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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I liked it, the family thought it was a little too “buttermilky.” Made it exactly as written. Didn’t thicken up as much as I had hoped. Used it as a dipping sauce for fried chicken tenders.
I have substituted Greek yogurt (strain it in a fine sieve if it’s a bit watery) for the buttermilk. Makes a lovely dip for crudites etc. I also use celery salt and less garlic, just a personal preference. Hope this helps!
What a great, easy recipe. The flavors were so bright and fresh compared to the sour, chemical-tasting stuff you get off the store shelf. Really liked the chives and dill, but make sure to use fresh chives. The only modification was just a bit of sugar. I’m embarrassed for all the times I served ranch out of a bottle. Thanks for the recipe!
Love it! This is an example of a recipe that gives proportions that allows the cook to ‘own’ it in a way that suits his/her personal taste. Thank you for providing the ‘bones’ of the recipe. It is easy to make one’s own dressings. And after freshly prepared, the bottle just does not cut it!
Made this once again and had to add – this is the most delicious ranch dressing we have ever had. Perfect blend of ingredients. It will elevate your salad to grand heights!! Love it!
I used to love ranch until I stopped eating soy and now I can’t get over the taste of it in every store bought ranch I’ve tried. Absolutely love this recipe for its ease and deliciousness. Made exactly as written and love it. Thank you so much for sharing this!!
It tasted a little sour to me. I ended up added an extra 1/4 cup of mayo. Then it tasted bland. Added about 20 dashes of green Tabasco and mustard powder. My dill and chivers were dried, not fresh. I added a bunch and kept tasting.
This is super easy and very tasty. I did my
salad and put on the dressing and served with smokey grilled chicken skewers on top. It was delicious with the buttermilk dressing. I served extra dressing to dip the chicken in.
Jenn, this recipe was out of this world!!! I made it for a staff party, and everyone loved it. I used fresh dill, fresh lemon juice, and fresh garlic (my buttermilk had gone horribly bad, so I used soupy plain yogurt which was fine (not Greek)). Really, everyone was not only surprised I made the dressing myself, but that it was so tasty. Thank you for such a phenomenal recipe. This is about the sixth buttermilk recipe I have tried. I will look no further. There is no other that actually tastes correct. You nailed it. THANK YOU.
Good dressing but the Garlic was too strong and made the dressing spicy so I tossed out the first batch and made another with no garlic. It’s better! Thanks! I definitely prefer this over bottled ranch.
Some people just don’t like garlic…I understand. For me, the recipe is perfect with garlic, which I love, and would not be to same without it. To each her own!!!!
um what can you substitute for the dill bcs i don’t have that
Thank you
Hi Abdul, I think tarragon would work as well.