Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
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This buttermilk ranch dressing is cool, creamy, and garlicky. Serve it over a green salad or use it as a dip for crudités or chips.
Gourmet is probably not the word that comes to mind when you think of buttermilk ranch dressing, but homemade is nothing like the mass-produced bottled stuff on the grocery store shelves. This buttermilk variation of my standard ranch dressing recipe is one of my go-to salad dressings. It’s cool, creamy, tangy, garlicky, and, honestly, good enough to eat straight with a spoon. Try the dressing over a crisp green salad or as a dip for crudités, potato chips, or baked chicken wings.
“Delicious. This takes just a few minutes to make with outstanding results. A+”
What You’ll Need To Make Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
- Sour Cream: Provides creaminess and tanginess to the dressing.
- Buttermilk: Adds a subtle tang and helps thin out the dressing to a pourable consistency.
- Mayonnaise: Contributes richness and helps bind the ingredients together.
- Garlic: Infuses the dressing with a bold, savory flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhance the overall taste of the dressing.
- Dill: Adds a hint of herbal flavor and freshness.
- Fresh Chives: Offer a mild onion flavor and a pop of color.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: Provides brightness and balances the richness of the other ingredients.
- Tabasco Sauce: Adds an optional touch of heat and extra flavor for those who enjoy a bit of spice.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
To make it, simply combine all of the ingredients in a bowl.
And whisk to blend.
That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! It will keep well in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Keep in mind that the garlic flavor gets stronger the longer it sits, so you may want to cut back if you’re planning on making it in advance. Also, the dressing will thicken up to more of a dip consistency as it chills. If you’d like it to be pourable, let it sit on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes before using.
Sure, you can omit the mayo and increase the sour cream to 3/4 cup. Because the additional sour cream will add more tangy flavor, reduce the lemon juice to 1 teaspoon.
While I’m a big fan of making your own buttermilk for baked goods, when something relies more heavily on the buttermilk flavor and consistency, I suggest using store-bought.
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Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
This buttermilk ranch dressing is cool, creamy, and garlicky. Serve it over a green salad or use it as a dip for crudités or chips.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, best quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (see note)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1½ teaspoons dried dill
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- Few dashes Tabasco sauce, optional
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Chill until ready to serve.
- Note: The dressing will keep well in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. The garlic flavor gets stronger the longer it sits, so you might want to cut back if you're planning on making it in advance. The dressing will thicken up to more of a dip consistency as it chills.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 69
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 1g
- Sugar: 1g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Sodium: 113mg
- Cholesterol: 9mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Absolutely delicious! Yummmmm
YUM! I couldn’t even wait for the flavors to meld before writing this review. This ranch is what dreams are made of. I threw everything into a mason jar – subbing fresh chives for dried chives + garlic powder in place of fresh garlic – and gave it a big shake. One taste and just like that: I’m never buying store bought ranch ever again!
Thanks for sharing this tasty recipe – I can’t wait to try it on a bed of fresh butter lettuce… and then maybe some crispy chicken tenders….and tater tots.
Made this dressing for a socially-distanced block party yesterday to rave reviews! I made veggie cups, with the dressing at the bottom of the clear cup. Perfect for single serving dining. The only problem – I didn’t make enough! This recipe is now in my official bank of go-to recipes. So easy, and all the herbs were in my organic garden (a few pots out front.) Thank you for sharing! LOVE!
Easy and delicious! This is my go to recipe!
I was happy to see your recipe, which has a 4:1 dairy (sour cream and buttermilk) to mayonnaise ratio. It gave me confidence to try what I’ve always wanted: a Ranch with no mayo in it at all. Now, I love mayonnaise, especially in a sandwich, but find an oily mayonnaise sheen in dressing to be a turnoff. Some recipes call for as much or more mayo as sour cream, and no buttermilk. That doesn’t suggest anything at all about a ranch, where cows and dairy predominate.
I’ve also made Ranch with herbs other than dill and chives, and found it didn’t make as much difference as expected. For example, I’ve used basil and oregano to make an “Italian” Ranch. It was only a little different from, and just as good as, the “authentic” recipe.
Fantastic! Have been cooking up a storm to keep from going stir-crazy. Your recipes are wonderful, keep up the good work.
Awesome recipe! My tip – add all ingredients except chives to a 1 pint mason jar. Using the blender bottom wiz it up. Add the chives and shake.
I love this dressing! I am a big fan of the Great American Restaurant’s chopped salad (Artie’s, Mike’s American Grill, etc.). It was easy enough to replicate the salad at home, but their signature dressing was more difficult. The bottled dressings I tried were over-seasoned or just not fresh tasting. This is easy to pull together, and the flavor is amazing! Also, I borrowed your fresh corn cooking technique from your Corn, Black Bean, Avocado salad for my copycat recipe.
Loved by all and a treat from bottled dressings!
This recipe is a staple as goes well with most of the fresh veggies we are able to grab and put in a salad. I substituted 1/2 teaspoon onion powder for the green onions as that is all I had on hand. Thank you for this tasty recipe and for enabling this time to be a little more pleasant.