Ranch dressing is the number one seller in America. This Texas-based dressing recipe is good on everything from leftover pizza to broccoli at dinner. It’s wonderful for dipping chips or as a condiment on a chicken sandwich.  Homemade buttermilk ranch dressing is so easy that you’ll be kicking yourself for buying it in stores all these years.

Are you ready for the big secret? Ranch dressing is buttermilk and mayonnaise with some herbs added. That’s it! The best thing about it is that it’s versatile. You can add whatever you happen to have lying around. Got green onions, us them. Leftover bacon, yep, now it’s bacon ranch! Toss in finely chopped herbs and you can adapt the flavor endlessly, which makes it the perfect go-to if you’re making dinner in a pinch.

The version pictured here is definitely intended as a dressing and is on the thin side. If you’re looking for a thicker version, cut the milk by 1/3 cup and add 1/3 cup more sour cream. We wanted something that would drizzle nicely on a salad, so the following recipe shows the proportions we used.

The finished ranch dressing packs a hell of a garlic punch the first day. If you’re not a fan of raw garlic, you can either use roasted garlic or just let the dressing sit in the fridge overnight so that the garlic mellows out. (It was almost unnoticeable the next day.) The red bell peppers add a nice little tang, and the cilantro keeps the flavors earthy, though still incredibly rich.

This is the best homemade ranch dressing I’ve ever made, and possibly the best ranch dressing I’ve ever had. You’ll see more versions of this recipe in the future, with variations of flavors.

Yield: 2 cups

Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Smooth, creamy buttermilk ranch dressing made from scratch at home. Far better than anything you can find in the store, and so simple you'll wonder why you've never made it yourself.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup buttermilk or buttermilk substitute
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 red bell pepper, minced
• 1/2 of a small onion, minced
• 2 Tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, whisk buttermilk, sour cream and mayonnaise together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine. refrigerate in a sealed container until ready to use
2. Keeps for up to one week refrigerated in an airtight container.
3. Share and Enjoy!

Notes

This recipe is for a thin ranch dressing, specifically, for one that can be used on salads. If you'd like a thicker ranch, reduce the amount of buttermilk by a third of a cup and increase the sour cream by the same amount. This will ensure you have an amazing and flavorful ranch dip!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

16

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 74Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 110mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g

 What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time
(Or, what would have made this homemade ranch dressing recipe better):

There are probably as many ways to tweak your homemade ranch dressing recipes as there are cooks to mix it up. You can add more pepper or use less. You can stir in some ancho or chipotle chili powder for a bit of smoky heat. You can even triple the amount of herbs in your ranch dressing to make it a refreshing and colorful mix.

If you just can’t do buttermilk, you can always omit it. (Though that’s not really ranch dressing any more.) If you want a thinner ranch, use more buttermilk and less sour cream, or just leave the sour cream out altogether. The choices are yours, so feel free to have fun with it! Please keep in mind that acids like vinegar and lemon juice can’t be used in this recipe as it will cause the milk products to curdle.

More Ranch Dressing Recipes from around the web

• Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, from Once upon a Chef
• Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing, from Simply Recipes
• The Only Ranch Dressing Recipe You Will Ever Need (Other than this one, of course!), from HuffPost Taste