There’s something kind of magical about homemade ranch dressing. Sure, we can make a vinaigrette easily and that’s a handy skill to have. There’s something rewarding about the herby creaminess of ranch (or even blue cheese) dressing; it feels like you’ve uncovered some kind of secret. But it’s not that mysterious! Simply put? If you have not ever made ranch dressing at home, it’s so worth it, and it’s so delicious. Your carrots, celery, and salads (and french fries, let’s be real!) will thank you!
This recipe yields about a cup of dressing, which is roughly 8 servings for salad. It’ll coat one big giant salad. (Load it up with chicken and bacon, maybe?)
How to Make Homemade Ranch Dressing
You can absolutely make this dressing in a bowl with a wooden spoon and a strong arm. It will work! But if you have a food processor or high speed blender, you have more control over the consistency.
- To make it by hand, just put everything into a medium-sized bowl and stir, stir, stir until you have the consistency you want.
- To mix in a food process or blender, pop everything into the bowl fitted with a blade and process a few times to combine.
Ingredients for Homemade Ranch Dressing
This recipe includes plain Greek yogurt as its base, but you can use plain yogurt instead. Traditionally, ranch dressing involves some combination of buttermilk, sour cream, and/or mayonnaise. We like this version because it’s a bit more modern. We use dried herbs in this recipe, which makes this come together faster without fancy equipment.
How to Customize Ranch Dressing
If you have a lot of fresh herbs in your garden or you’d prefer fresh ones, we recommend using 1 tablespoon each of chives, parsley, and dill. You can certainly bump the amounts up if you want a more pronounced herbal flavor.
Similarly, you can use a garlic clove instead of powder. Run the clove over a Microplane (or similar) to very finely grate it. Or just opt for a whole clove if you’re going to run it through the food processor anyway.
You can also totally make this plant-based by swapping out a plant-based yogurt for the Greek yogurt. Easy!
How to Store Homemade Ranch Dressing
Once you’ve prepped this dressing, keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. A glass jar with a lid is nice because then you can easily see what’s inside. Label it with the date and contents It should stay fresh for about 5 to 7 days. But we don’t think ranch dressing will stick around that long. You’ll start finding fun ways to use it, whether it’s as a dip for cut-up veggies or chicken tenders or even something for your French fries (trust us on this!).
We don’t recommend freezing this dressing. The consistency just won’t hold up.
Use this Ranch in These Recipes!
- Buffalo Cauliflower Salads
- Easy, Crispy Baked Cauliflower Buffalo Wings
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Meal Prep (One-Pan, Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free)
- Air Fryer Ranch Carrot Fries
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Equipment
- 1 food processor
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt or more, to taste
- tbsp water or more, depending on desired thickness
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir together until the proper consistency is reached, adding more water as needed. Alternatively, you can put all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade and process until smooth. Add more water if needed, to thin the dressing to desired consistency.
- Transfer the dressing to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.
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