Homemade Farmhouse Ranch Dressing

Raise your hand if you love ranch dressing. Raise both hands if homemade ranch dressing is the best. I’m very particular about the taste of ranch, I don’t like any store bought from a bottle so I make my own. Now, I’m not talking about using a packet of ranch mix either, I’m talking about using real ingredients to make the most delicious, creamy ranch dressing you’ve ever tasted.

UPDATE: I wrote this post back in 2016 when I had been making this recipe for quite some time. It is currently 2026 and my family still loves and eats this on a regular basis. Times and products have changed a lot in the last 10 years but this recipe has remained an unchanged, tried and true staple in our home.

Why Make Ranch Dressing At Home?

Aside from bottled ranch just not tasting as good, most of it has unwholesome ingredients. Since I like to know exactly what’s in my food and I avoid ingredients like soy and preservatives, making homemade ranch dressing is my best option. Really, it’s my only option for real, clean ranch dressing.

In recent years more and more “organic” brands have shown up on grocery store shelves but they are often very expensive and they still use questionable ingredients at best. Just because something is organic doesn’t make it a clean or even a healthy product. I

It also seems as though many of the once small organic businesses have chosen to sell out to large corporations where Profits over health and clean ingredients becomes the priority. That’s a story for another day though.

Making ranch at home is just better

It’s a good thing I like to cook from scratch. Many items are much easier and cheaper to make at home plus you get the benefit of choosing the ingredients you want without any extra “junk” you don’t!

This dressing is delicious and super easy to make. I always get compliments on it when I make it for guests or share with others at events or parties. I’ve had many friends ask me for the recipe which is why I wrote this post in the first place back in 2016!

Another awesome thing about this recipe is that you can easily adjust it’s consistency to make it a creamy dip for veggies or chips, chicken, pizza, etc…… You get the idea, it can be used for anything that is better with ranch! I simply leave out the milk and it’s the perfect consistency for a creamy ranch dip!

Homemade Ranch Dressing

First thing I do is place 16 ounces (or 2 cups) of sour cream in a medium bowl. I use either organic store bought sour cream or sour cream I’ve made from our fresh raw cream from our family milk cows. I’ve also used yogurt in place of the sour cream in this recipe. Yogurt gives the ranch a little more tang and has more of a “buttermilk ranch” taste to it.

For that matter, you can also use cultured buttermilk in place of the sour cream in this ranch recipe. That’s one of the other things I love about this recipe, its so versatile.

Next, I add milk to consistency I prefer. I use about 1 TB of milk per quart in my ranch for salad dressing. If you like it thicker, use less, if you like it thinner, use more. I make sure I mix well to have a consistant texture.

Tip: Start with less milk and add to it, you can always add more but you can’t take it away. If it gets too thin, you can add extra sour cream but you may need to season it a little extra if you do.

Now, it’s time to add the flavor. This is what makes ranch….. ranch! I’ve found the blend of dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt to be perfect for ranch dressing! Stir in all the spices and seasonings until well mixed.

Now that I have it all mixed up, it’s time for the taste test….. Approved! I like to pour my homemade ranch into a large mouth quart size mason jar. This can be a messy process so I use my hand dandy canning funnel for this.

Then I place a lid on the jar and refrigerate. I can’t tell you how long it will last in the fridge because it doesn’t last long enough around here to see how long it lasts ;). Know what I mean? All jokes aside, this ranch will stay fresh for at least a week in the fridge.

Time to enjoy your ranch dressing!

This ranch dressing is so fast and easy to make and so good to eat! We like to use it for salad, ranch/parmesan crusted chicken, dipping chicken and anything else that sounds good with ranch in or on it. I hope you’ll make your own and let me know how you like it!