Ranch Dressing
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Whip up a batch of homemade ranch dressing and savor its legendary creamy, tangy, herb-packed goodness—perfect for dipping, drizzling, or spreading on all your favorites!
Ranch dressing gets its name from the place where it was born: Hidden Valley Ranch, a cozy guest ranch near Santa Barbara, California. In the early 1950s, Steve Henson, who ran the ranch with his wife Gayle, whipped up this creamy, tangy, herb-packed dressing to serve their guests. It was an instant hit. Seeing how much their guests loved the dressing, the Hensons began to produce it on a larger scale, eventually selling it through their mail-order business in the 1950s. By the 1980s, ranch dressing had become a beloved staple in American kitchens and restaurants.
If you’ve only ever tasted ranch from a bottle, you’re in for a treat. Homemade ranch dressing, made with fresh ingredients and no preservatives, delivers a richness and depth of flavor that the store-bought versions just can’t match. It’s so much more than a salad dressing—it’s makes a delicious dip for veggies and chips and a fantastic spread. My kids put it on everything, from chicken wings to French fries, to baked potatoes.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Ranch Dressing
- Sour Cream: Serves as the base of the dressing, adding creaminess and a subtle tang.
- Mayonnaise: Lends richness and smoothness to the dressing.
- Milk: Thins the dressing to the desired consistency.
- Garlic: Gives the dressing a nice kick, punching up the flavor.
- Fresh Dill and Chives: Add fresh, herby goodness for that classic ranch vibe.
- Lemon Juice: Cuts through the richness and brightens everything up.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Adds a deep, savory flavor (AKA umami).
- Tabasco Sauce: Kicks up the flavor with a bit of heat.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise, and milk.
Add the garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, dill, chives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco.
Whisk until well combined.
Chill until ready to serve. The dressing will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
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Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise, best-quality such as Hellmann's or Duke's
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- ¼ cup fresh chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- ⅛ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- Few dashes Tabasco sauce
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and milk. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, sugar, dill, chives, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Stir until evenly combined. Chill until ready to serve. The dressing will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
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.
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I noticed two ranch dressing recipes on your website. What is the difference? One uses buttermilk and one does not…but how do they vary in taste and texture?
Hi Angela, The taste is very similar but this one is thicker and can double as a dip. The other one has more the consistency of ranch dressing in a bottle. Hope that helps!
Best ranch dressing I’ve ever had!!!!
Out of laziness I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and it was delicious! Great recipe, thank you!!
Can you use buttermilk for the milk?
Hi Kim, if you want to use buttermilk, I’d recommend this recipe instead (which is very similar but has a slightly thinner consistency). Hope you enjoy!
Tried this recipe and my family loved it, even my picky daughter! It tastes very good and we love it! You must try it. It is better than bottled dressing!
I really hate mayo. Is there a substitute that is comparable for this dressing?
Hi Cassie, You can use more sour cream instead of the mayo. Because using all sour cream will make it more tart, I’d wait and add the lemon juice to taste at the end. (Keep in mind that while this will still be good, it won’t taste exactly like ranch without the mayo.)
I had been looking for a delicious homemade ranch recipe and I finally found it. I don’t buy store bought dressings because the ingredients are completely toxic or the healthy/organic ones have a taste I just don’t care for. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!