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mug full of homemade ranch dressing and spoon dripping ranch dressing
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Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

A delicious, creamy, perfectly seasoned ranch dressing.
Prep Time5 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy, from scratch, homemade, ranch
Servings: 1 cup
Author: Erin
Cost: $1

Ingredients

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ¼ cup buttermilk or milk (use one tablespoon if making dip)
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar, white wine vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt more or less to taste, depending on salt in mayonnaise, aim low to start
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon dried or fresh dill optional
  • 1 tablespoon dried or fresh chives
  • 1 teaspoon dried or fresh parsley
  • teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Whisk in the remaining ingredients well; don’t leave any lumps.
  • Store in a mason jar or other container and let chill at least 1 hour before serving.
    two wooden bowls of salad with ranch dressing poured over on stoneware plate with two forks on brown flour sack cloth

Notes

  • Ranch dressing is always better if it's been chilled for at least an hour, but it's not required. Just know that if you make it in advance, it's going to taste even more delicious after chilling in the fridge. Can be stored for up to one week. 
 
  • If you are making dip rather than dressing, you'll want it thicker and with the addition of sour cream. This is a very easy alteration. Make the recipe as is, but instead of using ¼ cup milk, use 1 tablespoon of milk. Also, instead of using 1 full cup mayonnaise, use ½ cup mayonnaise plus ½ cup sour cream. Whisk together and chill for at least an hour or overnight. Can be stored up to one week. 
 
  • Take care when using salt. Depending on whether you use store bought mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise, you may have to use more or less salt. So aim low to start, and add more as necessary for a more savory flavor.