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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!
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}
Thank you for this salad dressing recipe. Made it a couple of days ago for the first time exactly as outlined. The only caution I would make for others is that while the dressing taste is excellent the texture is very thin and liquidy with the 1/2 cup of milk which I used as directed — start with 1/4 cup of the milk for a more thicker dressing mixture and gradually add more milk for a thinner dressing to your taste.
I’m so glad that you like it!
Delicious and easy to make. I’ve been on a make my own salad dressings kick sence the house ran out of dressing one day. It’s great how easy they are to actually make and this one is one of easiest. It was a hit on Thanksgiving, so good it changed some people’s opinions on ranch.
I’m so very happy that you love the dressing, Jennifer!
Never going back to store bought! This is so quick and delicious, thank for sharing👍🏻
I’m so glad you like the dressing, Michelle!
Best ever!!! Had it with deep fried halibut fish, salad and home made fries. I never bought runch dressing in my life, I did have it in the past and never liked it.
Delicious!!!
Thank you,
Aga
I’m glad you like the dressing!
How long do you think this would last in the fridge? Thanks!
This will be good for at least a week or two – though it rarely lasts that long in our fridge.
Normally I get Hidden Valley brand. This home-made version tastes very fresh and I like the fact that it has no MSG in it because MSG gives me a burpy aftertaste. My first attempt didn’t quite have the “zing” of the bottled stuff, even with three teaspoons of lemon juice, but I imagine experimenting with a little vinegar might get it just right. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m thrilled that you love the dressing, Ty.
The WORST recipe for ranch EVER. Ratios are all wrong making the most tasteless ranch you will ever experience.
I can’t even imagine what went wrong for you. How old are your spices? Did you substitute anything? Are you sick or having trouble tasting things? (Not trying to be rude, but I can’t even fathom this recipe being made as written and being “tasteless.”) We make this every single week and it is a very flavorful ranch recipe.
I am actually replying to the blog owner. I cannot understand how you can reply so rudely to a negative comment. The fact that you say “I don’t mean to be rude” doesn’t make it any less rude. As we all know, taste is subjective, so what is the problem if someone wants to share their experience of NOT having liked it? Then you “blame” them indirectly: their spices are old, or (much worse, VERY impolite!) they have a physical problem?
It is the same as someone not liking the colour of a dress and the designer answering with “I don’t mean to be rude, but… are you colour blind?”. I was going to try this recipe but I’ll skip because I do not like how you manage feedback. Also, if we are nit-picky, many other people also said that this or that was not perfect in the recipe, but you just answer “oh I am glad you LOVED it” and not even address their comments about things that could be improved.
Hey there, Talulah. For what it’s worth, I don’t usually reply to comments like this one, let alone publish something that is directed to me personally vs a comment about the recipe itself, but I’d like to clarify that at this time in our history (aka Covid) I can count over a dozen people I personally know who can not taste food, can not taste ANYthing at all, right now. Hence my question regarding the ability to taste at this time. I can see how you might have assumed I was being rude by “apologizing” in advance, but that was all that was meant by the comment. I make an effort to reply to ALL comments and I do publish all the negative ones as well. I’m not pointing blame at all, many people don’t know that spices can go bad or lose their flavors over the years. You are welcome to make it or not, visit again or not. I wish you only the best.
This is for Talulah….there is nothing wrong with what Mary wrote given the uncalled for nastiness of the comment. No one HAS to use the recipe and no HAS to like it…you can just move on. And your ‘example’ isn’t even close to being the same thing. One final thing…no is going to lose any sleep over the fact that you are choosing not to try the recipe! Get over yourself…its a freaking recipe site!
This is the best ranch dressing recipe. Since making this no more store bought dressing.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Dawn!
Hi! I love the recipe, but I’m on Weight Watchers and would love to know how much a serving is to go with the nutrition information you posted. I’m guessing 1 Tablespoon?
You are correct. It’s (24) 1 tablespoon servings, Shannon.
I had neither milk/buttermilk nor lemon juice on hand, so I substituted evaporated milk and pickle juice. I also added 1 Tbsp dried minced onion to thicken it up a skosh. The result was so fresh and delicious! I will never buy bottled ranch again!
I’m so glad you liked it! I bet the pickle juice was great with this. Way to improvise!
I love this recipe. One question- off a spoon this is everything I want it to be and more. On salad or veggies it seems to lose some of its pizazz. Should I try adding more herbs? I can’t quite put my finger on what it seems to be missing.
I would add a touch more salt and perhaps more dill as well, Haley. Depending on how I’ll be serving it, more dill is often a great addition. Instead of taste-testing on a spoon, I like to try it on raw vegetables to really know how it will work. I hope that helps!
Very tasty. I hate the shelf stable jarred kind and didn’t have refrigerated ranch. Go figure, I had all the ingredients foe homemade. This is very good though I may try the vinegar next time for more tang. Would you post how long it can keep in the refrigerator?
Marisa G.
I’m glad you like it, Marisa! It should keep for up to a week in the fridge.
Great taste and texture!!!! Made exactly as-is, except used half and half. This will be my new goto ranch recipe.
I’m so glad that you like the dressing, Allan.
What a fantastic recipe! The first time I made it I followed the directions exactly. The baseline recipe is a winner. I did make some changes. I use a tbsp of white wine vinegar, added more than the required fresh cracked black pepper, and a little more salt. The baseline recipe has great bones but the changes I made were done to being it closer to my favorite ranch dressing served at my local restaurant. That said, this recipe is a keeper. I’ve printed it so it won’t disappear from my recipe collection.
I’m so very happy that you like it!
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have a nightshade allergy, so i haven’t had ranch dressing in years. I made this last month and it’s been a staple in my fridge since.
I’m glad you’re enjoying the dressing, Rachel!
I made this since I wanted a different dressing from my wife’s tahini salad dressing, and this was the perfect substitute. Has a great ranch taste and so easy to make. The only thing I didn’t have was dill, but I’ll save that for next time!
I’m glad you like the dressing!
This is the most delicous ranch!! 😍 I made it without the chives because I didn’t have any but it came out great! Thank you!
I’m happy to hear that you’re enjoying it, Elizabeth!
This is an amazing recipe, but to make your life better, I strongly suggest adding freshly grated cucumber with the juice to add some freshness. You won’t regret it…
Interesting, I’ve never tried that, Betraise. The fresh lemon adds some awesome freshness, but I’ll have to try the cucumber now too. Thanks!
This is THE BEST Ranch recipe! I’ll never buy bottled again!
I’m thrilled that you like it, Troy!
Quick,easy and super tasty and convenient. Could not find better recipe out there and you can customize it however you want!
That’s awesome, Jonathon. I’m glad you like it.