Grocery store aisles are lined with option after option of dressings and condiments, so you’re spoiled for choice. But what if I told you that the best ranch dressing you’ll ever have is actually homemade and only takes 10 minutes to whip up? That’s even quicker than going to the store! This quick and simple recipe is not only incredibly easy to make at home but also requires only a handful of ingredients (many of which you more than likely already have on hand). Once made, you’ll have a fresh and creamy dip ready to be used for any occasion: alongside your game day appetizers, drizzled on top of your weeknight dinner, or served with a quick lunch to make things more interesting. Here’s how to make this iconic dip homemade:
How To Make Ranch Dressing
INGREDIENTS
- Mayonnaise, Sour Cream & Buttermilk: This is the creamy base of the dressing. Mayonnaise provides the necessary fats, while the sour cream brings a pot of freshness, and the buttermilk a bit of acidity. The result is a silky, perfectly balanced ranch dressing.
- Garlic: Everything is better with garlic. The freshly minced cloves add a punchy pop and slight bite to the dressing, giving it more dimension.
- Herbs: Here, I’m using a herb mix of parsley, dill, and chives, which is pretty standard for ranch recipes and adds a nice amount of flavor and fragrance. Feel free to change the herbs up slightly to what you have on hand. Missing out on or substituting one won’t make or break the recipe.
- Seasonings: I’m keeping things simple here with a mix of salt, black pepper, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. While you can skip the cayenne if you prefer, I’m only calling for a pinch, so it won’t overpower the dressing or make it spicy; it will just add a nice extra zip.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
If you’re a huge ranch fan, you may be surprised to learn just how easy it is to make at home. All it requires is mixing your ingredients together and—well, that’s it! We create our creamy ranch dressing from a base of mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk; then, we add our flavor powerhouses: garlic, an array of freshly chopped herbs, onion powder, and a pinch of cayenne pepper for heat.
The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.
Recipe Tips
- This dip recipe is not only quick to whip up, but also perfectly adaptable. We love the combination of parsley, dill, and chives used here, but feel free to change up the amounts or types of herbs depending on what you have on hand.
Ranch Dressing Variations
This classic recipe is easy to take in another direction with simple additions. Add in avocado for a creamier, avocado ranch, plus a bit of jalapeño if you like a bit of spice. Speaking of spice, creating a Buffalo ranch hybrid is as easy as adding Frank’s RedHot.
What To Serve With Ranch Dressing
While this is an obvious dipping choice for your French fries, copycat Raising Cane’s Chicken, or other favorite chicken strips, there are no limits to how you can use this ranch dressing. Add it to our Buffalo chicken nugget burrito, drizzle it on top of our copycat CPK’s BBQ chicken pizza, or use it in our cheesy bacon ranch chicken dinner.
Storage.
Once made, you can store your ranch dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
