Ranch Dressing Recipe: Better Than the Bottle
To make ranch dressing, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, fresh herbs, garlic, onion powder, and a squeeze of lemon until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors develop.
I went to a dinner at a friend's place and she served a wedge salad with what looked like ranch dressing and tasted like something several levels above it — herby and tangy and thick enough to coat the lettuce without pooling in the plate. I asked if it was store-bought. She looked slightly offended in a friendly way. It was not store-bought. She had made it herself and it took, she said, about eight minutes.
I had not previously thought of ranch as something you made rather than something you bought, which is a failure of imagination I now recognize. The bottled version has a specific flavor — slightly sweet, somewhat flat, the tang of vinegar rather than buttermilk — that I had accepted as what ranch tasted like. Fresh ranch made with real buttermilk, fresh dill and chives, real garlic, and lemon juice tastes like the platonic version of which the bottled kind is a long-distance approximation.
The base is mayonnaise and sour cream, thinned with buttermilk to a pourable consistency. Minced fresh dill, chives, and parsley go in by the tablespoon — more than feels right, because they're the whole point of it tasting fresh. Garlic powder rather than fresh garlic, which can be too sharp. A small amount of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
It keeps in the refrigerator for a week. It gets better on day two after the herbs have had time to steep. My friend sends me a text every few months asking if I've started making my own yet. The answer has been yes for a while. I should have told her sooner.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (full fat)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup buttermilk, plus more to thin if needed
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely minced (or 1 teaspoon dried dill)
- 1 teaspoon fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely minced
- 1 small garlic clove, pressed or finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
- 1In a medium bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. Whisk together until smooth and fully incorporated.
- 2Add the minced chives, dill, and parsley. Stir to combine.
- 3Add the pressed garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon juice, white wine vinegar, salt, black pepper, and cayenne if using. Whisk everything together until uniform.
- 4Taste and adjust seasoning. If it needs more brightness, add a small extra squeeze of lemon. If it needs more salt, add a pinch at a time.
- 5For a thinner, pourable dressing consistency, whisk in additional buttermilk one teaspoon at a time until you reach the texture you want. For a thicker dip consistency, leave it as is.
- 6Transfer the dressing to a jar or lidded container. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving —? this step is not optional if you want it to taste like ranch and not a rough draft of ranch.
- 7Taste once more before serving and adjust salt if needed. Serve chilled.
Pro Tips
- Fresh herbs make a real difference here. Dried herbs work in a pinch but press them gently in your palm before adding to release the oils —? they need the encouragement.
- Grate your garlic clove on a microplane rather than mincing it. This distributes the garlic flavor evenly instead of leaving you with a surprising chunk in one bite, which is startling every single time.
- If you don't have buttermilk, you can make a substitute by adding 3/4 teaspoon of white vinegar to 1/4 cup of whole milk and letting it sit for five minutes. It works fine. The real buttermilk is better, but this is not a reason to give up.
Substitutions
Storage Instructions
Store in a sealed jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Give it a good stir before each use. Do not freeze —? the emulsion breaks when thawed and you'll end up with something that looks like a science project.
Make Ahead
This dressing is actually better made the day before you need it. The flavors develop significantly with 8 to 24 hours of refrigerator time. Make it the night before a party and you will not regret it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my homemade ranch dressing taste bland compared to the bottle?
Two likely culprits: you didn't let it rest in the refrigerator long enough, or your salt is underseasoned. Bottled ranch is heavily salted and often contains MSG, which is why it tastes so aggressively savory. Give your homemade version at least 30 minutes to chill, then taste and adjust salt. A tiny pinch of MSG is also a completely legitimate addition if that's the flavor you're chasing.
Can I make ranch dressing without buttermilk?
Yes. Add 3/4 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1/4 cup of whole milk, stir, and let it sit for 5 minutes. It mimics the acidity of buttermilk well enough. You can also use plain kefir as a one-to-one substitute, which actually produces a very good result. What you should not do is skip the acidic element entirely —? without it the dressing tastes flat and a little mournful.
How do I make ranch dressing thicker for dipping?
Simply reduce or eliminate the buttermilk. Use the full amounts of mayonnaise and sour cream and start with just one tablespoon of buttermilk, then add more only if the texture is stiffer than you want. The ratio of mayo to sour cream is what controls the body of the dip. More sour cream gives you a lighter, tangier dip; more mayo gives you a richer, creamier one.
Can I make this ranch dressing ahead of time?
You can and honestly should. The dressing improves with time in the refrigerator as the garlic mellows and the dried herbs (if using) fully hydrate and integrate. Make it up to 24 hours ahead for best flavor. It keeps well for up to 7 days in a sealed container. Just stir or shake before serving since it may separate slightly.
How long does homemade ranch dressing last in the fridge?
Up to 7 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Because this recipe contains dairy and no preservatives, it won't last as long as bottled dressing. Use your nose —? if it smells off or the texture has changed significantly, it's time to make a fresh batch, which only takes ten minutes anyway.
Can I make this ranch dressing dairy-free or vegan?
Yes. Use a good vegan mayonnaise, substitute the sour cream with a plain, unsweetened coconut or cashew-based yogurt, and replace the buttermilk with unsweetened plant-based milk plus a small splash of apple cider vinegar. The flavor is close to the original. The texture may be slightly lighter. Taste carefully and adjust salt and lemon since plant-based bases vary in their natural tartness.
Do I have to use fresh herbs or will dried work?
Dried herbs work fine —? use about one-third of the quantity called for in fresh, since dried herbs are more concentrated. The real trick is to press them between your palms before adding and to give the dressing extra resting time so the herbs have a chance to soften and release flavor into the dressing. Fresh herbs produce a brighter, cleaner result, but dried herbs produce a perfectly good ranch dressing.
Why did my ranch dressing turn out watery or separated?
Most likely you added too much buttermilk too fast, or your sour cream was low-fat. Low-fat dairy products contain more water and don't emulsify as well. Always use full-fat sour cream and add buttermilk gradually. If it separates in the fridge, that's normal —? just stir or shake to recombine. It has not gone bad. It's just being dramatic.