Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk to make the best ranch dressing recipe! Use the creamy homemade dressing to finish salad recipes, as a dipping sauce for fries and appetizers, or include it in savory meals like Instant Pot Mississippi pot roast.
If you want more like this, try avocado green goddess dressing or sos czosnkowy, a Polish garlic dip.
I need to start this post with a confession – I either love or hate a restaurant based on the ranch dressing they serve. My problem is so bad that I will travel miles searching for GOOD ranch dressing. Shoutout to Dion’s in Colorado and Fratelli’s in Arizona for having the best ranch dressing. An honorable mention goes to a breakfast chain called Black Bear Diner. Did you know they make their ranch with bacon? Delicious!
When it comes to the bottled stuff in grocery stores, I will have none of it! That left me with one option. It was up to me to come up with the best ranch dressing recipe so I no longer had to rely on restaurants for my ranch hankering.
What is Ranch Dressing?
Growing up in the United States, you would have had to live under a rock to be unfamiliar with ranch dressing. For my global readers, I will let you in on the hype. Ranch dressing is a wildly popular American condiment served alongside salad recipes like Cobb salad, crispy baked chicken wings, French fries, and pizza. Here is what you need to make the tangy dressing from scratch.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You will need a balanced combination of full-fat mayonnaise (I like Duke’s or Hellman’s), sour cream, and buttermilk to create a flavorful and creamy base for the best ranch dressing recipe.
If you don’t keep buttermilk on hand, that’s okay! All you need is regular milk and fresh lemon juice. Pour the milk into a small bowl or liquid measuring cup and squeeze a teaspoon of lemon juice over the top. Stir and set it aside for 10 minutes to create homemade buttermilk. It won’t have the same thickness as store-bought buttermilk, but it will do the trick!
- Lemon Juice: Cut the creaminess of the dressing with fresh lemon juice from one lemon.
- Herbs: Include finely chopped fresh herbs such as dill, chives, or parsley leaves for the best-tasting flavor
- Garlic: I suggest including four fresh garlic cloves, but measure with your heart.
- Spices: It wouldn’t be the best ranch dressing recipe without a bit of seasoning. Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. You can also use store-bought spice blends to flavor the ranch. Greek seasoning and ranch seasoning are solid options, or experiment with taco seasoning or Cajun seasoning like my Slap Ya Mama seasoning recipe.
Variations of Ranch Dressing
- Dill Pickle Ranch Dressing
- Avocado Ranch
- Serrano Ranch Dressing
- Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing Dip
- Chili Lime Ranch Dressing
- BBQ Ranch
- Buffalo Ranch Dressing
- Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
- Bacon Ranch
How to Make the Best Ranch Dressing Recipe
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk in a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Add dill, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine and transfer the dressing to an airtight container.
Expert Tips
- Change the consistency by adjusting how much buttermilk you include. Use less for a lighter texture or more for a creamier consistency.
- Let the dressing sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors combine.
Whip up the ranch dressing, and pair it with one of these tasty appetizers!
Serving Suggestions
Crafting a batch of homemade ranch dressing is a breeze – pair it with just about anything. It’s ideal for fresh vegetables like carrots, celery, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes, or vegetable rainbow wraps.
Use it as a dip for French fries, air fryer frozen sweet potato fries, or to top a colorful vegetable chopped salad with thin cut chicken breast or fried salmon bites.
Serve it alongside chicken nuggets, air fryer buffalo chicken strips, and roasted potatoes like air fryer Hasselback potatoes or potato skins.
You can even serve ranch dressing with corned beef and cabbage egg rolls, buffalo chicken crust pizza, mac and cheese balls, jalapeño poppers, quesadillas, or a classic BLT (my favorite).
What to do with the Leftovers
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container or glass jar for one week. Give the dressing a good shake or stir when it’s time to serve.
- Can you make ranch dressing ahead of time? It should come as no surprise that homemade ranch dressing is a condiment I always keep in my fridge, and this is the best ranch dressing recipe for meal prep! Since the dressing lasts one week, you can prepare it in advance to serve with vegetable crudite or hot honey lemon pepper wings later in the week for a quick dinner idea or game day gathering.
Frequently Asked Questions
What gives ranch dressing its distinct flavor?
The distinct flavor of ranch dressing changes depending on where you are from in the United States. Some areas prefer thick buttermilk ranch, whereas other regions may enjoy tangier ranch dressing with a thinner consistency (that’s me).
Mayonnaise is a staple for most ranch dressing recipes, but finding the proper balance of flavor using tangy sour cream and buttermilk makes this the best ranch dressing ever!
To give you an idea of how my taste buds work – if the ranch dressing tastes like whole milk, it’s an immediate no for me. Adding too much buttermilk or sour cream causes it to become thick and goopy, giving the dressing a milky taste that’s not my favorite.
Apart from sour cream and buttermilk, you will want to include fresh herbs and simple spices to freshen up the dressing and make it your own.
Best Ranch Dressing Recipe
- Airtight Container
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
- lemon juice, 1 lemon
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
- Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk in a mixing bowl.
- Add dill, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Whisk to combine and transfer the dressing to an airtight container.
- Change the consistency by adjusting how much buttermilk you include. Use less for a lighter texture or more for a creamier consistency.
- Let the dressing sit in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors combine.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.