This homemade ranch dressing recipe is so easy and delicious that it will make you ditch the store-bought bottles for good. It’s extra creamy and perfect for salads and dipping!
I’ve always loved ranch dressing, and this homemade version is truly the best I’ve had. My homemade ranch dressing is incredibly simple to make and tastes so much better than what you can buy at the store (promise).
For more easy salad dressing recipes that knock the socks off store-bought bottles, try our homemade Italian dressing, my favorite honey mustard dressing, and this creamy blue cheese dressing.
Key Ingredients
- Sour Cream and Mayonnaise: I use sour cream and mayonnaise for the creamiest ranch dressing. The sour cream lightens up the mayonnaise, which can be heavy on its own. When I have homemade mayonnaise in the fridge, I love using it for this homemade ranch.
- Buttermilk or Milk: Buttermilk adds a tangy, creamy flavor that’s hard to beat. If you don’t have buttermilk, regular milk with a bit more lemon juice or vinegar also works. If you buy buttermilk for this recipe and have some leftover, try these buttermilk pancakes (I love them!).
- Worcestershire: Not every ranch recipe calls for Worcestershire sauce, but let me tell you, it’s a game-changer in flavor. If you’re skeptical, taste the dressing, and then add a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce to see how the flavor changes.
- Lemon Juice or Vinegar: A splash of fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar brightens the dressing in a way that store-bought bottles can’t compete with. It makes this dressing taste homemade.
- Fresh Herbs: I love fresh dill, parsley, and chives for a classic ranch flavor, but dried herbs will work in a pinch. I have included tips for using dried herbs below the recipe.
- Spices: Onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper create that familiar ranch flavor. I find that dried onion and garlic powder taste better than fresh when making ranch dressing.
Just a few seconds of stirring turns our ranch dressing ingredients into a creamy and delicious mixture. So easy!
My Favorite Ways to Use Homemade Ranch Dressing
Skip store-bought salad dressing and use this homemade ranch on your favorite salads. It’s incredibly delicious with cucumbers, carrots, baby greens, kale, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, sweet bell peppers, cauliflower, and broccoli. Try it on a big green salad with a few slices of juicy grilled chicken, some sliced avocado, and a drizzle of ranch.
This ranch dressing is also delicious as a dip. Add it to a small bowl for fresh vegetables, roasted veggies (like sweet potato fries!), or anything buffalo flavored. It’s especially good with these baked buffalo chicken hot wings or our baked buffalo cauliflower wings.
Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing
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This easy homemade ranch dressing is extra creamy and perfect for tossing with salad or as a dipping sauce. We love using fresh herbs, but you can use dried herbs. See the tips section below for suggested amounts. I love buttermilk ranch, so we use buttermilk to make it, but if you do not have access to buttermilk, regular milk will still make a delicious dressing. You will just lose a little bit of tang. Consider adding a bit more lemon to make up for it.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, try homemade mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
1 to 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, to taste
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh chives, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Directions
1Combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce in a medium bowl and stir until well blended and creamy.
2Stir in the herbs, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
3Taste and then adjust with another teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce or salt as needed. We love two teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce, but it has a strong flavor, so add this to your taste.
4Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week days. You might lose some color and flavor from the fresh herbs the longer the dressing sits in the fridge.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Substituting dried herb: Dried herbs taste stronger when compared to fresh so use a third of the amount of fresh herbs suggested. This means that you will need: 2 teaspoons each of dried dill, dried parsley and dried chives.
- Lighter dressing: For a lighter dressing with fewer calories, you can swap the mayonnaise for light mayo and the sour cream for plain yogurt. The final flavor will be less rich and creamy, but still delicious.
- Spicy ranch: Stir in finely minced jalapeno peppers (about 1 tablespoon). Or stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of gochujang or sriracha. Try minced cowboy candy (pickled jalapenos) for a sweet and spicy ranch.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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I made this and puréed a couple of jalapeños and blended them in. It makes the most delicious dip with a little kick for you Tex-Mex lovers.
Love the jalapeño addition. That sounds delicious 🙂
Love me some ranch. So the type and brand mayo makes a huge difference. Which did you use?
We either make our own with our homemade mayo recipe or we use Best Food’s.
Has to be Hellman’s! Savoury, not sweet. The best! 😉
The best homemade ranch there is! I used raw grated garlic (2 large bulbs) and 2 tsp of dill since I didn’t have fresh. So delicious. Thanks!
Perfect!
Thank you for the Ranch Dressing recipe.