This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see our privacy policy.
You won't believe the difference between this Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing vs store-bought. You'll never go back to buying it!
It's not that I dislike ranch dressing, but I've never been super crazy about it either. I like to weigh my calories fairly carefully, and if I'm going to indulge, I want it to be something totally worthwhile. Ranch dressing just wasn't on my worth-indulging list. So why in the world did I take the time to research ranch dressing mix, test several recipes, re-test and re-do, and then bother to take photos of something that truly has not one photogenic gene? The answer is pretty straightforward. There was another recipe I was super intrigued by, and it happened to call for an envelope of Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix.
I added it to my shopping list. It had been years since I'd purchased this particular convenience item, and I was shocked at how pricey the tiny packet was. Then, after I used it in my recipe, I happened to glance at the ingredient list:
Yikes! Expensive and loaded with all kinds of stuff I can't and don't want to pronounce.
Since I realized I probably was going to need a few more packets in my recipe research, I decided to do a little exploration on making your own buttermilk ranch dressing mix. I found lots of recipes out there and, while each one was a bit different, I was amazed at how simple the ingredient lists were: dry buttermilk, spices and herbs. I liked that much better, and after looking at a bunch of different recipes, came up with my own version.
The funny thing is that, in addition to using the mix in my new recipe creation, I decided to try making a traditional ranch dressing with it, adding fresh buttermilk, Greek yogurt and mayonnaise.
Surprise, surprise! It was way better than I remembered ranch dressing, and I know I'll be making it again.
The mix is also perfect for a ranch dip; which is an all-time American favorite and delicious with wings, pizza, bread sticks, etc.
The mix is super simple to put together and, if you have an average supply of dried herbs and spices, you probably have most everything you'll need, except a can of powdered cultured buttermilk. You'll find this in the dry milk section of larger grocery stores and online. I love having this product on hand as it can be substituted it in any recipe calling for buttermilk, and it can be stored in the refrigerator for months. That means I always have buttermilk on hand, even when I don't!
But the BEST part is the new recipe I've come up with. I can't wait to share it with you on Friday. It's a Spicy Cilantro Buttermilk Dressing that we've been using on everything - salads, with chips, drizzled over nachos, on sandwiches, pizza, quesadillas, salmon...
It's insanely delicious, so be sure to whip up a batch of this Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix as you'll need a few tablespoons to make this fabulous new dressing too. Well, either that or a packet of the pricey, preservative-laden dressing mix - but it's your call on that!
WANT TO SEE MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES FROM THE CAFÉ? SIGN UP FOR OUR EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION. THAT WAY, YOU'LL NEVER MISS A POST.
YOU CAN JOIN US ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER AS WELL AS INSTAGRAM - WE HAVE LOTS OF FUN OVER THERE!
AND WE'RE FOREVER PINNING RECIPES AND INSPIRATIONAL IDEAS ON PINTEREST - JUST CLICK TO FOLLOW US.
Scroll Down for the Recipe - or Save It to Your Inbox
We’ll email you the recipe so it’s easy to save, print, or share.
Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix
Ingredients
- For the buttermilk dressing mix
- 1 cup dry buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley*
- 1 tablespoon minced dried garlic
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- For ranch dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup Greek yogurt, I use 0% fat
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
- ½ cup buttermilk, or milk
- For ranch dip
- 1 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
Instructions
- Add dry buttermilk powder and all herbs and spices to the bowl of a food processor or blender. Process for 25-30 seconds or until ingredients are well blended. Transfer to medium size glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Add the dill and stir to combine. Store in refrigerator.
- To make ranch dressing, combine 3 tablespoons of the buttermilk dressing mix, ½ cup mayonnaise (I like Hellmans), ½ cup Greek yogurt and ½ cups buttermilk** in a medium size glass jar. Screw lid on tightly and shake vigorously. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Dressing will also thicken a bit as it sits.
- To make ranch dip, combine 1 cup sour cream with 3 tablespoons of the buttermilk dressing mix and whisk until well combined.
- Homemade Buttermilk Dressing Mix will keep in the fridge for 3-4 months or in the freezer indefinitely.
Notes
* When you purchase dried parsley, look at the contents of the container. Look for parsley with a nice green hue vs a dull, greenish gray color )which means it's probably old).
** I tried the dressing with both milk and buttermilk. Yes, the mix has dried buttermilk and you could use milk but I preferred it with buttermilk. The flavor is fantastic.
Shop Our Café Loves
We’ve gathered our favorite kitchen tools, tableware, and entertaining treasures in one place, the Café Loves store. It’s a wonderful spot to find something special for yourself or the cooks and hosts you love!
This recipe for Ranch Dressing is sort of confusing to me. At what point, if any, if liquid buttermilk / plain milk added?
Hi E, there is dried buttermilk in the buttermilk dressing mix (that you make first) and then you add the liquid buttermilk in step 2 of the recipe.
Love all your recipes! They have been such a timesaver…and this one is so delicious. Spices/salt etc absolutely perfect!
Yay! Thanks for letting us know, JJnaz!
Yum....so glad I found your recipe. Made it tonight and my son who is a ranch fanatic with his pizza loved it as did everyone else.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Dale, for sharing your results! So happy you enjoyed it.
This is a wonderfully fresh tasting mix. It is not salt-laden and gives a vibrant but not overpowering addition to a leafy green salad. Thank you
You're welcome, Crystal. I'm so happy you enjoyed this dressing!
I made this for dip, and I wanted somewhat lower fat, so I did a mix of 0% Greek Yogurt and Sour Cream. It needed something for zing, so I added organic grated lemon zest and some rice wine vinegar and a few dashes salt. I also wanted freshness, so I chopped up some Italian parsley and tossed that in. Finally, I gave it a big pinch of freeze dried cilantro and I was happy :). The lemon zest and vinegar were the most important additions for balance.
Thanks for the review, Alexandra!
Chris,
I love all of your recipes, especially your salad dressing recipes. After making the Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix, I found the 2 teaspoons of kosher salt, overpowering, to all other flavors, in the recipe. I know when first reading the recipe 2 teaspoons seemed to me, too much but made the recipe, as written. I do plan to make your recipe again using a much smaller measure of salt.
Hi Julie, thanks for your comment. Just wanted to check though to see if you added 2 teaspoons of salt to the dressing itself or to the powdered mix. Each recipe of dressing ends up with only around 1/4 teaspoon salt since it uses 3 tablespoons of the powdered mix. The powdered mix should end up with about 1 1/4 cups which is 20 tablespoons.
So sorry you didn't enjoy this dressing 🙁
Chris,
I added the salt to the powdered mix
. I'm making this again, with less salt, right now, and we will have it for dinner this evening.
I made the comment about the salt only as a heads up for people that may need to use less salt. I love all of your recipes.
Thanks, Julie!
I just made this recipe this afternoon and it was wonderful. No more store bought Ranch mix for us. Thanks so much.
That's awesome Crystal, so happy you enjoyed this dressing!
The powdered buttermilk is what all my homemade ranch attempts were missing!
My ranch tastes so good now! I'm going to add dried chives and extra black pepper. Might even try leaving out the mayo.
Thanks for sharing your results, Joyce. The dried chives and black pepper sounds wonderful!
Although I have never looked for dry buttermilk in the grocery store, I certainly never saw it. I have bought dry buttermilk powder at Bulk Barn and wondered if it was the same but does not say cultured.
Hi Claire, I would guess it's probably the same thing. You can usually find it at the grocery store in the same area that has the dry milk. I usually comes in a small can with a lid.
I honestly haven't tried this but I would use the herbs but not the cultured buttermilk.
Honestly I haven't tried this. I think I would use the herbs and omit the buttermilk if I was making it.
Hi Chris, would you happen to have a copycat of the famous Chipotle salad (using the Mexican adobo sauce) ? Also, I've been dreaming of this wasabi soy honey dressing from Salad Stop from Singapore. I love your site and I'm excited to try out your recipes 🙂 Hazel
I don't have a copycat of that recipe Hazel, but it sounds relish!
We eat a lot of salads, Chris, and my husband LOVES Ranch dressing. I can't wait to try making my own mix. I even have the dried buttermilk on hand that I use for baking!
Discovering buttermilk powder was a huge money saver for me and I love using it. We are ranch dressing fans and I look forward to using this on salads and as a dip..Everything you share with us is photogenic and your recipes are all mouthwatering. I echo the sentiments of the others about semantics. Developing recipes and writing posts takes times and often many edits and we all slip up from time to time. It's no big deal.
Thanks for your very kind comments Sandra!
OhMyGosh! I just pinned this to make for holiday gifts! I hate buying the packs too.
Thanks Debra! So good for those little random gifts that come up around the holidays. What about a hostess gift!
I am all over this Chris! I too don't eat Ranch dressing often for the calories and certainly the ingredient list you shared isn't what I want to be eating either. I love that you developed a mix and with the ingredient list you shared. I did not realize there was powdered buttermilk so that's new too. Can't wait to try this and share it! A fun gift idea too.
That's an excellent idea Toni, giving healthy gifts that are easy to make! We have really been enjoying this recipe and I am amazed at how many things you can do with it! Kind of like a "Swiss Army Knife" dressing!
Hi! Just wondering if you know how long the dry mixture lasts in the fridge, and how long you can keep the prepared mixture in the fridge. Thanks! p.s. your blog is beautifully done!
Hi Kimberley,
It doesn't say on the can but I've kept this for 5-6 months with it staying fresh. I've heard, up to a year, but this was not from the company who makes it.
This is a fabulous recipe!! I love ranch and would love to know that it's made with REAL ingredients. Where did you find dried buttermilk?
Thanks Sophia! It's usually where the canned and dried milk are in the store.
Thanks so much for doing the research, I can't wait to have this homemade mix in my pantry and the dressing in the fridge! Never heard of dry buttermilk, wow!
Jenna, thanks for your comments. I love to research and find out new things about food - my husband says it's in the genes!
I adore buttermilk dressings and you are a genius for figuring out how to make the dried mix --- those packages scare me!
Me too, Sue. Me too!
Thank you, thank you. I love buttermilk ranch dressing but not the ingredients in the available dry mixes or prepared ranch dressings. Tried to make a similar mix but never got it just right; so thank you again for creating this recipe for us. I always have dried buttermilk on hand for biscuits, waffles and bread making.
I just made a batch of the mix; had just a bit too much for my small container so sprinkled the 'left-over' on some cottage cheese, gave it a good stir and served with just picked sliced tomatoes--swoon. This mix is awesome!
Yeah!! So happy you enjoyed it!
Sounds great Chris - very creative, Growing up I was always a fan of Ranch but haven't tried making my own. It looks delicious - Sharing!
Thanks so much Tricia!
It has been a long time since I've had ranch dressing. This might do the trick!
That's how I was, it's way better than the stuff in a bottle!
We love ranch dressing, I agree the packets are expensive. Grandkids love to dip anything in ranch dressing.
My question is this. After making the mix where do I store it until I am ready to make the dressing or dip?
On the shelf or in the refrigerator. Thank you
Hi Dorothy,
It should be stored in the refrigerator. Once the buttermilk powder is opened that too should be store in the fridge. Thanks, I added that to the recipe.
I have never been a big Ranch Dressing fan either so I am excited to try this!
We weren't either Sarah, but now we are!
Dried buttermilk is new to me..the dressing looks wonderful, so are those photos.
Thanks for your sweet comments Angie. Yes, dried buttermilk is really a cool product - very versatile.
Great idea for a recipe! Your photos are beautiful, in spite of your subject not having one photogenic gene. 🙂 I am looking forward to the spicy cilantro buttermilk dressing. It looks delicious!
Thank you Sandra! I think you'll LOVE the cilantro buttermilk dressing!
Hi Chris, Just love your blog and all your delicious recipes!!! I make your smoothie recipe that you shared with greek yogurt at least three times a week!! I can't wait to try this recipe!! I always have dried buttermilk in my refrigerator! Thanks for putting so much time into perfecting recipes!!
Thanks for taking the time to leave such a sweet comment LaVonne!
I would think a woman of your age would know that it's ""carefully " not CAREFULL!!!! Ugh!!!
Thanks so much for the correction. I appreciate having kind, watchful eyes out there. I definitely make lots of mistakes.
We could probably be a little more polite when correcting a grammar error, sissy kane.. Chris, thank you for the recipe. I usually buy some high priced organic ranch mix but I think I'll try this recipe as it looks super simple and delicious! I can't wait to make it. Also, I am wondering if the jar in your photos is a Weck jar or another brand. It's beautiful and I'd love to find one like it.
couldn't agree more with you, Apearl. reading this blog is like visiting with Chris in her kitchen over a cup of coffee. why nitpick over semantics? "careful" "carefully". we all know what Chris was saying.
Thank you Mel, I really appreciate your sweet comment. I love that I have all kinds of friends out there!! 🙂
Hi Chris!
Good morning!
Finding a new recipe in my emails, makes my mornings! Thank you! Your beautiful site, along with your mouth watering recipes, inspires, and gives me a sense of joy. Again, thank you!
Thanks so much Julie, what an encouraging, thoughtful email. You made my day!
hi chris - in reading the recipe it looks like 2 tsp. of kosher salt is written twice - so is there really 4 tsp. salt??? otherwise sounds like a keeper of a recipe.
Thanks for the good "eyes" Betty! I did correct it and 2 tsp is all you need.
Hi Chris, first of all I did not know that dried buttermilk was even a thing. Second my daughter loves ranch dressing, she would really love this recipe.
Thanks Cheri! No matter how long I've been cooking, I'm constantly learning about new "things". That's one of the really fun parts about creating in the kitchen!