Skip the store-bought bottle and elevate your meals with this easy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing! Made with fresh ingredients, it’s bursting with creamy richness, tangy zip, and herbal freshness. Drizzle it on salads, dip your veggies, or use it to add flavor to pasta dishes, meats, and even sauces.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Here are some reasons why someone would love this easy homemade buttermilk ranch dressing:
- Superior Flavor: Ditch the store-bought stuff! This homemade version boasts fresh ingredients, delivering a brighter, tangier, and more flavorful ranch experience. Buttermilk adds a unique zip that bottled dressings lack.
- Better for You Indulgence: You can control the quality of ingredients. Skip the artificial flavors, preservatives, and unexpected sugars often found in store-bought dressings. It’s a more wholesome way to enjoy the flavors you love.
- Versatility Unbound: This dressing goes way beyond salads! Use it as a veggie dip, a marinade for meats, a creamy sauce for pasta, or even a flavor booster for sandwiches and wraps.
- Crazy Easy, Crazy Fast: Homemade doesn’t have to mean complicated. This dressing comes together in minutes, perfect for busy weeknights or whipping up a quick dip for unexpected guests.
- Budget-Friendly: Making your own dressing saves money compared to buying bottled varieties. Plus, you can control the portion size, reducing food waste.
- Freshness FTW: Fresh herbs and buttermilk create a vibrant, alive flavor that pre-made dressings just can’t match. It elevates even the simplest dish.
Use anytime you need ranch dressing.
What Can You Use this Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing For
This homemade buttermilk ranch dressing is a flavor chameleon, going way beyond the classic salad. Here are some delicious ways to use it:
- Dipping Delight: It’s perfect for an easy veggie platter. Fresh vegetables like carrots, celery, broccoli florets, cherry tomatoes, or even bell pepper slices come alive with a dunk in this creamy ranch.
- Salad Superstar: Of course, it shines on salads! Drizzle it over a bed of greens, chopped vegetables, and your favorite protein for a satisfying lunch or light dinner.
- Pasta Perfection: Thin it out slightly with a splash of milk or buttermilk to create a creamy sauce for pasta dishes. It pairs particularly well with grilled chicken, shrimp, or roasted vegetables.
- Meat Marinade Magic: Use it as a marinade for chicken, pork, or even fish. The buttermilk helps tenderize the meat, while the herbs and spices add a delicious savory layer.
- Sandwich Spreader: Spread it on bread for a flavorful base for sandwiches or wraps. It adds a cool, creamy contrast to grilled chicken, turkey, or roast beef.
- Burger Booster: Skip the ketchup and mayo! Top your next burger with a dollop of ranch dressing for a tangy, creamy twist.
- Dip for Fries: French fries or sweet potato fries find a perfect partner in this cool and creamy ranch.
- Pizza Partner: Drizzle it over a slice of pizza for an unexpected flavor explosion. The tangy ranch cuts through the richness of the cheese and adds a delightful herbal note.
- Veggie Roasting Inspiration: Toss roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, or cauliflower in a bit of ranch dressing before roasting for added flavor and a touch of creaminess.
- Dip for Wings: Buffalo wings not your thing? Try dipping them in this cool and creamy ranch for a flavor contrast.
- Flavor Booster: Get creative! Add a dollop to soups, stews, or dips for an extra layer of flavor and creaminess.
This is just a starting point – with its versatility, this homemade buttermilk ranch dressing is sure to become a favorite condiment in your kitchen!
Proper Storage Tips for Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Here are some key storage tips to keep your homemade buttermilk ranch dressing fresh and flavorful:
Storage Container:
- Airtight is Key: Choose an airtight container to prevent exposure to air, which can accelerate spoilage and lead to unwanted odors or flavors being absorbed by the dressing. Mason jars or plastic containers with tight-fitting lids work well.
Freshness First:
- Transfer Immediately: Once you’ve mixed your dressing, don’t leave it sitting out at room temperature. Transfer it to your storage container right away to slow down bacterial growth and maintain freshness.
Chilling Out:
- Refrigerate Always: Homemade buttermilk ranch dressing is made with fresh ingredients like buttermilk and herbs, so it needs to be stored in the refrigerator. The cold temperature helps inhibit bacterial growth and extends the shelf life.
Label it Up (Optional):
- Date it for Freshness: Consider labeling your container with the date it was made. This helps you keep track of how long it’s been around and ensures you use it before the quality starts to decline.
Here’s an additional tip:
- Portion Control: If you know you won’t use the entire batch of dressing within a reasonable timeframe, consider dividing it into smaller portions and freezing them. Frozen ranch dressing can last for several months.
By following these storage tips, you can enjoy your delicious homemade buttermilk ranch dressing for up to two weeks!
More Great Things You Can Make At Home
- How to Make Roasted Garlic
- Cranberry Syrup
- Pumpkin Pie Pecan Butter
- Dandelion Jelly
- Easy Mocha Fudge Sauce for Ice Cream (and more)
- Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
More Ideas for Using This Homemade Ranch Dressing
You can use this recipe for Homemade Ranch Dressing for literally anything you would use ranch dressing for!
Here are some of our favorite ways to use ranch dressing:
- dip pizza in ranch dressing
- veggie dip
- dip bread or crackers
- use to spread on, or marinate chicken or beef
- obviously with your salad
- use in any recipe that calls for ranch dressing
Recipe for Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
Have you ever made your own Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Recipe From Scratch?
Tell me about it!
Honestly, this is the only ranch dressing recipe I will use, and it is so easy to change up the flavor by making minor tweaks to the seasonings and herbs. Enjoy!
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Recipe From Scratch
If you’ve never tasted homemade ranch dressing, you are seriously missing out. It’s inexpensive, easy to make and tastes so good!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic we use two because we love the garlic flavor
- ¼ teaspoons salt
- ¼ teaspoons pepper
- 2 teaspoons fresh chives
- 2 Tablespoons chopped onion
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Put the onion, garlic clove and fresh chives into your food processor or a blender and blend until completely minced.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Turn on your blender or food processor and blend it all well. I blend about 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor with a spatula if needed. I do this once about halfway through.
- Pour into air tight containers or mason jars and refrigerate for 12 hours.
- This recipe makes about 2½ bottles of standard size dressing.
- Keeps in the fridge for about 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Serving: 42.5gCalories: 120kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 0.03gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 103IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 0.1mg
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I love ranch dressing but it’s not common in Australia and especially not where I live. Thanks heaps for this!
Oh Maureen, I don’t know what I’d do if I couldn’t get my hands on it. I assure you this will get you your ranch “fix” – so, so good.
YUM! I need to run over to Penzleys to get some dried chives now. This sounds like a fabulous reason to stop buying Ranch.
It is amazing Kristen, and I like it because everything is natural, no preservatives – so of course it doesn’t last as long but its worth it IMO. Plus they are easy ingredients to get and it tastes… just amazing.
Yum…I’m gonna make it!
Helen, do let me know if you try it out and what you think!
I like adding other herbs and spices also, but this is just a basic, VERY delicious recipe!
Enjoy!
Looks good. I keep ending with a surplus of buttermilk (milk delivery mistakes on my part), so it’d be nice to find another way to use it. Also, I like being able to make foods from scratch, and ranch dressing is typically such an industrial food standby.
We do that too – so much buttermilk and not enough recipes we make on a consistent basis – except this one. 🙂 I feel your pain.
Let me know what you think of it if you decide to try it – it is by far my favorite I’ve found, but I’m definitely interested in what others think! 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!
Ranch is my favorite dressing and I make it from scratch too. My recipe is slightly different in that it uses crushed saltine crackers and quite a few more herbs.
Micha I throw tons of herbs in mine but I do whatever I have on hand, so I didn’t want to add that. I would love to see yours though – the saltine crackers have me quite intrigued! I hope you’ll share!
I feel sad whenever I see people putting store bought ranch in their carts at the grocery store. It’s so easy to make. We do it all the time. We like to include a bite of the liquid from our homemade pickles.
I’ve got a nice little salad garden growing in my yard and have been meaning to make some dressings to use on my new greens, this sounds perfect! Thank you!
I don’t see your exact measurement (no measurement actually) for the onion powder.
This recipe doesn’t call for Onion Powder, it calls for Chopped Onion which is 2 Tablespoons and is listed towards the bottom of the ingredient list.
We don’t get sour cream in India so I used sour yogurt instead of the cream and buttermilk. The result was a rather watery ranch, but the taste was incredibly refreshing for the tongue from the store bough, expensive, imported bottle of ranch which rather tasted like cardboard. Thanks for the recipe. Next time I’ll try squeezing the water out of the yogurt with a muslin.
@helmet- you can make buttermilk by adding a Tablespoon of lemon juice to a cup of milk and waiting five minutes. you can add 1/4 cup of buttermilk to cream to make sour cream. hope this helps. robyn
that is 1/4 cup buttermilk to one cup cream
The commercial dressing has MSG, what a great recipe and now I can go back to enjoying my salads and fresh veggies.
The commercial dressing has MSG, what a great recipe and now I can go back to enjoying my salads and fresh veggies.
I didn’t have chives on hand so I substituted dill, and boy was it good. Tastes like something out of my childhood. I’m looking for vegetables for an excuse to keep eating it!
I didn’t have chives on hand so I substituted dill, and boy was it good. Tastes like something out of my childhood. I’m looking for vegetables for an excuse to keep eating it!
Are dried chives just as ok as fresh chives? The store only had dried chives. I already made one ranch dressing recipe from Huffington Post which called for buttermilk, sour cream, mayo, tabassco, garlic, chives and salt/pepper.. and it was not good. My first time though so maybe I messed up?
Hi Grace, I am not sure why the other recipe wasn’t good. I guess it’s possible you could have messed up, or maybe you didn’t like the ingredient combination. I’m not sure and without seeing the whole recipe (or even trying it) I can’t really say. This recipe is pretty easy and error proof. You MAY use dried chives for this. Obviously it tastes better with fresh for the full flavor, but you’ll still get the flavor with dried chives too. Enjoy!
We as a family are on a no processed food diets, and have done without ranch, because we could not find one that fit our strict diet(both our children are special needs), this recipe fits into our resrictions. Thank you for posting, hope to try after a shopping trip.
Hope you all enjoyed it! I’m so glad it fits the restrictions!
The commercial dressing has MSG, what a great recipe and now I can go back to enjoying my salads and fresh veggies.
I didn’t have chives on hand so I substituted dill, and boy was it good. Tastes like something out of my childhood. I’m looking for vegetables for an excuse to keep eating it!