Something’s hidden . . . but I don’t think it’s a valley. Food companies often throw around phrases like “wholesome ingredients” and “farm fresh,” but the fine print on the labels often tells a different story. For example, my husband’s favorite childhood dressing contains MSG, solvent-extracted vegetable oil, trans fats, artificial flavors, and several other ingredients I can’t seem to find at the farms we buy our milk, produce, and meat from.
No need to pack away those salad forks, though! Making homemade ranch dressing, mayo, ketchup, Thousand Island, BBQ sauce, honey mustard and other favorites is easier than you probably think. As a bonus, they taste better than store-bought AND you have complete say over the quality of the ingredients used.
This creamy homemade ranch dressing is a staple at my house. It takes less than five minute to make, and it’s delicious over salads or as a dip for buffalo wings, chicken nuggets or veggies. I hope you love it as much as we do!
Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups full fat sour cream
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp plus ½ teaspoons onion powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large jar.
- Stir until well-combined. The dressing will seem very runny at first but will thicken after it's been in the fridge for a couple of hours.
Nutrition
Kristine Winniford
Best dressing ever: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, pesto (I love my homemade lacto-fermented version), and a scoop of mayo (yogurt and sour cream are great too). All to taste. I throw it in mason jar and shake it.
Amber 'Bernhardt' Podoll
Speak of the devil Marcie Durick!
Dorine Dorota Haggarty Kalymon
What can I substitute for sour cream? Don’t eat dairy.
Dana
If it’s possible to find plain coconut yogurt, that might work.
Marcia Owens Harris
I just use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Real quick and easy for my salad in a jar varieties.
Andrea Karen
I’ve been making home made dressing for.years!
Krystal Wight Armstrong
Questions from a novice:
• How long can the Ranch and Mayo dressings stay good in the fridge?
• Can either the Ranch or Mayo be frozen for later use (like freezer jam)?
• And why does the mayo stay out so long before refrigerating? Is that only necessary if you used the optional whey liquid?
Thank you for the help!
Heather
HI Krystal! They don’t freeze well, unfortunately. Yes, leaving it on the counter is only beneficial if you’re using whey. With whey the shelf life of mayo is a couple of months. Without it’s about a week.
Jen K.
Would the shelf life for mayo apply to the ranch as well? Thanks!
Krystal Wight Armstrong
Thankya!
Rob Donaldson
I used olive oil as it is considered a healthy fat.
Dana
So is coconut oil.
Vicky
Coconut oil is very high in Saturated Fat… It’s not at all healthy!
Jenn
There are dozens of articles that explain why Coconut oil IS a very healthy fat. And what happens when it hits your body. You should read some, it’s very interesting and opens up a great new world of yummy coconut options!
Rebecca
Hey Vicky! The saturated fats you should worry about are the long chain ones. Since coconut oil is actually a medium chain saturated fat it is not unhealthy. In fact it can help your body burn fat, support healthy joints, skin, and brain function, and is stable at high heats for frying/baking. Hope you look into it more like Jenn suggested.
Purple kale
perhaps you want to research coconut oil–it is one of the healthiest oils
Koa Wainman
Theresa Easter Sherry Milner
Lisa Bertolini
Thank you for sharing this. I hate that every dressing on the store shelf has EDTA in it. ack! I’ll pin this so I can make the recipe again and again. Bless you.
Erin
Where do you get the whey from? Any recommended brands of yogurt, etc?
Beth
If not using homemade, I like Seven Stars Farm whole, organic, plain yogurt. I believe it’s grass-fed. You can strain it through a cloth suspended over a bowl to get the whey.
Bobbi Rasmussen
no concern for raw egg?
Dana
You have a better chance of falling down the stairs on any given day than you do of catching salmonella from an egg. If you’re really worried, it’s possible to find pasteurized eggs in some supermarkets. Failing that, there’s a way to reduce the hazard at home–just google “how to pasteurize eggs at home.” I just checked, and all sorts of results came up.
They say you’re less likely to get contaminated eggs if you buy them from properly fed hens who get lots of time outside. Often referred to as “pastured hens” (not the same as pasteurized eggs, obviously). I am unimpressed by labels of “vegetarian fed” because chickens are supposed to be omnivores, but just their not having been locked up in battery cages and their being able to eat a species-appropriate diet can go a long way to encouraging food safety, not to mention superior nutrition for us.
Ashley
Thank you for this comment. I always cringe when I see that hens were fed a “vegetarian” diet.
Mommypotamus
Bobbi Rasmussen – Personally, I feel comfortable consuming raw eggs from healthy, pasture-raised hens. Here’s why: http://www.foodrenegade.com/why-im-not-afraid-of-salmonella/
Jennifer
If you get Salmonella Poisoning, all you need is Lugols Solution and water.
I make my dogs food. One of the ingredients is raw chicken.
Over the years, I have gotten several packages of Salmonella contaminated chicken, problem is that you don’t usually know it’s contaminated until the symptoms start.
Each time I used Lugols Solution AT THE FIRST SIGN of any symptoms and with one or two doses the symptoms disappeared within hours and it never progressed further.
The first time I got Salmonella Poisoning, I had no idea what I was dealing with and had to live through the whole gauntlet of symptoms that seemed to stretch on for weeks.
After this bout of pure misery, I researched Salmonella Poisoning, and stumbled across this fix quite by accident.
I have also helped friends that had food poisoning with this recipe.
http://www.healing-from-home-remedies.com/old-lugols-iodine-remedy-for-food-poisoning.html
The key is to take it AT THE FIRST SIGN of symptoms!!
Paula Wick
For a really quick ranch spread, I add dried parsley flakes, pink salt, and granulated garlic to some cultured sour cream and mix it up to taste. It’s really thick and tastes amazing. Of course, everything is organic, and if you have time to leave it in the fridge awhile, the flavors will blend even more. It’s so easy, you can make it in less than a minute!
Purelytwins
not much of a ranch fan, but this sounds great
Amanda
How long will the ranch last if the whey is used?
Krystal Wight Armstrong
Amanda, I assume it’s the same as the Mayo it uses: A couple of months, according to Heather’s reply to my question. 🙂
Joelle
My only issue with the egg is it’s very difficult to find local and organic eggs. Organic feed is becoming non existent. Local farmers around me who used to use it say folks won’t spend the extra money for organic eggs so they’ve stopped the organic feed and buy the gmo feed.
Beth
To this very real problem I say get involved. See if there’s a Weston Price chapter leader nearby, or become one yourself, and then encourage direct farmer-to-consumer sales, creating a market and demand at the same time. This very thing is happening in many places. We can take back the food supply on a local basis. Indeed, that’s the only way it can happen.
Diana
If you’re looking for healthy eggs, talk to people at church, at the health-food store, wherever you meet people. Depending on where you live, you may know somebody who raises chickens. See if you can raise them yourself! I think if I still lived in the city I would raise chickens in my basement, if it were illegal to have them outside–though chickens make a lot of dust. I would feed them good feed and table scraps, and lawn clippings. I can’t see how having a chicken or two in a cage would be illegal, if having a parakeet isn’t. And this is not as good as giving them a yard and a rooster, but it’s way better than a battery farm.
Also, you can try taking leisurely drives in rural areas; you may find “eggs for sale” signs. You can also try Craig’s list. Or check out the bulletin boards in Agway or Tractor Supply or other feed stores. Or ask the staff.
Loretta
Yum! I always make my own dressing for salads, but I love making some that’s a little more “dip-like”, so this looks perfect. The last recipe I tried was not that impressive, so I’ll take a shot at this one next!
Elaine Sumner
I need a decent Bleu Cheese Dressing recipe. Does anybody have one? I love bleu cheese dressing and haven’t had ranch in years because of the MSG that’s always in it. 🙁 Need some healthy salad dressings.
Robert
Find a mayonnaise without MSG and mix it with blue cheese to taste. I have Hellman’s and store brand mayonnaise, and neither has MSG, any other glutamic acid or salt thereof, or protein hydrolysate.
Mommypotamus
Elaine Sumner – The book I mention in the post has a good bleu cheese recipe. Use coupon code SALADFUN30 to get 30% off 🙂
Sara
When I saw you post this recipe I knew I had to try it. I’m a girl raised in the 80s/90s where everything came with ranch dressing. But since going organic and dairy free (allegic to casein) I haven’t had any ranch :(. I didn’t even think it was possible. I made the recipe using veganese and goats milk sour cream (which I’m not sensitive to). It was so delicious on my greens, I was soooo happy. Thanks for posting!
Angela
Is the coconut oil you recommend flavourless since it is partially refined? I am in the UK and haven’t found your recommended brand. What we use is quite flavourful– think we’ll taste it?
Dani
If I do the Probiotic route, will it give they mayo a yogurt flavor? I hate that sourness that is yogurt. 😛
Alicia
Your recipe sounds a lot like mine. I like to use some kefir with the mayo for tang and probiotics, and it makes it pourable. This is in my regular rotation of salad dressings (ranch, maple balsamic, regular balsamic and creamy Dijon vinaigrette), all of which are so easy to make I can’t conceive of buying any.
Janice
In the “Homemade Mayo Recipe”, is the white of the other egg not used at all? (Please refer to instruction #1)
Kay
Could Garden of Life Kid’s RAW powder probiotic be used instead of probiotic whey? It mixes into food well and I use it often. Would it still give it the longer shelf life as well? Or does it have to be probiotic whey? Thanks so much!
Robert
If you don’t have powders of onion or garlic, can you oven-dry chopped onion or garlic to produce them? Could you use, instead of the powders, an adjusted amount of minced onion or garlic, or is their water content too great, causing the dressing to thin? Or does the flavor not mix as rapidly from minced live bulbs as from dessicated and pulverized product?
Amber
What happened to your ranch recipe with mayo and sour cream? That was my go to recipe and I can’t find it anymore ?
Heather
Hey Amber, I made a few tweaks to the recipe through the years and decided to update the recipe, but you can find the original recipe below:
1 1/3 cup homemade mayonnaise
2/3 cup sour cream
3⁄4 tsp. dried chives
3⁄4 tsp. dried dill
3⁄4 tsp. dried parsley
1⁄4 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄4 tsp. onion powder
salt & pepper to taste
Amber
Thank you so much Heather!!
Edda
Thank you so much for sharing your
Great Recipes with all of us.
All your ideas , natural medicines
And important information greatly
Appreciated. Edda
Dawn Fitch
Thank you for all the great ideas for Gluten free baking, pesto and sauces.
Cs
I’m co fused about all the comments regarding Ingredients that are not In This recipe at all?
Heather Dessinger
The recipe has been updated since it was originally published 🙂