I’m at church camp this week, loving life, swatting bugs, and trying to stay hydrated. While I’m gone, you can enjoy a re-posting of some of our most popular time-saving, money-saving, healthier eating mix recipes…
Originally posted March, 2009
Lookie what’s growing in my garden! Those cute little lettuce leaves will soon be cute big lettuce leaves. I can’t wait! I’ll be needing my homemade salad dressing before we know it.
I don’t actually have an exciting salad recipe for you. I’m not terribly creative like that. My salad recipes almost always look something like:
- Wash and tear up a bunch of lettuce or spinach and put it in a bowl.
- Add whatever other raw veggies you have.
- If you’re feeling especially crazy, throw in some dried cranberries or raisins.
- If you want your salad to be your main dish, add some chicken, cheese and hard boiled egg.
- Grab a fork.
Homemade Salad Dressing Ideas
This is why I’m so excited about the above carnivals. However, I do have a fun idea for a salad dressing that I discovered one day when I was dinking around in the kitchen. Are you ready? It’s a novel idea.
Orange juice. The juice from an orange. Fresh squeezed orange juicy goodness.
It’s refreshingly simple. And yummy. And it contains no high fructose corn syrup or MSG.
Now that I’ve shared that enlightening salad tid-bit, I’m very excited to share another healthy homemade salad dressing idea!
Rhonda sent me a wonderful Ranch Dressing Mix recipe!! I used to use Simply Organic brand because I trust it more than other brands. But now, thanks to Rhonda, I can make a super healthy (and much, much less expensive) Ranch Dressing any time I need to!
Ranch Dressing Mix
- 5 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- 7 teaspoon parsley flakes
- 4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Mix together and store in an air tight container.
- For dressing: Mix 2 Tablespoons dry mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream.
- For dip: Mix 2 Tablespoons dry mix with 2 cups sour cream or kreme fresh.
- Mix up a few hours before serving, so the flavors all blend nicely.
I use Hain Safflower mayo and Homemade Buttermilk.
The jar on the right is the mix, which costs pennies compared to a packaged mix! The jar on the left is the ranch dressing all made up and ready to go on our salad.
You HAVE to try this dressing! It tastes so…so real. And fresh. And pure. It’s delicious, simple and healthy! Obviously, you eat it on lettuce and other veggies – so that gives you wonderful, healthy…healthiness. (And of course, great servings of more fruits and veggies!)
Rhonda even suggested using this ranch dressing mix in my Ranch Potato Wedges recipe. It works GREAT!
I shall never buy another ranch dressing packet again. Rhonda – you rock!
And try squeezing an orange onto your salad sometime! See what you think! (Ever tried it before?)
I recently added a packet of ranch mix to mashed potatoes (along with cheese and bacon) and Hubs asked me to marry him all over again. :>) I figured I’d experiment next time with seasoning to avoid the weird stuff – thanks Ronda for taking the guesswork out of it!
Aha! I have an empty Sam’s sized ranch mix jar sitting in my cabinet waiting… patiently waiting for me to fill it with dry ranch mix.
And now I can!
It’s a good day. ;-)
Such a healthy alternative to ranch dressing packets! (Now, if only I liked ranch dressing! Can you come up with something healthy in the thousand island department?) :-)
1/4 cup ketchup to 1 cup mayonnaise.
Add chopped oinion and chopped pickles or relish.
Add whatever seasonings you like.
I add onion powder and chili powder
(husband likes it a bit spicy).
Great thousand island!
Thank you so much for posting this. I have some thyroid issues and I am currently avoiding ALL sweeteners and any kind of preservative. I’m having a hard time finding salad dressing recipes that don’t include any type of sweetener.
I can’t wait to try this! I make Ranch dressing using the HV package, because my husband didn’t like the SO brand. This is so much healthier – thank you Rhonda and Laura – you made my day!
I am ashamed to say that I have been feeding most of our lettuce to the chickens. Isn’t eating free range eggs kind of like eating salad?
Your recipes sound so good, I’m sorry my lettuce is already bolting. :)
Looks and sounds yummy!
What great ideas! Since our salads consist of lettuce and tomatoes and not much else, I’ll need to check these other sites out.
Thanks for the recipes!
Do you know how long the prepared dressing and dip will keep in the fridge?
that’s fantastic! I use Ranch dip on pretzels and crackers :) This will work wonderfully :)
How long does the ranch dressing last in the fridge once it is made up?
THANKS! I tried a recipe from Recipezarr and it was NOT good… had dill in it and was GROSS!!! LOL! I am so going to mix this up right now and try it out! We were in love with Hidden Valley, but cut it out because of MSG… I think I may write to them…. LOL!
Well, I am more of a vinagerette kinda girl…but my kids love ranch! I never let them have it because of all the yucky stuff in the store bought! They will be so happy when I make this:)
YUM-MEEEE! Def. gonna try out that ranch dressing!
Thanks for the Ranch recipe! My husband and kids absolutely love Ranch dressing – on everything!
I just made a ranch similar only used organic plain yogurt instead of mayo/buttermilk. Came out great as my guys just started to like dipping their veggies. Can you mix the dried ingredients and keep them to make a quick dressing when you need it?
Thanks!
Thank you so much. I just tried a home made ranch dressing that no one liked. It had a bit of a bite to it. this one looks much easier and less likely to be rejected.
How long can the dressing be stored in the fridge? And is there a way to make it without mayo??? I’m kinda grossed out by mayo not to mention it is very fattening. I suppose I could use the fat-free or lite kind. But would rather avoid it.
This is great timing as I was just gagging last night on the jar of dressing we purchased. What ever possessed me, I will never know. Thanks for the tip, Laura!
Does this taste similar to Hidden Valley? My kids are so picky and that’s their favorite! Just curious! Thx!
To answer the “How long will it last question”…
I would imagine that the dressing will last in the fridge for a at least a month. :)
Thanks for the herb mix. I always throw some herbs together and have yet to get that Ranch flavor! Here are a couple easy recipes for non-ranch dressings you may enjoy too. It has been years since we bought dressing in a store…so cheap and easy to make at home.
HONEY MUSTARD DRESSING
– honey (brown rice syrup works too!)
– lemon juice
– olive oil (cold-pressed)
– mustard (pre-made health food store variety or mustard powder; yellow or stone ground)
I never measure and everyone likes a different amount of sweetness so try some combos out here…
– 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 to 1/3 cup lemon juice, a big ole glob of honey, a squirt of mustard.
– Now whisk in a small bowl and taste.
– Add whatever you need to please your palette!
AVOCADO DRESSING
– ripe avocado fork-mashed
– half organic lemon squeezed into green mash
– dash sea salt
– splash organic cold-pressed olive oil
Blessings.
I make this stuff, too! I especially like to mix it with mayo and put it on pasta for pasta salad. YUM! Add a bit of fresh tomato and crumbled bacon and you’ve got yourself a summer dish!
That looks delicious. I think I’m going to try this!
My favorite homemade dressing is the Lemon Garlic Dressing found in Dining on a Dime (what a GREAT resource). I absolutely LOVE lemon though; it’s so versatile. Thanks for the tips! I love your site.
What a great recipe! I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!!
Thank you!!! I am very careful about what we eat, but still I am buying the Kraft Ranch dressing. I cannot wait to try this! THANKS!
Thanks for sharing! I love Ranch dressing, and have been wondering where to find a recipe so I can stop buying the packets. :)
I made the ranch dressing recipe and we love it! Thank you!
Oh man, why haven’t I made homemade Ranch dressing before? Oh yeah, no simple recipe. I just bought a cute vintage ‘Fresh Dressing’ bottle at a yard sale for 50 cents. I figured it would be a vase with rare appearances for a vinaigrette, but I hadn’t even considered making my own ranch dressing. I will have to do it this weekend, my lettuce crop is growing REALLY well this year.
We ate this lastnight with veggies, and YUM! they loved it… maybe tooo much onion for me… but I did BLEND up the ing. when I mixed them together! made it more powdery!!!
So… if you use yogurt, you use 2 c yogurt instead of just 1?
I wonder if Miracle whip would work instead of mayonaise.
How did you know I needed a ranch dressing recipe this week. I’ve never made my own, but I’m wanting to save money and quit running to the store for a bottle of dressing. Thanks!
We are in the midst of trying ranch recipes. First two were duds, but this one looks better. I’m excited to see if it works for us!
I LOVE the ranch dressing you make. I was planning on buying the packets at the store and making it rather than buying the bottles because it tastes better but now that I have that recipe I will just make it myself. Tasty…cheap…easy…healthier…and did I mention…tasty?
Thanks for the recipe for the ranch dressing mix. We like chicken subs that call for cooking the chicken seasoned with ranch dressing mix in a skillet with green peppers and mushrooms. Serve the chicken on a homemade hoagie that has been broiled with some cheese on it. Yummy. I have been wishing for a recipe for the mix, so I can’t wait to try it.
Yum, this recipe is a winner for us. We made the dip and my 3.5yo really liked it.
Thanks so much for this recipe! My family had it tonight for the first time and the kids loved it. Hubby said it was good, but not “ranchy” enough, any suggestions?
THis sounds yummy!
By “instant” minced onions, do you mean dried minced onions or are they specially labeled as instant?
I just found this and I am so excited to try it! I have recently been reading up on MSG (monosodium glutamate) and how bad it is and since Ranch Dressing has this ingredient I really wanted to find an alternative. Thank you so much for sharing! :)
just made this today for our salad tonight-yum! thanks! plus i used a great glass jar ;)
ps, i’m with ya on caramel but not coupon ;)
Hi Laura! I just made this dressing today (even though I had store bought dressing in the house… I like to play in the kitchen just like you!). My husband and 10-year old son have just taken a sample. Son said it’s better than Newman’s Own Ranch, which we have been buying for years. Husband said it’s very tasty; just pour out the Newman’s and pour this in the bottle instead! Thanks so much! (Oh, and we tried the High Five Chicken Fried Steak Strips, and they were even better than what we get at Babe’s (a North Texas establishment known from far and wide for its chicken-fried steak!). Keep those recipes coming!!
I just wanted to thank you for this ranch mix. Tried it tonight and it was delicious. Although I had to add some milk to the dressing I made because it was too thick. It might be because we use a soy/flax dressing that is really thick. Anyways, it was great and is what we will use for now on. Thanks so much. By the way, I’m looking forward to any mayo recipes you come up with. :) Blessings- Jennifer
We’ve had a lot of recalls in our area for the store bought refrigerated dip and even the dry ranch mix. So, I decided to make veggie dip from scratch. This was a hit! Everyone enjoyed it, plus it is extremely economical. I already had sour cream in the fridge, and could buy the seasonings in bulk. Thank you for sharing this! I’ll try it as a dressing next.
Would this replace the packets from the store in all recipes? My recipe for roast calls for 1 packet ranch dressing, Would this work?
Absolutely! One packet is equal to about 2 Tablespoons of the dry homemade mix!
I mixed up your ranch mix and the whole family loved it!
My kids favorite thing to do with the ranch mix is to sprinkle it over the top of popcorn! Yumm!
Cute lettuce!!!!! I have some growing also and can’t wait. Thank you for the recipes. I will be sure to use them.
Blessings and Happy Easter! May the Lord bless you and yours!
Linda
Prairie Flower
My husband LOVES Ranch and I’ve been experimenting at home with mixed results – my first attempt turned out pretty watery (probably due to the fact that my homemade mayo isn’t as thick as store bought). I’ll have to try this with the sour cream idea! Thanks so much!
God bless!
I absolutely LOVE this ranch dressing!!! I don’t think we’ll ever buy store bought again.
Awesome ranch recipe! Now that I can make it from my spice cabinet, no more purchasing the packets from the store. Thanks!! And, it makes YUMMY dressing! :) My picky husband even liked it.
This is the closest to Hidden Valley that I have found. I blended it so it was more of a powder-if you do this you need to use less that 2 TB. I mixed it with half sour cream, half plain yogurt and just a little milk to make it runnier. It still needs a little bit of zing-I added some lemon juice and lemon zest and it was closer but it is differnt than HV.
I just mixed up this batch of Ranch. I’m curious if you find it too onion-ie? I’ve made some into dressing and I have some left over mix. The dressing has been refridgerating for about 30 min and the onion is really overpowering.
I’m wondering if a few more hours in the fridge will help or if maybe I should add more parsley to it?
Any ideas?
Hmm, we’ve never felt like it was too onion-ie…but of course everyone has different tastes. Sure, adding more parsley would probably help.
I stand corrected! This ranch is AWESOME!!!! I’m guessing I was taste testing it too soon! It really does need an overnight in the fridge to mesh together! The 5 TableS onion to 7 TEAS Parsley scared me a bit! Thanks for sharing this!
I actually found it quite onion-y, but I used my own home-dried minced onion for the recipe, and it’s quite a bit stronger and fresher than what you would find in a store. It’s got a great taste, but for homemade minced onion, maybe halve the onion portion?
I made the ranch dressing tonight about 30 min before we ate and it was delicious. the best I have ever made. Thanks for all your yummy recipes. I love your site.. You inspire me to cook healthy. Thanks, Teresa
Just made this ranch today and it is awesome! I can finally feel good about giving my kids a good and healthy dip/dressing with their veggies.
Do you know how long it will be good for or should we go by the ‘use by date’ of our liquid that we add to it?
Mine have been great for a good two months in the fridge!
Finally a ranch with no MSG, I am making it today. My aunt always adds a little dried dill to the HV packet, for a dill ranch, you could do the same with this, for an added twist. So happy for a healthy ranch option.
Okay…could I use fresh minced onion? I assumed the recipe was calling for dried onion and I am not sure the ratio of fresh to dried would be the same for this recipe? Thanks so much for the recipes!!
It is calling for dried minced onion, but you could use fresh as long as you make the dressing right away. I don’t think the mixture would be good on a shelf with fresh onions…might get moldy.
Do you have a recipe for Catalina dressing, that is my husband’s current favorite. I have just retired and am trying to find more healthy recipes to try.
Thanks.
Yep: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/homemade-french-dressing
I love this recipe but I do not like using all the mayo. Is there anything else I can use in place of mayo? I did not have parsley flakes so I used celery seeds and a smidgen of dill. Italian Seasoning or mexican oregano does not work.
Would plain yogurt, cottage cheese in a blender, tofu, olive oil or something else work with fewer calories. What can be used to replace the salt ? Just asking ? To everyone, this recipe is the one you are looking for to replace HV and I am picky. Thank you, and thank Rhonda for this, my friend has been looking for a good recipe because MSG gives her a headache and there is to much sugar in it for me. I will be using this recipe until I get answers to the above questions . Just think how good this will be when I do have all the right ingredients !
Um, I’m not sure if I’ll be much help as I’ve never adapted this recipe. I’d say just try it the ways you suggested with yogurt or whatever spices you have and see what you come up with.
I don’t know of anything to replace salt that will give you the same result that salt does, but I use Redmonds Real Salt which is an all natural sea salt, unprocessed and not iodized…much healthier!
For the mayo I would try using lite mayo or nonfat plain yogurt or a
combination of both. Try replacing up to %50 of the salt with
potassium salt. If you are used to less salt you could probably add
less total salt as well.
Thanks Laura and Rhonda for this recipe!
I hate store bought mayo because it’s sweet so when I make ranch dressing I use all buttermilk or homemade yogurt I have on hand with milk to thin it where we like it. it makes the mix a little bit more concentrated which is how we like it anyway. There’s more ranch flavor with less dressing
Would it be possible to freeze this dressing? I’m not sure how the mayo would react…
I’m thinking I could premake and freeze some turkey-cheese-ranch wraps for a quick lunch.
I would think that if you froze these into wraps with the dressing it would PROBABLY do okay. Not sure though!
I tried your Ranch dressing recipe today and am worried. I used Miracle Whip instead of Mayo. It was really sweet tasted alot like just Miracle Whip. What kind of Mayo do you use? I don’t like all the fat in regular mayo (bc of low HDL) and was wondering if you use something other than just regular mayo. Thanks
I use Hain Safflower Mayo – I love it.
I used low fat mayo. It was a liitle runnier but tasted just like ranch dressing.
I us Helmans or Kraft olive oil mayo, it has 50% less fat than reg mayo and it tasted great.
Can I substitute onion powder for the flakes?
Sure, I dn’t know why not!
Laura,
Would you happen to have a recipe for making mayo? My friend makes it from scratch but she never is able to tell me how…a little of this and a little of that!
BTW thank you for all your recipes!! We are eating much healthier and the kids don’t even know it! Praise God!
I don’t have a mayo recipe yet. It’s on “my list” but I just haven’t gotten to it yet!
http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/43/Homemade-Mayonnaise
2 large egg yolks whisk whisk oil in drop by drop
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
pinch of white pepper
1 cup oil
I just had to tell you this! My MIL gave me an old cookbook a while back. It’s called Old Timey Recipes, and was printed in 1977. One of the recipes is Grandma’s Delicious Mayonnaise. Here is the recipe in it’s entirety. I doesn’t give a list of ingredients.
3 eggs well beaten, add 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 teaspoon mustard. 1 cup cream, 1/2 cup vinegar, add vinegar very slowly. Cook in double boiler until thick. Do not boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt when mixture is cool. 1 pint dressing.
Sorry for the clunky way it’s written, but that’s how it is in the book!
Tropical Traditions has a GREAT mayo simple recipe that’s with oh so wonderful cocounut oil!
I just made mayo over the weekend with my daughter and it turned out great. Here is the link, and wE used a magic bullet, but I’m sure you could do it in the blender.
http://www.ehow.com/how_6690497_make-mayonnaise-magic-bullet.html
OOOH, this sounds so good. I just went and mixed up the dry seasonings. I will have to get buttermilk.
I am also wanting to learn how to make homemade mayonnaise.
I found a recipe in an old kitchenaid recipe booklet that came with an older mixer and it looked really good.
I also have a food processor, and I think you can make it in there better.
I look forward to seeing your recipes. Looking forward to the ketchup one too!!!
hope they come soon. Then the ranch dressing can be truly homemade!!
FYI: if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can add a little vinegar to regular milk and it will “make” buttermilk ~ or at least an equivalent of it :o)
I have done this too, and it works really well. The milk has to be room temp. for a little bit, then put the vinegar or lemon juice in and let it set for about 20 or 30 minutes. I have also done it in a last minute time and it still served its purpose.
I use this mix to make a dip. I mix 1.5 T of the mix with 2 cups of strained, plain homemade yogurt. I strain my yogurt for about 8 hours before I make the dip. This makes it thicker and yummy, yummy. This way I have a nice, low fat dip that I don’t feel guilty slathering all over carrots. yum
to make buttermilk how much vin. would you add? I really would like to try this!
I wish I knew! I make my buttermilk like this: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/making-cultured-buttermilk-kefir-and-sour-cream so I don’t know the exact way to make buttermilk with vinegar. :)
Use 1 tbls. vinegar OR lemon juice to one cup of milk to make a buttermilk equivalent. Works great!
My family LOVED this recipe!! We all thought it was so cool that it tasted so much better than anything store bought.
Hey, Laura! Just was wondering which brand
of mayo that you use as all the kinds at the
store all loaded with bad ingr.! My son
LOVES ranch dressing (from the store), so it
would be great if he likes this healthy kind;
however, I need to find a healthy mayo, first!
Thanks! ;o)
I just updated the post to show that we use Hain Safflower mayo. I’m in the process of figuring out how to make my own homemade mayo too!
Homemade mayo is super easy if you have a blender. Although this recipe uses raw eggs, you will want to make sure you use only pastured, farm fresh eggs. (we have 9 laying hens in our backyard, so I know where my eggs come from ; ) )
1 whole egg and one egg yolk
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tbls lemon juice
1/2 – 1 tsp sea salt
1 cup safflower oil
Using blender, blend egg, egg yolk, mustard. Add lemon juice and salt. Blend.
Now, with blender running, slowly drizzle in oil. Do this slowly, and the mixture will thicken and not separate. Will keep 2 weeks in refrigerator.
The eggs must be at room temperature,not cold from the refrigerator or the eggs won’t whip up and the mayonaise will be ruined.
I used a refrigerated egg and mine did fine. Of course, I only made one batch with one egg, but it was delicious.
Laura,
I just saw this recipe for homemade mayo using Palm shortening (which I know you love) and thought of you!
http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2012/04/12/easy-no-fail-mayo/
We really like this ranch dressing!
I have made it with mayo and buttermilk, but my favorite way is to make it with mayo and sour cream. It’s great!
I also use the dry mix in a soup recipe that calls for dry ranch seasoning mix and it works well too. I just add 1-2 Tbsp.
Thank you so much for sharing!
The mix sounds great. I have to try that one.
Laura,
Will this dressing keep longer than the expiration date on the buttermilk? I thought I read a reply of yours saying this keeps about two months but I can’t find buttermilk with a use-by date that long. Thanks!
I would think the dressing will last longer than the buttermilk date, but do whatever you feel comfortable with. I make my own buttermilk, so don’t have an expiration date, but I know that the dressing has lasted two months in my fridge without a problem!
I love this mix! It’s way too salty for us though so I use half the salt (and was informed by my husband the other day I could use even less). I also pulse my mix a few times in my food processor to get the onions and stuff nice and fine. We love it. Thanks so much for sharing!
Could I make a large quantity of this and then can them in small jars? If so, would I use a water bath or pressure cooker to can the sauce?
I’m not sure about that. IF you were to do it, it would need to be in a pressure cooker…but I’m really not sure about the shelf stability of doing this.
I am so glad that I stumbled upon your site. I am so excited about the ranch, onion soup and taco seasoning mixes. I was wondering if you have ever tried to make a beef stew mix? I love the McCormick mix but I wish i could make it on my own.
Thanks!! Jennifer
The salad dressing is really good!! I want to give my family the best!
Just wondering if thys dressing is thick I like my dressing thick but still want it to taste like buttermilk ranch dressing
I’d say it’s probably a little less thick than store bought, but you could adapt the ingredient amounts to make it thicker (like less buttermilk and more sour cream).
Thanks so much for posting these recipes! I just made the ranch dressing using nonfat yogurt and a bit of mayo for my kids to have with their lunch of veggies and nuts. They said it was the best dressing they have ever eaten! And, by the way, I love jars, too! I keep almost all glass jars and reuse them in my pantry and for things like dressings and leftovers.
YUM!
I added this to cream cheese with some chopped cucumbers from my garden for a spread and it was sooooo good!
Wow!! This was a hit with my family a few days back. Well, I made some today for a Labor Day cookout and my other family members said this was great. Thank you for this simple dressing…this has definitely made it to our 3-ring recipe binder.
Your website is such a help in our food choices – thank you.
Where do you buy seasonings? There’s a healthy helping of dried onions in this. Do I need to look for/avoid anything in particular when buying such a product? Would hate to go to the trouble of making my own dressing only to find out I’ve contaminated it with some random freeze dried ingredient additive I did not know about. Thanks.
I have links on this resource page that will give you some good options for buying herbs and spices: https://www.heavenlyhomemakers.com/our-whole-foods-pantry-freezers-and-refrigerator :)
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! This is fantastic thank you for sharing! I did not have sour cream, so I made it with mayo and fat free yogurt..my oh my.. i think I’m in love :)
I love this recepe, I used regular helmans mayo, and buttermilk, and dry mix to make the dressing. It is wonderful, and HALF the calories and fat comparing the bottled Hiddenvalley ranch. So it taste better, has wholesome ingredients and is better for you, bye bye store bought! Thanks Laura!!
i made this dressing the other day and it was great! i also used it to make the ranch potatoes which were wonderful as well. thanks so much for the recipe :) i have a question i was wondering if you could answer though…my mother in law has a “taco soup” recipe that calls for a pkg of ranch dressing mix and one pkg of taco seasoning. do you know how much of the ranch dressing mix and taco seasoning mix of yours i would use to be the equivalent to that?
I would say that 3 Tablespoons of each mix would equal the amount you’d find in a seasoning package.
FYI: I make a 6 times batch for a pint jar of mix.
1.5 C + 6 T Dried Onion
1 C. parsley
1/2 C. Salt
2 T. garlic
Enjoy!
Thank you for this. I have been married for 7 months and have been impressing my husband with my cooking. Now he has a few extra pounds and this is his favorite dressing. I put 1 spoon less salt in and used 2 cups of nonfat yogurt. When you put the non fat yogurt in the cup I pour milk around it – and this is an excellent buttermilk alternative. Thank you so much. Will try the Catalina, too.
Thank you for this recipe! I’ve been wanting to try it and recently stocked up on bulk spices to make larger quantities of things like taco seasoning (and I LOVE that sausage seasoning recipe!), but just hadn’t done it yet. Found myself at the grocery store…tired, getting late, eying a frozen “dinner in a bag” that was a cheesy ranch chicken kind of deal. Sounded really good, but at $6 that just completely went against my frugal nature. I ended up buying a block of American cheese and when I got home, mixed up some of this ranch dressing mix really quickly and then using cooked chicken breast, elbow pasta, milk, shredded American cheese, sour cream and this ranch mix to make my own. Threw in some broccoli and had a quick one dish meal. It was delicious!
I read the comment earlier about someone not wanting to make it in large batches because of the ingredients separating out. I mixed up a double batch in a mason jar and blended it with my stick blender the first time and the parsley was finer and didn’t separate out like the bigger flakes. I used onion POWDER to begin with (1 Tb minced onion = 1 tsp onion powder) so it all mixed together nicely. I made another batch quickly while things were simmering and this time I put the parsley in first and ground it up a bit with the stick blender, then added the rest of the ingredients and blended well. I think that will virtually eliminate the settling problem.
Again, thanks so very much for sharing this recipe. I quit buying processed foods a couple years ago and it’s so hard to find a decent ranch without MSG. I think I would use this most often as a seasoning, such as in a chicken coating or like I did tonight. We just don’t use a lot of ranch dressing in general. I am looking forward to trying it as a dressing/dip though!
How many tablespoons of this mix would equal a packet? Like when a recipe calls for a packet of ranch?
I usually use 3 tablespoons for one packet.
I have made ranch dressing from a recipe I found on the internet, it is great. I have a herb garden also like this woman that wrote this recipe. Not putting down this recipe, I will make it. It is very handy to have ready when you are in a hurry. I want to share this with you, It is so cute, recipe is just great. i AM NOT TO GOOD ON THE COMP. I am a senior. google
“THE PIONEER WOMAN COOKS” or .com to it.
HOMEMADE RANCE DRESSING. It is so good on salad and as a dip, we went crazy with this. it is not low cal but can make it different, she even explains what you can add in. I also make up recipies like she does. thought this great including pictures.
Could I use greek yogurt in this? And if so would I just replace the mayo with the same amount of yogurt or do I need to mix the two? I just found this site and am looking forward to trying out your recipes.
I’ve never used Greek yogurt, but I think it should work just fine. Yes, I would say that you can just replace the mayo one for one in this recipe. Hope it works well for you!
Any ideas on how to convert this to a nondairy recipe?
Thanks
You might try coconut milk instead of buttermilk to see how that works.
This dressing was great!!! Even my husband loved it (and he’s usually a die-hard oil and vinegar guy). Question, though: How long should I keep in fridge?
It should keep for 2 months.
I looked up conversion of dried minced onion to onion powder (I want to use as Kale chips and popcorn topping). It said 1T dried to 1 tsp powder. BUT if I want to just make up mix as ranch dressing rather than have TWO mixes on hand would I then still use 1 T to make up dressing? what do you think?
That sounds good!
I LOVE this recipe…I make up a 1/2 gallon canning jar of ranch dressing at a time cuz we love it so much for salads, pizza or the chicken fingers (from your e-book). So delicious! Using buttermilk is the best in it!
I love this dressing but decreased the salt to 2 tsp. It did not change the taste at all.
Does this “pour” out of your jar, or do you have to spoon it out (thicker)? We were making our own homemade ranch for a while, but my husband does most of our dinner cooking, and wouldn’t think about it until just about time to sit down, then it was a hassle to make at the last second. I have started doing a bit more of the cooking, and I am tempted to try this again, especially if it would last 2 months. I might even try a half batch first. I am curious to the consistency though. I’m thinking you wrote that it is a little more thin than store-bought, and I guess I could control by the liquid I put in… Does it thicken with sitting in the fridge?
It does tend to be a little thinner than store bought, but if you just add a little less buttermilk, it may be thicker for you.
Do u happen to know how much of the mix to use if we are substituting that for the dry ranch packets you get in the store?
About 3 Tablespoons.
Ok, I haven’t actually tried this mix of herbs yet… I just started making my own ranch because we ran out the other night on pizza night (you would’ve thought the world was ending) Anyway… I had the packets of ranch mix for dip/dressing, BUT I used a cup of kefir and a cup of mayo and it is THE. BEST. RANCH. EVER.!!! Plus I get to use the kefir and my family doesn’t even realize it! I’m going to try it next using this mix instead of the store bought! Thanks for all the recipes!
I made this the first time with minced onion but my son wasn’t crazy about the texture. Now I make it with 2 Tbsp. onion powder instead and everyone loves it. I only use 1 Tbsp. of the powdered mix to 1 cup buttermilk and 1 cup mayonnaise since the onion powder is stronger/more concentrated than the minced onion. Sometimes I add 1-2 Tbsp. pesto to give it some variety.
I just figured out that I can put the ranch dressing mix into sour cream only and make french onion dip! It tastes just like the kind you buy in the store, but much cheaper. I love all of these mixes!
I’ve been thinking for a while of making my own mixes and found your site while searching for recipes. I had all the stuff to make this and had just run out of ranch dressing, so perfect timing! Yum – so so so good. I think I will try using onion powder next time instead of minced onions or maybe swap it partially out. Thank you!
Do you think this would work in a recipe? I mean, as a direct substitute for a mix packet? I am planning to make crockpot ranch tacos. Chicken pieces, a little broth, then taco seasoning (already have a homemade for that) and a packet of ranch dressing mix.
That should work fine. Sounds delicious!
I have made crock pot tacos and used this ranch dressing mix and it was amazing. It tasted better than my original recipe when I used Hidden Valley dressing mix. I used 1/2 minced dry onion and 1/2 onion powder.
I started a batch of homemade vanilla and saw another reader of yours said she was going to add this Ranch Dressing Mix for gifts this Christmas. I thought I would do the same! Just curious if you have economical ideas of packaging the mix for gifts.
You could try buying canning jars at walmart or even take and toss containers that you could dress up with a fun label.
Creamy salad dressings has been a new thing in Brazil, when I lived there, there wasn’t any. Here are the two (pretty much only) salad dressings that you would ever eat and therefore the ones I had it growing up.
1 part balsamic vinegar
3 parts extra virgin olive oil
salt
1 pinch of sugar
Very good with leafy saladas –
Or;
1 part red wine vinegar
3 parts extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
1 minced garlic clove
Pepper to taste
Thinly sliced onion
Perfect for cooled steamed vegetables like carrots, green beans and even cooked potatoes.
I made this today and I read it wrong and ended up using a cup of buttermilk and I thought it said that and a cup of sour cream, not mayo, so I added a cup of plain yogurt (it was what I had) and it tastes great! I bit think but that may change as it sits in the fridge. I’ll make it the right way next time, LOL.
Great recipe! Thank you!
So, I have seen this recipe here forever but truthfully, I am addicted to Hidden Valley Ranch. It’s embarrassing but true:). Well, this Christmas I ingested so many nitrates and MSG that my throat has hurt for days. No more! I am trying this tomorrow!!!!
Would granulated onion work instead of the dried minced onion?
It should, but depending on the potency I would maybe start with using a little bit less. Just add it to taste instead of using a 1:1 ratio.
Am I reading this right? 7 teaspoons, not Tablespoons, of dry parsley? I’ll try it as written–my very favorite soup recipe uses ranch dressing mix, and I’d love to replace it with this.
Yep, that’s correct!
I love that I can make this with ingredients I regularly have in the house. I made it up and use some in my deviled eggs. I felt it was very salty. I shook the mix very well before using. Will use less salt next time.
Use this all the time in place of the store bought packets. I put the ingredients in my little food chopper (the $10 one we all got as a wedding gift!) and grind it up a bit. Weirdest thing I do with it,..sprinkle it on popcorn.
I know this post is old, but I just needed to tell you that I have absolutely LOVED this recipe since you wrote it and have made it innumerable times. Thx so much!!!
How much do you use to equal one store bought package? I mixed it up in bulk and need 1 pkt for a recipe. Thanks!
I think it is 2 tablespoons = 1 packet
Laura uses 3 tablespoons.
I know this is an old post, but I was wondering how long you think this might last in the fridge?
I would say it would last about 2 weeks…possibly even more like 10 days depending on the buttermilk. :)
How long will the ranch dressing keep in the refrigerator? I love your site, and all the natural recipes!! Oh, and I’m also a Mom of four boys (also homeschooling, although only one is school-aged so far … my Elias!). :)
Fun, we have a lot in common! The ranch dressing should keep in the fridge for a couple of months just fine. :)
Another great recipe, Laura! Thank you.
I sort of came up with one of my own recently. I came home from work so tired I wanted something fast for dinner. I tore a head of organic Romaine into a bowl, scooped about a tablespoon of Haine and blopped half here and half there onto the lettuce, grabbed my jar of thick chunky salsa and a tablespoon or so of that blopped over the Haine, smooshed the Haine and salsa a bit to mix and then tossed throughout the salad, sprinkled on some bacon bits and viola! It is so good! Is good if using sour cream instead of Haine too.
If we only have onion powder, how much would you substitute for the dried minced onions? Thank you!
2 Tablespoons maybe? Just a guess. :)
I love homemade ranch! It tastes so much better than out of the bottle!
I have never squeezed an orange onto my salad, but I have used the juice in a dressing. Then when I got my Vitamix, I threw the whole (peeled) orange (without seeds) into the blender!
Laura–this is the best recipe for homemade ranch! I’ve been using it since my oldest first started dipping her carrots at lunch time. And nuggets. And tater tots. Balance, right? :) I have three now, and my youngest is allergic to cow’s milk so we don’t make this recipe with buttermilk anymore. But I find that rice milk + white vinegar and xanthan gum makes a great dairy free alternative. We love it at our house! Thank you so much for sharing your great recipes :)
Tastes NOTHING like ranch and is TOO salty.
This is my kids favorite dressing!