Are you one of those people who puts ranch dressing on absolutely everything? If you are, then there’s no judgment here! Ranch is definitely one of the more widely loved condiments in America—and it goes well with all number of different meals and snacks. No matter who you are, you’ve probably had ranch on a Caesar salad, or on celery and carrot sticks as a veggie snack or even on your breadsticks at your favorite pizza place. And let’s face it: the ranch you get from restaurants and other places is typically better than the stuff you buy for your house.
That’s because many professional restaurants have learned the secret: ranch tastes oh so much better when you make it at home yourself! Fortunately, the process is incredibly easy—easy enough that you can do it too! And don’t worry, we won’t judge if you decide you want to put it on everything. Just be sure to keep everything you make in the fridge for safe-keeping!
Here’s what you need:
For the mix:
- 2/3 cups of dry buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons of dried parsley, divided up
- 2 tablespoons of garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried onion flakes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of dried dill, divided up
- 3/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried chives
- 1/4 teaspoon of paprika
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup of milk or buttermilk
- 1/2 of sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup of greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons of ranch mix
Here’s what you do:
1. First you’re going to make your mix. Take your dry buttermilk, 1 1/2 tablespoons of parsley, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, onion flakes, 1 teaspoon of dill, pepper, chives and paprika. Throw these together in a bowl or in a food processor. If you’re using a processor, pulse the ingredients until they’re finely chopped and well combined (otherwise just mix them together).
2. Move your resulting mix into an air-tight container to help it stay fresh. Mix in the remaining dill and parsley as well at this stage. Now that the mix is done, you can use this in place of any dry ranch packets you would normally buy! Just use about 3 tablespoons to substitute for one packet from the store.
3. Now that you’ve made the mix, the actual dressing part is pretty easy! Get a large bowl and throw in 3 tablespoons of mix along with your buttermilk, sour cream, mayonnaise and greek yogurt. Whisk the mixture together and then refrigerate it for around 20 minutes. After that, you’re ready to serve!
Once you’re all done, you’re definitely going to see the difference that all those fresh herbs and spices make in this recipe—there’s no denying that it’s absolutely delicious. Generally speaking, you should keep any dressing you make as well as any mix you make in the fridge in tight containers. The mix will keep for about three months in the fridge (or for six to eight months in the freezer).
As always, there is still room to maneuver within this recipe as well. Experiment with the amount of herbs you put in for different tastes—some people like more dill in their ranch, some don’t, for example. Similarly, you can also tweak the liquid and dairy ingredients in the dressing part to make a lower-calorie alternative to this dressing. Rather than full milk or buttermilk, try using a lighter variety (and err on the side of more greek yogurt over the sour cream to cut calories and pack in protein).
Have fun with this one and let us know what you think in the comments!
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