Homemade Ranch Dressing

Published: Mar 4, 2018 / Updated: Jan 11, 2021 / 96 Comments

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This homemade ranch dressing recipe is fast, easy to make, healthy, and tastes so much better than the store-bought variety. This recipe is made without buttermilk, so you don't have to worry about what to do with the rest!

This post was originally published on December 14, 2015. I have updated the post with new photos, more clearly written directions, and more tips/suggestions.

I was never a big ranch dressing person. As far as creamy dressings go, Caesar is my #1. Ranch could never compete. This ranch recipe does. It's the best ranch dressing I've ever had.

How to make homemade ranch dressing

Making ranch dressing is easy. Most homemade ranch recipes contain sour cream and mayo as a base. I also added:

Fresh parsley
Fresh chives
Dried dill
Worcestershire sauce
Lemon juice
Garlic
Fresh cracked pepper

Add everything to a jar, give it a shake, and you've got a fast and tasty ranch dressing that's so much better than the bottled variety.

Let it sit in the fridge for a while and you'll have a great ranch dip.

Want to swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt? No problem, that will work too and save you some calories in this no buttermilk ranch dressing.

Do you need buttermilk to make ranch dressing?

No. Some homemade ranch dressings do contain buttermilk, but I decided against using the buttermilk since I had no plans on what to do with the rest, and throwing it out would be a waste.

I wanted to see if I could come up with a ranch dressing without buttermilk that didn't seem like it was missing something, and I definitely like the results!

I decided to use both fresh lemon juice and sour cream to get that tangy taste that ranch dressing needs. I used lemon juice because it adds freshness to the dressing and isn't quite as harsh as vinegar.

Worcestershire sauce also adds a bit of saltiness and that extra je ne sais quoi that I was looking for (probably due to the anchovies in it). Chefs put anchovies into all sorts of dishes to kick up the taste, and clearly, traces of anchovies work well in ranch dressing.

It took me a while to land on the herb combination I wanted. I prefer fresh parsley to the dried kind any day. Dried chives work fine for this dressing, but I also prefer using fresh.

Garlic is a must since this is my recipe after all. 😛 I used one large clove. I used dried dill as it's easier to handle than fresh, and I also didn't want the dill taste to be overpowering, and I find dried dill is quite mellow. A bit of salt and a generous amount of pepper add the finishing touches to this creamy ranch dressing.

You may also like my chipotle lime ranch dressing if you love homemade dressings and want something with a little kick!

Have you ever made ranch salad dressing from scratch? You should definitely give it a try!

Let me know in the comments below if you have any questions/comments about this easy ranch dressing recipe.

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