Homemade Ranch Dressing: the Best and Easiest DIY Recipe!

Homemade Ranch dressing is a typical American dressing made with mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, garlic, onion and aromatic herbs. Quick to make, it's a very tasty dressing, perfect for flavoring rich salads, filling sandwiches or to accompany a portion of grilled meat or fish; it can also serve as a dipping sauce for crisps.

It is prepared simply by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and leaving them to flavor in the fridge, covered with cling film, for half an hour: you will thus obtain a fresh and creamy sauce, with a slightly acidic and pungent aftertaste, ideal for enhancing fried foods, an aperitif or give an extra touch to a simple vegetable dish.

This famous sauce seems to have been created around 1950 by Steve Hanson, a plumber from Nebraska who, having moved to Alaska for work, cooked this tasty condiment on the construction site in order to make food more appetizing for his workers. In 1954 Hanson and his wife bought a ranch in California and here, in the family steakhouse, the dressing was proposed again in combination with steaks and roast potatoes: success was immediate.

Find out how to prepare homemade ranch dressing following the step-by-step procedure and tips.

How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing

Collect the mayonnaise in a large bowl and add the buttermilk and sour cream.

Perfume with a few stems of chopped dried chives.

Add some chopped dried dill.

Add the chopped parsley.

Add the grated garlic clove and the onion, finely chopped with a mandolin.

Season with salt.

Perfume with ground pepper.

Mix well with a spatula.

Once the ingredients are mixed, cover with cling film and transfer the sauce to the fridge for half an hour.

Once the resting time has elapsed, pour the ranch sauce into a small bowl, flavor with another grind of pepper and use it as you like as a condiment.

Tips for the Best Ranch Dressing

– Don't forget to taste your ranch dressing and make any adjustments it might need – a little more salt and pepper, a touch more lemon juice, and so on.

– To make vegan ranch dressing, simply use plant-based substitutes for all the dairy in this recipe. Use vegan mayo, vegan sour cream, and use plant-based milk instead of buttermilk. You may need to add a little extra lemon juice, but taste your ranch dressing to see if it needs it before adding it in.

– You can also use white vinegar instead of lemon juice to brighten the dressing and give it a bit of tanginess.

– Ranch dressing has a lot of fat and calories in it, so it's not necessarily as healthy as other dressings out there. However, using it as a salad dressing or a dip with fresh vegetables is a great way to promote healthy eating. You can make your ranch dressing healthier by swapping out the mayo for plain Greek yogurt or blending in an avocado. The avocado will make it extra creamy, and it offers a variety of vitamins, nutrients, healthy fats, and fiber.

How to Serve Ranch Dressing

Homemade ranch dressing goes with just about anything. Use it as a salad dressing or a dip for raw vegetables. It's amazing as a dip for pizzas, French fries, chicken wings, and chicken nuggets, as well as roasted broccoli and cauliflower (making ranch dressing a good way to get your kids to eat more vegetables), jalapeno poppers, the list goes on!

How to Store Ranch Dressing

You can keep homemade ranch dressing in a sealed container inside of the fridge for up to 1 week.