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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}
taste was good, but think I would add less buttermilk as it came out little thin. I will make it again. thank you for sharing your recipe:)
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
100% spot on. The second time I tried this I tweaked it reduced milk by 25% and used powdered salt(reef crystals). Gave it way more flavor and a better consistency.
Made this with cottage cheese instead of sour cream and mayo and ran it through the food processor. So good! You can leave out the salt since cottage cheese is salty.
I do the same thing for a protein boost. It’s so good that way!
I have made this time and time again. I doubled the spices and used less buttermilk to keep it thicker. This is outstanding, so much better than any bottled recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
I’m so happy to hear that the ranch is a win!
I’m a Brit but I lived in America for awhile and developed a HUGE love of all things Ranch flavoured (potato chips, salad dressings, etc) but sadly, here in the UK it’s almost impossible to find anything Ranch flavoured in shops at all. SOoooo sad! So, I need to get into making my own Ranch dressings, etc, and this recipe sounds great & so easy to make! Also, do you have a recipe for a dry Ranch dressing to use for homemade potato chips, etc? I’ve never made homemade potato chips before but I really want to try my hand at doing those (in the oven, not deep fried!) and would love to do them using a yummy ranch dressing sprinkled all over them!
Hi Cat, I hope you love the ranch dressing as much as we do! For a dry rub like you’re thinking of, you’ll need to add a bit of buttermilk powder to the spices here in order to really achieve that flavor on the chips. I’m guessing about a quarter cup of the dried buttermilk powder with the amount of spices listed here. (I should play with that myself! I’ll keep you posted.)
This is a terrible ranch dressing recipe. Only ¼ teaspoon onion powder?? NO DILL?! Oh, honey, no. It’s a decent base I guess, but no one should follow this recipe to the letter.
As an experiment, I split this in half and kept one bowl as written, and the other I went ahead and added all of the ingredients I usually use in ranch, all in the proper amounts, and left them in the fridge overnight for the flavors to develop. Sure enough, the one as written was absolutely tasteless. It’s just mildly sour dairy. My side, with the dill and the full teaspoon of onion powder, tastes like proper ranch. Please, I beg all of you, don’t be afraid to use spices. No one deserves bland ranch.
God bless, Amelia, honey. I couldn’t agree more that no one deserves bland ranch. As the thousands of reviews attest, this recipe is anything but that. There is a full teaspoon of dill listed in the ingredients. I’m not sure how you missed that ingredient. Dill is the primarily flavor in ranch dressing and the beauty of making homemade dressings and dips is being able to alter them to the tastes you like best. Personally, I wouldn’t care for a full teaspoon of onion in this dressing, but I’m glad it worked for you.
Dill is literally in the recipe a whole Teaspoon… I made this and it was delicious
I’m glad you like it, LeeAnne!
You need to actually read the recipe before giving your one star rating and your demeaning comments. The recipe calls for 3/4 to 1 tsp of dill. It’s the 4th ingredient.
Amelia,
You might want to reread the recipe as there IS dill in it.
Second thought I had….take a leap and free hand the amount of herbs in it. Most recipes are written for a million different tastes in mind. One would assume an individual would be bright enough to adjust according to their individual tastes.
And then, and this is one heck of a concept, BE NICE. No one does things the way you do. Try going through your day NOT looking for something to tear apart.
Shame on you.
I first fell in love with Ranch Dressing a few years ago when I was in the U.S. Ever since, I’ve been craving that unique flavor, but unfortunately, it’s not available in my country. Recently, I discovered a new recipe, and it’s absolutely fantastic—I couldn’t be happier to taste that familiar Ranch flavor again! Honestly, it might even be better than the one I remember. Hands down, the best recipe ever.
YAY!! That’s awesome, Lena!
Instead of mayo I used Greek plain yogurt-amazing! Thank you! I can’t buy Hidden Valley ever again after this healthy delicious recipe 😂
I’m glad it’s a hit!
I loved it it was really good thank you
I’m happy to hear it was a hit!
Fantastic recipe!! I made a small batch today for my lunch salad and it was amazing 😍. Great recipe!
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the ranch, Tonya.
We use this recipe, but double all of the spices. It rivals the amazing ranch made by a local restaurant. We even made this in bulk and served it at my daughter’s wedding.
That’s awesome, Lexi. I’m glad you like the dressing so much.
How long will this last in the refrigerator?
At least a week, Lora. Technically, it will last as long as the dairy ingredients are good for.
my husband loves this more than hidden valley ranch!!
Happy to hear it!
delicious on a fresh salad with clean skinless chicken breast dipped in Frank’s Hot sauce.
That sounds great, Stacy!
I did not have buttermilk but I did have plain unsweetened yogurt and used that instead. The dressing was delicious and creamy. Perfect.
I’m glad you like it so much!
This recipe is spot on! I’ll never buy store bought ranch again!
I’m thrilled you like it!
so easy. so delicious. thank you!
I’m so glad you like it!
Sooo delicious!
I’m so glad you like it!
I love this recipe ! It has been my go to for years now. When i want a dip less milk. Fresh scapes work great
in the Spring!
I love this with fresh herbs too! I bet it’s awesome with the scapes. I’m glad you’re enjoying the ranch.
Perfect! Did it as written. I used the buttermilk.
I’m so glad you like it!
Amazing!
I’m glad you’re enjoying the ranch!
O. M. G. I always amaze myself when I make fresh dressing. But this one. Holy hell. Amazing. Thank you.
YAY!! I’m so glad you like the ranch, Evelyn.
This ranch has been a total hit with my family ! I added a bit more seasonings to taste but everything else was perfect !
I’m thrilled you like it!