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’ve made something similar to this for years, use mainly Greek yogurt and a bit of mayo; got my kids eating veggies and dip at an early age. For a different flavour try using celery salt instead of salt. I leave out the garlic as personal preference. Great recipe never need to buy creamy salad dressings again!!
This recipe is really good with fresh dill. Yum
This was great.
How many days will this dressing be good without spoiling if I keep it in the refrigerator?
Hi Food Lover :), I think it would keep nicely for about 4 days.
Thank you Jenn for yet another fantastic recipe! I tried to get my family to let it rest (to thicken and let the flavors meld) before a big football game tonight, but they couldn’t help themselves… they looove it! I had to use greek yogurt in place of sour cream, as we didn’t have any on hand, but still turned out great. Your recipes are truly the best!
I’m blown away. This ranch is amazing. I knew by the reviews it would be good, but this stuff is beyond delicious. I never thought I’d be tasting a brand new flavor at 42 years old. Well done.
This recipe was delicious! The lemon juice adds a terrific “tang” to the recipe.
Really like this dressing. Was concerned about the dried dill, it really added good flavor. I did cut down on the garlic the second time I made it & it didn’t have that garlicky taste I really enjoyed from the first time. If you like garlic, definitely use the 4 cloves. I also substituted scallions green tops for chives because there were no chives at Wholefoods. I couldn’t tell the difference. Really enjoyed this dressing. Again, Jenn, you rock. Thanks!!!
This is my very favorite ranch dressing. It’s so easy & I always have the ingredients on hand. Very tasty. For a change, sometimes I add blue cheese crumbles into the dressing. I have stopped looking for my perfect ranch dressing – this is it!
How do you make it thicker to serve with crudités?
Hi Emily, you could Up the amount of sour cream and mayonnaise in order to thicken it, but be sure to taste it as, while it changes the texture, it will also change the taste a bit. You could also try mixing all the ingredients in the blender as that helps to thicken dressings and sauces.
Great idea….I will use the immersion blender!!!
You might break it with a blender.