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This homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe is simply the best! Made with fresh garlic and herbs, it’s the perfect blend of creamy and slightly tangy. Delicious on a salad or as a dip for just about anything savory, I’ve been making this recipe for over 10 years, and it never fails.

Side view of a mason jar filled with homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, sitting on a wooden serving board.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

  • Skip the store-bought stuff in the plastic bottle. This is real-deal, homemade, buttermilk ranch dressing. It’s full of fresh herbs, fresh buttermilk, fresh garlic mashed to a fresh paste. It’s not loaded with preservatives and fillers, or sugars, or bean gums, vegetable oil, or carrageenan. Well, as long as your mayo and buttermilk don’t contain any of those, either. Check your labels!
  • You can adjust the seasonings to your preferences, which means once you lock in your perfect ratios, you’ll always have a mouth-watering ranch dressing that you LOVE. No more trying to remember which brands are great and which brands shouldn’t even call theirs ranch dressing.
  • Ranch dressing is one of those goes-good-with-anything, pretty-much-everyone-loves-it condiments that really should have its own permanent spot on your refrigerator shelf. Use it on salads. Stir it into casseroles. Dip your chicken tenders or fries or slices of pizza in it. Spread it on a cheeseburger. Pour it on your veggies. Seriously, it’s INCREDIBLY versatile.

Chef’s Tips

  • Paprika, garlic powder, and even cayenne would all be wonderful additions to this particular ranch dressing recipe, but they’re totally optional. No judgment at all if you opt for a good, ol’ tried-and-true classic ranch.
  • Like I mentioned before, this recipe is 100% customizable. As you mix the dressing, taste it and adjust the ingredients as you need to so you end up with YOUR perfect ranch dressing. Add more salt. Stick to just one clove of garlic. Double up on the dill. Whatever you need to do to fine-tune your dressing.
  • Like flavor, consistency is also a personal preference thing – buttermilk is the key. If your dressing’s too thick, add more buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk well to incorporate it fully before adding anymore. Remember, you can always add, you can’t take away. Though, if you overdo it on the buttermilk, you can add more mayo to offset it, so.
  • Let your homemade ranch dressing chill in the fridge for at least an hour before you serve it. That’ll give it plenty of time for all the ingredients to mingle and meld and really develop.
Overhead, angled view of a house salad with buttermilk ranch dressing and large slices of tomatoes.

Other Amazing Condiment Recipes

Overhead, angled view of a house salad with buttermilk ranch dressing and large slices of tomatoes.
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
5 from 1 vote

The BEST Homemade Ranch Dressing

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 0 minutes
Chill 1 hour
Total 1 hour 15 minutes
Creamy and tangy with fresh garlic and herbs, this is the only ranch dressing recipe you'll ever need.
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8 servings

Equipment

  • medium bowl with lid (or plastic wrap to cover)
  • Fork
  • whisk
  • jar with airtight lid

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup real mayonnaise see Notes
  • ¾ cup buttermilk well-shaken, plus more if desired
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 2 teaspoons fresh dill chopped, or ½ teaspoon dried dill
  • 1-3 cloves garlic minced, or ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 dash white vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Optional Spices

Instructions
 

  • Add garlic cloves to bowl and sprinkle with salt. Use back of fork to mash garlic until garlic paste is formed, then add remaining ingredients.
    Overhead view of ranch dressing ingredients in a medium white mixing bowl on a neutral cloth napkin.
  • Whisk well to thoroughly combine all dressing ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt, pepper, white vinegar, paprika, garlic) as needed. Note: if dressing is too thick, whisk in additional buttermilk in 1 tablespoon increments until desired consistency is achieved.
    Overhead view of a bowl of buttermilk ranch dressing in a medium mixing bowl with a whisk on a neutral cloth napkin.
  • Cover bowl, or transfer dressing to jar with airtight lid. Refrigerate dressing for 1 hour minimum, then serve.
  • Mayonnaise: Use real mayonnaise for the best flavor. Hellman’s is my favorite here, but if you prefer a different brand you can use it instead.
  • Garlic: Adjust to your taste! If you’re not a fan, stick to just 1 clove. For really spicy garlickiness, go for 3. That’s what we do.
  • Make it Vegan: Use a vegan mayonnaise and a plant-based buttermilk. Alternately, make your own “buttermilk” by mixing 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar.
  • Leftovers: Refrigerate dressing in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

Approximate Information for One Serving

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 165calProtein: 1gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 312mgPotassium: 34mgTotal Carbs: 1gFiber: 0.03gSugar: 1gNet Carbs: 1gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 0.02mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.

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Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

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10 Comments

  1. This is the best homemade ranch I have ever had and I have tried making my faor share of ranch dressings. I added extra garlic and used smoked paprika!5 stars

    Reply

  3. I feel the same way about ordering ranch at restaurants. You never know what you’re going to get either. There are some restaurants that I KNOW have the best ranch and I always order it and proceed to smother every bit of food on my plate with it, and there are other restaurants where you just know that it’s straight out of a food-supply bottle- yuck. But, I love a good homemade ranch dressing. You can’t beat the creaminess and the zing of the fresh chives. I will never buy a bottle of ranch dressing again, especially when it’s this easy to make your own!

    Reply

    1. Ooh, it’s the worst when you’re craving an awesome, big salad and when it comes you discover it has that extremely bottled flavor, ripe with celery seed! I don’t know why that’s the worst, but I can’t stand it. I too have a mental Rolodex of restaurants with great ranch, ha! Joy the Baker wrote a hysterical blog about how she was always excited to be a waitress for some reason, and then when she got a serving job, she felt like she became a “ranch dispenser”. That was the #1 thing I missed abroad! All of the mayonnaise in France has Dijon in it, I know you know, and I craved the pure white—almost guaranteed lower quality—stuff so much. I had my mom ship some! That’s commitment.

      Reply

      1. People love ranch dressing – especially at chain restaurants. You couldn’t find regular mayonnaise in France? I used to buy a really generic version of mayo – I think the “brand” was tous les jours – which wasn’t my favorite, but it worked in recipes. Right before we left I bought 3 jars of Hellman’s for like 10 euros and I never even go to use them. But I agree the dijonaise is not my favorite.

        Reply

        1. No, I could never find regular mayonnaise! Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right places. There was a FranPrix down the street from my apartment that I visited almost exclusively. I did find “orange” cheese at one of the bigger Champion stores, or whatever they’re called. AHH! I can’t wait to go back. I’ll spend hours in the grocery store!

          Reply

          1. I think I may have had a bigger selection since I wasn’t really in a big city. The grocery stores were much larger supermarkets. Is Franprix the same thing as Monoprix because that is where we shopped a lot our first year and it was a bit smaller than the one we lived near our last two years. You most definitely have to spend time in the grocery store. Are you renting an apartment or staying at hotel? If you stay at an apartment you get to cook which is awesome but then you also miss out of a few potential restaurants! It’s always such a tough decision for us.

          2. Franprix is a smaller chain than Monoprix but I still have my reusable Monoprix bags! They’re so light and crumble up so easily, I love it. Can’t wait to get more! And actually we’re staying in a fancy dancy hotel for like four nights and then in this gorgeous apartment for like three nights when we return from Italy! I’ll be mostly rigging up picnics – I so miss the restaurants!

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