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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}
How long would you this keeps in the fridge?
Love the flavor!
The dressing will keep nicely for at least a week, technically it will keep for as long as the dairy products in it are good.
can we use fresh dill and fresh parsely?
You bet! You’ll need 3x the amounts listed here when substituted fresh for dried ingredients. Enjoy!
This is the closest thing I could find to the best ever dill weed ranch at my favorite pizza place in SoCal. I couldn’t find buttermilk at two different grocery stores so I “made my own” and did the vinegar and milk hack. It probably was a bit more runny because of the regular milk but we also served almost immediately with no time to chill and set. Honestly the flavor is so good, I really couldn’t care less about the consistency. Never buying bottled ranch again!
I’m thrilled it’s a hit, Brittney!
I stumbled upon powdered buttermilk during the pandemic, and I have used it more than I ever thought I would! I didn’t even know there was such a thing
So good! YUM. Thank you!
I’m thrilled it’s a hit!
This was absolutely delicious! Next time I might cut back on the buttermilk (I did add a bit more mayonnaise and sour cream; I like a thicker dressing) I made this for a party and a self-confessed “ranch dressing snob” said it was one of the best she’s ever had. Thanks for sharing.
I’m thrilled you are enjoying the dressing!
Bland, bland, bland.
Real buttermilk is a staple in ranch dressing, along with fresh herbs, but I thought I would give this recipe a try. It called for milk and I used whole milk for a higher fat content since I wasn’t using buttermilk, and dried herbs (mine are less than 4 months old). Dressing was still “runny” after 12 hours in the fridge and tasteless.
hmmmm, without being in your kitchen with you, it’s hard to guess what might have gone wrong. Typically if something is too bland for my tastes, it can be adjusted easily with a bit of salt or additional spices. Sorry to hear that this wasn’t a hit for you. If you’re looking for a thicker dressing, you can certainly make this with buttermilk or use a slightly lesser amount of milk in the future.
Just made this and I couldn’t agree more. It tasted like sour cream more than anything else. Tried to doctor it up with more spices. It’s currently chilling in the refrigerator hoping for a transformation.
I love the flavour but found it to be a bit thin. Any way to thicken it up?
Sure thing, you can reduce the milk next time for a slightly thicker dressing. It will also thicken after a bit of time in the fridge.
Switch out the lemon juice or vinegar for pickle juice.
Love that.
Hi how much vinegar do you use in place of the lemon juice? Thank you!
You’ll use the same amount, Jolene.
This is a new delicious addition to our staples in the fridge! Love adding all 3 teaspoons of lemon juice! Gives it the kick we love ❤️ My girls love it too so that makes it a keeper for sure!
I’m so glad you like it, Susan.
Could I substitute plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream? It’s what we use instead of the sour cream for almost everything!
That will work fine.
I stumbled upon powdered buttermilk during the pandemic, and I have used it more than I ever thought I would! I didn’t even know there was such a thing
It’s a handy ingredient to keep on hand!
This was amazing! I didn’t realize you had measured all of the ingredients out so I did it to taste. It still worked! Yummy!
About how long can you store this ranch in the refrigerator?
This will keep well in the refrigerator for as long as the dairy products are good, usually about a week.
Hi, I was super excited about this recipe. I followed the recipe to a T and it tasted way too much like mayonnaise. I ended up adding a lot more buttermilk and dill (and a little bit more of everything else—except for the mayonnaise), but it still just tastes like a jar of mayonnaise to me. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance,
Rhyland
Do you normally avoid mayonnaise? Are you normally not a fan of it? You can certainly make this with just sour cream and buttermilk, but you’ll miss some of the texture and tanginess. Traditional creamy salad dressings are often made with mayonnaise as a base.
I generally don’t like mayonnaise by itself, but I love ranch dressing. Just trying to get away from store bought. My kids aren’t fans of this either. We all definitely like the store bought flavor better and want to figure out how to get closer to that.
Feel free to adjust the herbs and seasonings in here, Rhyland. This is how our family likes it best.
Absolutely amazing taste!!! Way better than store bought dressing.
I’m thrilled it’s a win for you!
Yummy 😋
I’m glad you like it!
When I mixed the recipe it was bland so I churched it up a little and it is great, this recipe is a great base recipe.
I love how adaptable homemade dressings are, Samantha. Glad you were able to make it to your tastes.
Can you use Greek plain yogurt instead of the milk?
Sure. It will be thicker that way.
Incredible. Great flavour. Only thing I changed the 3rd time I made it (and will continue doing going forward) is reduce the mayo by 2 tablespoons and reduce the milk to 1/2 or 1/3 the recipe calls for.
Less milk and less mayo give the dressing more tang without needing extra liquid and a thicker texture.
Love it! So will the kids and adults alike!
I’m thrilled to hear that you’re enjoying it!
How do you store and how often does it last? Thanks!
I store the dressing in a jar or other container with a lid. It will last at least a week in the refrigerator – or as long as the included dairy ingredients last.
Delicious! Made it with 2 tablespoons vinegar instead of lemon juice and used fresh chives.
I’m so happy to hear that you’re enjoying the dressing!