing will keep nicely in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 9/15/11 – recipe notes and photographs updated 7/15/21}
This was yummy! I’m happy with this dressing! Just the right amount of herbs and garlic.
This is the best ranch recipe EVER! I make it exactly as written, and it’s perfect. Thank you for sharing:)
I made this last night and it tastes like a dill dip. I don’t want to waste it so what should I do to dillute the dill flavor? Add some more sour cream,mayo, milk and the other spices? Thanks
I’d just make another batch and skip the dill. Then stir the two recipes together. We love dill in our dressing.
Thanks for the response. We finished the first batch and am making the next batch now with out the dill. I really liked it more as a dip with celery, very, very good. Thank you
How long does it last in the fridge?
The last sentence under instructions says “This dressing will keep nicely in the refrigerator for up to a week. Enjoy!
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Here where I live we don’t have sour cream available, or I couldn’t find any, so I just made it without it and it tasted absolutely awesome anyway. The texture was a bit watery, though, do you know what I can do about it that doesn’t include sour cream?
Thanks for the recipe, I really liked it!!
I’d double the mayo to compensate for the missing sour cream. Otherwise, the milk will make it too liquid.
You could use plain Greek yogurt i have seen that on recipes as a substitute for sour cream.
Plain yogurt
Is this best with real mayo or miracle whip?
I use mayo.
Can you make this without the mayo or would it affect the flavor? Say if I were to double the sour cream, would the flavor be similar?
Yes, that will work. It will have a more pronounced sour cream taste, but I’ve made it that way when we’re out of mayo. I slightly reduce the milk in the recipe if I’m using only sour cream, as there is more liquid in sour cream than in mayo.
I’m not a ranch fan but my friends are.
So why not give this recipe a try, I thought?
I’m so glad I did!!
I loved it and needless to say, I will make it again.
I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipe, Ann!
Thanks for this recipe! I love pickles so much so I’m definitely gonna make this for the fam next time I hit the grocery store!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes, Billy!
Meh. Very little flavor. Definitely not the best ranch I’ve ever had. My search continues.
Sorry to hear it wasn’t to your liking. We LOVE this recipe. Best of luck in your search!
this is the best ranch recipe I have came across to date! I have tried many! I found it to be way too thin so I added 3 or 4 Tablespoons of cornstarch along with two regular spoonfuls of sour cream. I just could tell by looking at it on what I wanted. I was afraid this would make it bland but it did not. It was still had its amazing flavor. Thanks!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Gina! (The dressing typically thickens nicely in the refrigerator too.) If you’re looking for a thicker more dippable dressing, you’ll find several ranch dip recipes on the site as well.
I am so excited to try this recipe, as I LOVE ranch but have an extreme sensitivity to Onion and Garlic. With this I can omit them, possibly replace them with extra chives, maybe celery powder and finally enjoy ranch again!
I do have two questions about the recipe. Firstly, I am not a fan of Mayo. Would you recommend replacing it with anything? Greek Yogurt perhaps? Or is the mayo flavor not strong in this recipe?
Secondly, would canning this in small portions extend its shelf (fridge) life? I would love to make up a batch that would last longer than a week.
Thanks so much!
You can absolutely omit whichever ingredients you aren’t able to enjoy, Sabrin. While “I” don’t taste the mayo, you might. It’s worth trying with greek yogurt. I’d reduce the milk in that case though, as yogurt is much thinner than mayo. Lastly, you definitely can NOT can this recipe. The dairy will spoil. Luckily, it only takes about 3 minutes to stir the recipe together, so you can enjoy it whenever you like.
This is delicious. Thank you for this recipe. I reduced the dill and had to leave out the parsley (because we didn’t have any). It is still delicious. Thank you for the tip about the vinegar because we didn’t have lemon juice. This is a keeper. 🙂
I’m thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, Christina!
I found I can split the buttermilk and sour cream two equal out to half a cup of mayo and it taste the same there’s no need for the mayo
That’s a great tip, Richard.
I loved this recipe. It was quick to throw together and tastes better than store bought!
I am thrilled that you’re enjoying the ranch dressing, Pam.
Did it taste better with buttermilk or regular milk?
Honestly, I think it’s about the same. The vinegar adds the tang to regular milk.
Do you think it will turn our the same using vegan products (Almond milk, vegan mayo, sour cream)?
Without having tested it myself, I can’t say for certain. However, many people have made dairy free versions and left comments here that it turned out great.
This looks like a good recipe. I like restaurant style ranch dressings; not so much any of the store bought ranch dressings.
I hope you love it as much as we do, Alexia.
Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Many people have commented that substituting yogurt worked well for them.
Is there a way to make it a little more thinner?
Sure, just add more milk. Enjoy!