The Best Homemade Ranch Dressing

Creamy buttermilk ranch dressing made with fresh herbs and just the right mix of seasonings for the best homemade ranch dressing from scratch that you've ever had!

Preparing a delicious Homemade Ranch Dressing has never been easier! All you need are a few basic ingredients, a mixing bowl, and a whisk, and you'll be amazed at how quickly and effortlessly this impressive ranch dressing recipe comes together. Whether you're a seasoned cook or a beginner, this easy recipe is sure to become a staple in your kitchen.

Read on for all the loving details to make The Best Homemade Ranch Dressing.

Jump to:

• History of Ranch dressing
• Featured Ingredients
• Tools for the job
• How to make Homemade Ranch Dressing
• Ways to use the Best Homemade Ranch dressing
• Variations of Homemade Ranch Dressing
• Storage
• FAQ's
• More recipes
• The Best Homemade Ranch Dressing
• 💬 Comments

History of Ranch dressing

I was surprised to learn that the origination of this popular dressing dates back to 1949! Steve Henson, a plumber doing a plumbing job in Alaska, created this dressing for his crew of workers. Of course, fresh herbs and produce weren't the easiest to come by, so it was made with all dry herbs and spices.

By 1956, Steve and his wife Gayle had moved to California, purchased an old ranch, and renamed it Hidden Valley Ranch. They opened it for guests to stay and continued to serve the delicious dressing in the ranch restaurant. It was a hit with all the guests, and eventually, they started selling the dressing as well as packets of the dry homemade ranch dressing mix for consumers to make up on their own. Sound familiar? I had no idea it had been around that long!

Other notable dates are in 1986 when Doritos started selling Cool Ranch flavor, which opened the door for all the other ranch-flavored delights to come and started moving away from being just a ranch salad dressing. Then, in 1994, Dominoes started selling it as a dip for their hot wings. As a result, I, and so many others, used it as a pizza dip, so Ranch dressing and pizza became synonymous with each other. The New York Times has a great article with more details here.

Tools for the job

• Medium-sized bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk, spatula
• Mason jar, squeeze bottle, or another sealable storage container

How to make Homemade Ranch Dressing

Note before starting

When combining ingredients of different consistencies, like mayonnaise and milk, I find it easiest to combine the thicker one with other ingredients, then whisk the thinner ingredient in last to mix faster and avoid making a mess.

Also, I always whisk sauces that include mayonnaise to keep them creamier. Putting mayonnaise in a blender thins it out quite a bit, more than necessary for this scratch-made ranch dressing.

Prepare the fresh herbs

Start by giving the herbs a little bit of love. See below how to trim and clean the herbs.

• Trimming fresh herbs for different recipes can vary. I will use most of the herb, including the stem, when making a stew. But for this application, only the tender parts are desired. You can see how I separated the herb on my cutting board below.

• Make sure your fresh herbs are clean, and rinse if needed. I find that herbs that come in clamshells are pre-rinsed, but bulk bundles often still have dirt on them.
  
  If you need to clean your herbs, you can either rinse them all at once or just the amount you need for your recipe. If you decide to rinse the entire bundle, shake off the excess water over the sink, then spread it out on a towel to air dry.

Making the Ranch dressing

• Add the mayonnaise, fresh minced herbs, seasonings, and lemon juice in a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine.
• Next, pour the buttermilk into the bowl and whisk until combined.
• Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days.

Ways to use the Best Homemade Ranch dressing

• As a salad dressing, which is the #1 choice here in America. 40% of Americans prefer ranch as their first pick dressing, followed by 10% who prefer Italian dressing. Another option is a dip with a crudité platter or simply carrot & celery sticks!
• Use it for a pizza dip or drizzle. You have not lived if you haven't experienced the cool creaminess of ranch against a greasy pepperoni pizza! Go get some today!! In fact, you can try it with this fantastic bolognese sauce pizza.
• Oh, the discovery of Buffalo Chicken Ranch Dip! This one is on repeat at casual parties and game-day gatherings. Dipping hot wings in ranch is a delight, but this dip is akin to having it all!
• You can marinate chicken in homemade ranch dressing. The buttermilk provides an awesome tenderizer, and the mayo helps keep things moist. The seasonings may not be enough to give a finished ranch flavor, but it's a great way to use it up if it's getting close to expiring. If you're looking for deeper seasoning, add more salt, pepper, garlic, and onion seasonings before cooking.
• As mentioned above, dipping Buffalo Hot Wings in ranch dressing has become just as popular as the original accompaniment of blue cheese dressing. Personally, I like to use both! However you do it, this is the best ranch dressing for wings. (Personal trivia: I craved this most when I was pregnant with my one and only!)

Variations of Homemade Ranch Dressing

Here is a list of variations of Ranch Dressing recipes you could try!

• BBQ Ranch Dressing - A popular upgrade to ranch dressing is adding BBQ sauce, which makes a great fry dip! Start by adding 2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce per cup of ranch, then add more to taste if needed.
• Avocado Ranch Dressing - Before adding the buttermilk to the final recipe, using a blender, add the 2 cups of buttermilk and one avocado, roughly chopped. Puree together, then whisk into the remaining ranch dressing ingredients. (I recommend adding 3 tablespoons of minced cilantro as well!)
• Sriracha Ranch Dressing - Spice things up by adding this ingredient to taste. We all have different spice levels, but 1 teaspoon per cup of homemade ranch dressing is a good place to start.
• Blue Cheese Ranch Dressing - You'll love this one if you are a Hot Wings fan! An affordable blue cheese works best in this application. In a blender or with a fork in a bowl, blend (or mash) ½ cup of blue cheese crumbles to 1 cup of the buttermilk before adding to the rest of the dressing ingredients. Add another ½ cup of crumbles to the final dressing so it's chunky!
• Reduced fat/calorie Homemade Ranch Dressing - Substitute light or fat-free mayonnaise for the standard mayo and reduced fat buttermilk for the regular buttermilk.

Storage

Homemade ranch dressing can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for one week, possibly a little longer. It's best to go by the expiration of your buttermilk. This dressing cannot be frozen.

More recipes

Enjoy Ranch dressing? Try one of these recipes:

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