Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix – for those days when you’re all out of store-bought dressing or you want a healthier alternative. This dressing is creamy, fresh, and comes together in well under five minutes!
I love to try different foods and we cook a pretty wide variety of cuisines in our house. For a special salad I’ll make an interesting dressing, and if I’m out at a restaurant I’ll always order the house dressing if it’s homemade.
But for a general, everyday salad, I’ve always been a ranch dressing girl. Pretty sure I always will be. It’s just so fresh and creamy and it plays so well with veggies.
Until recently, that meant stocking up on big bottles of the stuff when I went to Costco.
Yup.
Even though I regularly make homemade tartar sauce, gravy, soup stock, pizza sauce, vanilla extract, bread, hummus, jam, lemon curd, and even, occasionally, yogurt, ice cream, and kahlua.
Even though I have grown my own sandwich sprouts from seeds, in a plastic container on my counter. Homemade ranch dressing just seemed like too much work.
Huh?
Clearly I was experiencing some type of mental block.
I think that for some reason, once I’m done chopping everything for a big salad, I just want to sit down and EAT it. I don’t want to spend any more time making dressing.
But I try to avoid too much processed food and the store-bought ranch dressing had to go.
So, not long ago, I put on my big girl pants and made this homemade ranch dressing mix. It took me about 2.5 seconds and uses ingredients I already had in my pantry. There are no ingredients I don’t understand or can’t pronounce.
I made up a batch and dumped it into a mason jar, and now before I start making a salad I’ll mix up about a cup of dressing with mayo and plain yogurt.
Then by the time the salad is ready the flavors have melded nicely and my fresh, creamy, homemade ranch dressing is ready to go.
Bye-bye, big, mass-produced bottle!
Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix – Step-by-Step Instructions
Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix – Ingredients
Combine 1/4 cup of dried parsley, 2 tablespoons of dill, 2.5 teaspoons of garlic powder, 2.5 teaspoons of onion powder, 2 tablespoons of dried basil, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl.
(Optional – can add onion flakes, dried chives, lemon pepper and/or dried buttermilk powder if you wish – all would be delicious).
Stir well to combine.
Store in an airtight container (a mason jar works well) in a cool, dark place like a cupboard. Shake well before using.
To make homemade ranch dressing using mix, combine 1/2 cup mayo, 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream and 2 tablespoons of homemade ranch dressing mix.
For a lighter dressing, use 1/4 cup of mayo and 3/4 cup of plain yogurt.
Allow to sit at room temperature or in fridge for at least 20-30 minutes to let flavours combine.
Enjoy! 🙂
This would also make a great ranch dip.
What’s your favorite salad dressing? Let me know in the comment section below! 🙂
Ingredients
For Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1/4 cup dried parsley
- 2 tbsp dried dill
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 2.5 tsp garlic powder
- 2.5 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper See Note 1
For Homemade Ranch Dressing
- 1/2 cup mayo See Note 2
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 2 tbsp homemade ranch dressing mix
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Store in an airtight container (a mason jar works well) in a cool, dark place like a cupboard. Shake well before using.
- To make homemade ranch dressing using mix, combine mayo, plain yogurt or sour cream and 2 tablespoons of homemade ranch dressing mix.
- Allow to sit at room temperature or in fridge for at least 20-30 minutes to let flavours combine.
Notes
This would also make a great ranch dip.
Note 1 - You could also add dehydrated onion flakes, dried chives, lemon pepper and/or dried buttermilk powder if you wish - all would be delicious
Note 2 - For a lighter dressing, use 1/4 cup of mayo and 3/4 cup of plain yogurt.
You might also like (and you can use this ranch seasoning mix in all of them!):
Leave a Reply