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If you’ve never thought of making homemade ranch dressing, now’s the time to give it a try! You’ll find yourself using this ranch on absolutely everything once you make it. This recipe is so simple and it tastes a million times better than the bottled stuff.
Featured with this recipe
There are two things that we blaze through at our house, sriracha, and ranch dressing. If you are a ranch dressing fan like us, you know that store-bought ranch dressing does not taste anywhere near as good as ranch dressings that you get at a restaurant. Most restaurants don’t use bottled stuff. Instead, they make their own homemade ranch dressing.
If you are still buying your own ranch dressing from a bottle at the store, you have got to give this homemade ranch dressing recipe a try. It is the perfect dip or dressing, or just add it on top of tacos and your kid’s favorite chicken nuggets. See for yourself how amazing this dressing is. You will see what I am talking about!
Homemade Ranch Dressing Ingredients
Making homemade ranch dressing is simple! All you need are a few simple ingredients that you can leave in your pantry and refrigerator to have on hand. Simply mix the ingredients together for a smooth and creamy sauce everyone will be raving about!
- Mayonaise – I recommend using the brands Best Foods or Hellmann’s. It is a rich and flavorful mayo that seems to work best with this dressing recipe.
- Buttermilk – Easily make your own homemade buttermilk or purchase it at the store.
- Accent or spike seasoning – Choose the best seasoning that you prefer for the extra flavor boost. This is a seasoning salt. The accent seasoning is one brand and Spike is another. Be forewarned that Accent seasoning contains MSG, which many people are sensitive to. For that reason, we recommend using Spike seasoning.
- Pepper – Balance the flavors with a little hint of spice.
- Parsley – Dry parsley will give the white creamy texture some speckles of beautiful green and extra flavor.
- Garlic Powder – This of course is a garlicky flavor add-in. It is a great seasoning to enhance the flavors together.
- Onion Powder – Oniony flavor is added using a powder mix. This is dehydrated onions that are crushed and turned into a powder form.
How to Make Easy Ranch Dressing
Combine the dry seasonings and dried herbs with the wet ingredients to make a smooth and creamy dressing until desired consistency. This is perfect to make right before dinner and store for a couple of hours in the fridge. The longer the dressing is chilling the more the flavors will boost and combine together.
What to Use Homemade Ranch Dressing For
It might be easier to say what you can’t put on because we use it for pretty much everything at our house. Here’s a quick list of what we use homemade ranch dressing with. Get ready to start adding this homemade salad dressing to everything!
- Meals – Chicken tenders, sandwiches, pizza, chicken wings, and tacos are all great ways to add an extra condiment to the food.
- Sides – Start dipping your french fries, tortilla chips, and carrots into the ranch salad dressing.
- Veggies – Raw vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, celery, and cucumbers are a perfect combination!
- Salads – Pick your favorite salad and start drizzling the best ranch dressing overtop! It will be a hit!
“Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It’s really helpful and really flavorful! Will make this again!”
-Allyssa
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are looking for a substitute for ranch dressing you can try a yogurt-based dressing, hummus, avocado ranch, or caesar and vinaigrette dressing are all great substitutes.
Yes! The dressing mix is very close to the same mix and dip. The difference between the dip and mix is the thickness of them both. Dip mix has a mayonnaise with sour cream or yogurt base whereas ranch dressing mix has milk and mayonnaise.
It is best not to freeze ranch dressing. You can freeze it but the texture and flavor may change after it has been frozen. Fresh is best with this homemade ranch dressing.
Store the homemade ranch dressing in the fridge in an airtight container for two weeks. Stir when ready to share the ranch dressing.
More Dip Recipes
Get ready to sink your chips, veggies, or bread in your next dip recipe! Dips are perfect for game nights, parties, or light snacking. It is always a crowd-pleaser!
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 cups mayonnaise (Best Foods or Hellmann's)
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons "Accent" OR "Spike" seasoning* or to taste (Spike has no added MSG)
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together well using a whisk.
- Chill for at least 2 hours.
Dry Ranch Dressing Mix
- Combine dry ingredients and store in an air-tight container.
- 3 tablespoons of this mix is equal to what comes in your typical-sized ranch dressing packet.
Notes
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon paprika 1 Tablespoon sea salt
1 Tablespoon garlic powder 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (like it spicy, use more) Instructions
In a small bowl, add all of the above ingredients and mix well to combine. (use the back of a spoon to mash/grind the ingredients together.) Transfer to a 4-ounce mason jar or clean recycled spice jar. No-Salt Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
1 Tablespoon garlic powder 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
1 ½ teaspoon dried parsley 1 ¼ teaspoons dried savory
1 ¼ teaspoons ground thyme 1 teaspoon ground mace
1 teaspoon onion powder 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried sage ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper Directions
Mix garlic powder, basil, parsley, savory, thyme, mace, onion powder, black pepper, sage, and cayenne pepper in a bowl; store in a sealed jar.
Recipe for Light Ranch Dressing
Yes, you can make a light homemade ranch dressing! Instead of making this recipe with mayo and buttermilk, use greek yogurt and 1 ½ cups of skim milk respectively. It won’t taste QUITE as good– but you won’t feel as guiltyNutrition Information
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I only like to use homemade ranch for salads & dips. It is the easiest to make & so much better than store bought!
Homemade ranch is the way to go!! Quick & easy & tastes great on just about anything!
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! It’s really helpful and really flavorful! Will make this again!
Homemade Ranch is the absolute best! It is so simple to make to! We use it on/with everything.
So nice to have a good homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe!!
This was so good on our salad last night! Thank you!
This Ranch Dressing Mix is good
Dry Ranch Mix
Ingredients
1 cup dried parsley 2/3 cup garlic salt
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers 1/2 cup dried minced onion
1/2 cup onion salt 1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder 2 Tbsp dried dill weed
2 Tbsp ground black pepper (optional)
Directions
Combine the parsley, garlic salt, crushed saltines, minced onion, onion salt, onion powder, garlic powder, dill weed, and black pepper in a sealable container; shake
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
This is close to accent seasoning.
Homemade Emeril’s Essence Seasoning
Ingredients
1 Tbsp paprika 1 Tbsp sea salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 tsp cayenne pepper (like it spicy, use more)
Instructions
In a small bowl, add all of the above ingredients and mix well to combine. (use the back of spoon to mash/grind the ingredients together.) Transfer to a 4-ounce mason jar or clean recycled spice jar.
This seasoning mix is not only a great accent for meats, poultry and seafood, but is also delicious on grilled or roasted veggies
I use this in a lot of dishes
No-Salt Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
1 Tbsp garlic powder 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley 1 1/4 tsp dried savory
1 1/4 tsp ground thyme 1 tsp ground mace
1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried sage 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions
Mix garlic powder, basil, parsley, savory, thyme, mace, onion powder, black pepper, sage, and cayenne pepper in a bowl; store in a sealed jar.
Thank you for sharing this!
This sounds delicious! How long can you keep this in the fridge?
It can stay up to a week 🙂
Hi can we have another substitute for the accent or spike seasoning as we cannot find it in middle east
Hmm… I am sure any kind of seasoning-type salt would work!
I have the hardest time finding Accent at my local Walmart or grocery store. What section do you find it at? I always look by the spices and seasonings. Thanks!
Hi, just a warning. Are you aware that Accent is just pure MSG? Have you ever had a bad reaction to it? It is terrible…the worse for me is the horrible migraine that comes withing 20 minutes of just starting my meal. Vomiting, throbbing pain, swirling eye blinding light, just shaking for at least 24 hrs. So, use wisely, and always ask before you order Chinese food as they use it freely! Unless it states on the menu that don’t.
You can substitute the Accent for any kind of seasoning salt. We mostly will use “Spike” to cut out on the MSG
Do you use dry parsley or fresh?
You will want to use dry– I’m sure fresh would be ok though!