Myhomemade ranch dressingproves you can make restaurant-quality ranch at home. Always perfectly tangy, creamy, and worth the few minutes it takes to make. Don’t just take my word for it; check out the reviews from people who’ve made it themselves!
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You’ll be making this Easy Ranch Dressing Recipe over and over again
Homemade ranch dressing always tastes fresh, creamy, and easy to customize with your favorite herbs. Everyone who makes this recipe loves it! Here’s what one Pinner said:
“First time making homemade ranch, and I needed a recipe on the fly – this absolutely delivered! This recipe is really a great base, and then you can add more seasonings as you want, and that’s awesome. Highly recommend it!”
Best Homemade Ranch Dressing Ingredients
Just a few simple ingredients!! It really is so super easy to put together.
Mayonaise
Sour Cream
Salt and pepper
Seasonings
Enough milk to make it the consistency you like.
How to make Homemade Ranch Dressing
The easiest way to make this ranch dressing (and any salad dressing) is in a jar. I add all the ingredients to a jar and just shake them all up. It’s fast and easy and if you have a mason jar pouring spout (affiliate),you can serve it or use it right out of the jar. Genius and so easy!
The base for homemade ranch is made from sour cream and mayonnaise, which is then thinned out by milk. Add the milk slowly so that the ranch stays as thick as you’d like. If you do thin it out too much, add a bit more sour cream and mayonnaise.
Ways to use this recipe for Ranch Dressing
The options are endless!! I love to put this on salad, of course, but it’s also fantastic for dipping fresh vegetables, chicken tenders, and even pizza.
I also love to serve it with my oven BBQ chicken, use it when making bacon ranch pizzas, and substitute it for the gorgonzola dressing on my steak salad with it if I have people who aren’t fans of stinky cheese.
How long is Homemade Ranch good?
This is a super common question! Since ranch dressing is made of dairy products, you’ll want to use it before the earliest “best by” date found on them.
Usually, this is the milk, but always double check and write the date on the container the homemade ranch dressing is kept in.
Ranch dressing got its name from Hidden Valley Ranch, a steakhouse in California where it was believed to be invented.
How was the original ranch dressing made?
The first ranch dressing that was sold was packets of dry ingredients to mix into sour cream and buttermilk.
Is ranch dressing gluten free?
Yes, this ranch dressing is gluten-free but I can’t speak for all ranch dressing recipes.
Does homemade ranch taste better?
I might be biased but I do think that homemade ranch tastes better. A few commentators on Pinterest agree as well! “I will never buy bottle dressing again.”
Is homemade ranch healthier than store bought?
It probably depends on which ranch you buy. You can find the estimated nutrition facts below the recipe card.
Looking for more delicious salad dressing recipes??
I work in a restaurant and the ranch we serve is hidden valley ranch. Although, you can buy it in the bottle or you can buy the package and make it yourself, the two taste a lot different. We actually make it fresh with the package (it's so much better that way) and you can do that at home.
While many restaurants use mass produced ranch mix, they often add it to a higher-quality base. This might include milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or mayonnaise. So when you notice that the ranch in a restaurant tastes better than the bottled dressing from the store, what you're really tasting is delicious, creamy fat.
The original ranch dressing that was served at the Hidden Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara throughout the 1950's and the 1960's was mostly made from dry herbs and aromatics. To recreate the traditional recipe you can use garlic powder and dried herbs. You make and store the seasoning as needed and then add dairy.
The USDA states that creamy salad dressings should be used within three months of opening, and commercial dressings are also given a lifespan of three months max. This seems to be the definitive lifespan for ranch.
Even when a restaurant does start with premade ranch, they will often fold in extra fresh herbs, and maybe even more buttermilk, to lighten and bring in some brighter flavors that can be lost in shelf-stable bottling.
The ranch packet has a fresher taste, because you add your own mayo and milk. Even though all the herbs and spices in the mix are dried, they rehydrate quickly and leave you with a product that feels homemade. This version of Hidden Valley Ranch is more flavorful than the bottled version and much, much thicker.
Pouring ranch right from the bottle can also leave it a little flat whereas whipping it up gives it more air to create the perfect dipping sauce. Another way chefs elevate their pseudo-homemade ranch is with fresh herbs and garnishes. Many will fold in chopped dill or parsley and it makes all the difference.
The Classic and Southern are the same, but the creamy ranch has buttermilk powder and some other ingredients like lactose, malic acid, and carrageenan (the latter to hold it together since buttermilk powder thins out in a weird way)... the flavor is much milder than the classic/southern because of the buttermilk powder ...
Consistency: Ranch dressing has a pourable, liquid consistency, making it suitable for drizzling over salads or mixing into dishes. Ranch dip, on the other hand, is much thicker and is intended for dipping, spreading, or dolloping onto foods.
Ranch dressing is ubiquitous in Iowa. You'll find it on salads, veggies and alongside French fries and cheese curds — and sometimes even on pizza and tacos.
Clorox, Hidden Valley's parent company, is dealing with a cyberattack that has affected the dressing's production. So stores for months have had trouble stocking what some people call America's favorite dressing. Other mayonnaise-based dressing brands are available, including at fast food restaurants.
Don't Eat Thousand Island Dressing If The Smell is Off
Other indicators that it's time to toss the jar of Thousand Island is if you notice changes in the color or texture, Randhawa says. Thousand Island has a creamy mayo base and can spoil and potentially cause foodborne illness, she says.
Is left out ranch dressing okay to eat? No, no, no. Ranch dressing has plenty of ingredients that are an easy breeding ground for foodborne pathogens, and may have some of their own waiting to reproduce. If your dressing has set out for more than 2 hours, toss it.
What Sets Wingstop Ranch Apart: Wingstop's ranch is distinctive in its rich flavor profile and homemade quality, setting it apart from commercial brands. A Taste Test: Wingstop vs. Other Ranch Sauces: A side-by-side comparison illuminates the unique characteristics that make Wingstop's ranch a fan favorite.
The key difference between bottled ranch and ranch that's been mixed from a packet — which is what's usually served in restaurants — is that ranch made from a mix usually contains real dairy ingredients. The store-bought varieties don't.
Introduction: My name is Lakeisha Bayer VM, I am a brainy, kind, enchanting, healthy, lovely, clean, witty person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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