Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Homemade buttermilk ranch is creamy and garlicky and easy to make. With just a few base ingredients with herbs and seasonings, this buttermilk ranch recipe tastes like your favorite restaurant ranch.
Ingredients
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, up to a ½ cup for a thick ranch
- 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, or white distilled
- ½ teaspoon dried chives, or 1 tablespoon fresh
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, or ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 mined cloves
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon MSG, optional, ½ teaspoon sea salt if omitting
- ¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, or more to taste
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a whisk, add ½ cup buttermilk, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, and 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar and mix until smooth and creamy. Mix for about 2-3 minutes on low speed with the stand mixer.
- Add ½ teaspoon dried chives, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, ¼ teaspoon MSG, and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper to the creamy mixture and whisk until fully incorporated. Mix on low speed for 4-5 minutes with the stand mixer.
- Once super creamy and smooth, transfer to a mason jar or another airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight for the best flavor. This gives everything time to mellow and the flavors to fully infuse. The dressing will thicken a lot more after refrigerating as well.
Equipment Used
Notes
1) Fresh vs Dried Ingredients– All of the herbs, as well as the onion and garlic, can be fresh or dried versions. I like using fresh parsley and dill since they’re both inexpensive and last a while. I prefer using garlic and onion powder since they’re pantry staples and fresh diced onion and garlic can have a much stronger flavor since they’re not cooked.
Chives I’ve used both fresh and dry, but fresh ones go bad quickly, so I like keeping a bottle of dried on-hand instead. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients and go with a combination you prefer.
2) MSG – If you read the ingredients on most commercial ranches, you’ll find mono-sodium glutamate listed on most of them. This adds a nicely subtle savoriness to the ranch dressing. If you would rather omit it altogether, you can just increase the sea salt amount instead.
3) Ranch Dip – If you’re making this to use a dip, go with a slightly thicker ranch. Use the ½ cup of mayo instead of the ¼ cup measure, and slightly reduce the buttermilk if necessary.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 tablespoonCalories: 53kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 134mgPotassium: 29mgFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.4gCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.3mg
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