Homemade Ranch Dressing
Updated
Updated
Skip the bottled dressing and make this homemade ranch dressing instead. It’s rich, creamy, perfectly seasoned, and comes together in just 5 minutes with simple ingredients including mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and dried herbs. Once you taste the fresh flavor, you’ll may never buy store-bought again.
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5-STAR REVIEW
We are a ranch dressing-loving family here! My son will dunk just about anything in it, and it’s even how I got him to eat salad at a young age. I also keep a batch of my homemade ranch seasoning in the pantry, which makes whipping up this dressing even easier whenever the craving hits. After making this recipe countless times, I’ve found that the biggest secret to great homemade ranch is letting it chill before serving. Even just 30 minutes gives the dried herbs time to soften and the flavors to meld, creating a smoother, creamier dressing with that classic tangy ranch flavor everyone loves. It’s one small step that makes a big difference, and it’s exactly why this homemade version tastes so much fresher than anything from a bottle.
No Buttermilk? Make your own
This is the question I get asked most about this recipe, and readers have found their own workarounds in the comments — Ruthie swapped in heavy whipping cream with a little extra lemon juice and Worcestershire for tang, and it worked great for her.
If you want the closest match to the original, though, make a quick DIY buttermilk instead:
- Stir 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice into 1 cup of regular milk.
- Let it sit for 5–10 minutes, until slightly thickened and curdled.
- Use it in place of the buttermilk, measure for measure.
It won’t be identical to the real thing, but it gets you 90% of the way there — and it’s better than skipping the tang altogether.
Helpful Tips & Variations
- Taste before you add the full amount of lemon juice. I whisk in 2 tsp first, taste it, then decide if it needs the last tsp. Buttermilk and mayo brands vary in tang, so tasting as you go keeps the dressing balanced instead of too sharp.
- Don’t skip the chill time. I’ve tasted this dressing fresh and after 2 hours in the fridge, and it’s noticeably better once it’s chilled. The herbs rehydrate, and the flavors have time to blend, so it tastes more like restaurant ranch instead of just herbed mayo. Give it at least 2 hours if you can.
- Make it tangier. Add a tbsp of pickle juice along with (or instead of) extra lemon juice. It’s a small trick that adds a savory tang without watering the dressing down.
- Too thin? Add a little more mayo or sour cream to thicken it up.
- Too thick, or want it to pour more easily over salad? Thin it with a splash more buttermilk, a teaspoon at a time.
- Want to switch it up? One of our readers doubled the batch and stirred blue cheese crumbles into half for an easy blue cheese dressing.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2-3 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp dried dill weed
- ½ tsp dried chives
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ⅕ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk until smooth. Then whisk in 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and the Worcestershire sauce. Taste, and add in the final teaspoon of lemon juice, if necessary.
- Add in all the spices and whisk until combined. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
- (If consistency is too thick, thin out dressing with a splash of additional buttermilk.)
- Pour into a jar with a fitted lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple hours before serving for best flavor.
- Give it a quick stir before serving again. Enjoy!
Notes
- Taste before adding the full amount of lemon juice — brands of buttermilk and mayo vary in tang, so add it in stages, not all at once.
- Don’t skip the chill time. At least 2 hours in the fridge makes the biggest difference in the final taste, since it gives the herbs time to rehydrate.
- Whisk the base until no streaks of white remain before adding the herbs and spices.
- Adjust consistency at the end: a splash of buttermilk thins it, a little extra mayo or sour cream thickens it.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing Step by Step
Gather all the ingredients together.
Combine the base: In a medium bowl, whisk together ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, and ½ cup buttermilk until smooth. You’re looking for no streaks of white left, just one uniform, creamy mixture.
Whisk in 2 tsp of the lemon juice and the ¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce. Taste, and add the final teaspoon of lemon juice only if it needs more brightness.
Add in 1 tbsp dried parsley, ½ tsp dried dill weed, ½ tsp dried chives, ½ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ¼ tsp fine sea salt, and ⅛ tsp freshly cracked black pepper.
Whisk until combined: The dressing should look flecked with green and speckled with pepper, not clumpy. If the herbs clump, break them up with the back of your whisk before mixing in.
Adjust, chill, and serve: Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. (If the consistency is too thick, thin it out with a splash of additional buttermilk.) Pour into a jar with a fitted lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours before serving for the best flavor. Give it a quick stir before serving again. Enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Ranch is the classic dip for a veggie tray, and it’s the pairing I’d start with if you’ve never made this before. My kids go straight for the carrots and celery, and the coolness and tang balance out the crunchy raw vegetables perfectly.
Beyond that, I love drizzling it over a BLT for extra tang, or using it as a dip for chicken wings, since the creaminess tames any heat from a spicy sauce. It’s also become my go-to for stirring into pasta salads like our Cashew Chicken Pasta Salad, where it acts as both dressing and binder.
For something a little different, try it drizzled over a warm baked potato in place of sour cream. I started doing this on a whim one night, and now it’s how my whole family eats baked potatoes. The herbs and tang do a lot more work than plain sour cream alone.
How to Store Leftovers
Store in an airtight container or jar with a tight-fitting lid for up to 1 week. Always check the expiration dates on your dairy ingredients first, since that’s the limiting factor.
Freezer
Freezing isn’t recommended. This dressing is dairy-based, and the mayo and sour cream will separate and turn grainy once thawed. The texture won’t recover even with a good stir.
Make Ahead
This dressing is better made ahead. The flavor improves after a couple of hours in the fridge as the herbs rehydrate and the flavors meld. It’s a great one to make the day before you need it.
More Homemade Dressings To Try
- Honey Sesame Dressing: If you love this ranch for its ease, this one comes together just as fast but leans sweet and nutty instead of tangy.
- Creamy Poppyseed Dressing: Another creamy, from-scratch dressing that’s ready in minutes, perfect if you want a sweeter counterpart to ranch’s savory profile.
- Cilantro Lime Dressing: For when you want that same herby, tangy quality as ranch but with a fresh, citrus-forward twist.
- Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix: Make a big batch of the dry seasoning blend to keep on hand so you can whip up this dressing (or the buttermilk swap) anytime.
I make this often. In fact just made it this week for wedge salad. I add the blue cheese on top of the individual salads as some people don’t care for it. And such a great dip with gardens producing fresh delicious veggies right now.
I’m so happy I subscribe to your newsletter. You recipes never disappoint! They come at the perfect time too! L9ve this, so delicious!
Absolutely my favorite ranch dressing recipe.
I do not have all of those spices, but I do have Hidden Valley ranch seasoning packets for making dressing. I wanted to make it a little more tangy, so I referred to this recipe and added the lemon juice and worcestershire sauce and used heavy whipping cream instead of buttermilk. It was just right after that. Even my very picky husband liked it.
Love this recipe for veggie dip and wings. Store bought ranch cannot compare!
I make this recipe once a week. I use it to dip veggies when I make a veggie tray and also on salads. It is a crowd pleaser always!
My current favorite!!
I doubled the recipe and put half in a jar for me to eat (I love ranch dressing), and I added bleu cheese to the other half to make bleu cheese dressing for my husband. He loves it! I’ll definitely be making this recipe again!
it was delicious! I am readying to make another pint tomorrow!!
Delicious! The best recipe for ranch dressing that I have tried!
The minute I saw this recipe in my email I had to make it…and it was fantastic! So much better than Hidden Valley. Will add this to my permanent binder, thank you!