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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}
Excellent recipe.I personally used more salt, pepper, dill, parsley, and chives, but I’ve learned that you have to taste along the way. I’m glad I did so that I could cater more towards my personal preference! It is a great consistency, perfect as a dip or salad dressing.
I’m so glad you like it, Meg.
I agree. I usually do 50% wet ingredients (1/4 cup sour cream/milk/mayo), but use 75%-100% of the amount of spices called for. I also increase the amount of lemon juice although last time I only had limes and it worked fine with that too.
This dressing is so good! I did up the garlic a little and added a splash of red wine vinegar to my milk because I didn’t have butter milk. Also I added a dash of MSG and a dash of season salt, it took it from pretty tasty to so delicious! I’ve made it 3 times in the last month
I’m so glad you like it, Corryn.
So yummy! Used a low fat milk and a thick sour cream, 2 teaspoons of lime juice, omitted the chives and used fresh parsley and dill instead of dried! Double all the herbs and spices. Immediately after it seemed a bit thin but thickened well overnight as well as absorbed the salt and seasonings. So delicious! Been a struggle to find a homestyle ranch dressing while living in Finland and this hits the spot!
I’m so glad that you’re enjoying the recipe, Katelyn!
Could you add whey to this to preserve it longer if needed?
I’ve never tried that, Jacob. I have no idea how that might work.
I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without this recipe. It is seriously amazing, and so easy, and so versatile! I’ve used it in salad, as dip, over grilled escarole, and today I made a coleslaw by taking this dressing and adding lots of fresh dill and basil, and extra lemon juice. Thank you! It really is the best!
I’m so glad you like the ranch!
Thank you Mary! I stopped buying ranch dressing because of your delicious recipe. It’s easy to make too.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I’m so glad it’s a hit, Anna.
Hey! i have a question!! how long does this ranch stay good for !? super excited to make it but also very worried about how long we have time to consume it, thanks in advance!:)
It should be fine in the fridge for a week or two, Jamie.
Amazing!!! I make this dressing constantly.
I love it on a big salad with tomato, green onions, shredded cheese, kidney beans and corn chips!!!
Best salad ever, everyone fights over it. This dressing is the bomb!
I’m happy to hear that you like the ranch, Marianne.
I love ranch and I’ve been having the hardest time finding a good organic ranch dressing. For some reason, all the organic ranch I’ve tried tasted awful. This is the best ranch dressing I’ve ever had. We had six people for dinner tonight, it all disappeared! I’ll never buy ranch again, thank you for this wonderful recipe!
That’s awesome, Daisy. I’m thrilled it was a hit.
I’ll never buy ranch again, thank you for this wonderful recipe!
I’m glad you like it, Kirt!
Be far….the BEST ranch dressing, ever!
I’m thrilled you love it, Cindy!
This is DELICIOUS! I’ll never buy the bottled stuff again.
I’m thrilled you like it, Karen.
Delicious! No more Hidden Valley!
YAY!
SO GOOD!!!
Reminds me of hidden valley ranch dip packages that I fell in love with when I was visiting the US.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
We don’t have sour cream over here so I used cream fraiche and added extra fresh dill.
Second time making it this week.
Cheers,
Tash from Germany.
I’m so glad you like it, Tash!
Delicious!!! Any suggestions for making it a little thicker?
A little less milk should do the trick, Susan.
Delicious, easy recipe! Next batch I plan to add blackened seasoning to spice it up a bit .
I’m so glad you like the ranch, Sherry.
I LOVE this dressing. I found this recipe & have been making it almost every single week. It is light, fresh & goes with so many things. I tried another recipe that swapped out the lemon for apple cider vinegar & Worchester sauce but we all agreed this one is better! For a household of 4 people who all eat it I make 6 times the recipe instructions which fills up two old fashioned glass milk bottle size containers.
I’m so glad you like the ranch, Tabitha!
I woke up this morning craving cucumbers and ranch dressing from my favorite restaurant in my town. Their ranch dressing is perfect! Up to now I haven’t been able to duplicate it and I have NEVER purchased a ranch dressing from a grocery store that was good. I have purchased a lot of them.
So before I got out of bed; I googled recipes and this one was the first and said it is the best. The ingredients sounded right so I went shopping later, picked them up, made the dressing and yes; this is the ranch dressing that I was craving!
THANK YOU!!
YAY! I’m so glad it was a winner.
This is my go to ranch dressing. Simple but so tasty! I usually end up adding more of the spices as other commenters have said. I don’t usually have chives on hand so I don’t add those in and it’s still yummy.
I’m glad you like it, Lulla!
It’s a good dressing but it does not taste like ranch. I tried the recipe to the t. It isn’t what I was looking for. I let it sit for a day to see if the ranch flavor would come out of the spices but it isn’t correct. Good dressing like I said but not that awesome ranch you accidentally run into at a mom and pop restaurant a few times in your life.
Without a little more info, it’s hard to guess what was missing from your dream ranch recipe. Maybe try adding additional dill to the remaining ranch. That might kick it up enough for you, Will. Good luck!