Which Ranch Dressing Tastes Best?

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At our last Mentoring Moms, I did a blind taste test with three different versions of Ranch Dressing. I’ve noticed the commercial, bottled Ranch Dressing is getting prohibitively expensive and I hate the soy oil and MSG in it, so I decided to stop being lazy and make my own.

Our blind taste test included the following three choices.

1. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing in the bottle (including all the bad, unpronounceable ingredients and MSG)

2. Kroger Ranch Dip Mix with Sour cream

3. Homemade Ranch Dressing

Can you guess which choice was the winner for taste? I’ll confess I thought number one, the commercial Ranch would be the winner hands down. I was astounded and surprised that the ladies chose, by an overwhelming majority, the Homemade Ranch Dressing.

Here is the recipe for Ranch Dressing taken from Sensational Summer Salads ebook.

Homemade Ranch Dressing

Mix in a blender the following ingredients until smooth:

3/4 cup mayonnaise

3/4 cup sour cream or cultured buttermilk*

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dill weed

1 Tbsp finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

You can thin this dressing with buttermilk or milk to the desired consistency. Authentic Ranch Dressing uses buttermilk. Another option is to use 1 –2 Tbsp buttermilk powder and get the same effect. Refrigerate.

*I use sour cream for making a Ranch Dip and I use buttermilk for making the dressing.

Sensational Summer Salads includes a wide assortment of recipes including vegetable salads, fruit salads, pasta salads, grain salads, and main dish salads so you can easily prepare a complete meal with little or no cooking during the long, hot, dog days of summer.

Comments

10 responses to “Which Ranch Dressing Tastes Best?”

May 7, 2011

Marcy

Thanks for this recipe. I’ve been making ranch dressing for several years, except when I get lazy/busy. My recipe uses minced dried onions instead of fresh. I would think the minced would keep longer. So consider that as an option. Allow several hours in the frig when using them so they hydrate fully in the dressing. My recipe is as follows:
1 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 Tbsp onion salt
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp minced dried onions
Mix together mayo, sour cream & buttermilk. Add seasonings, refrigerate for several hours before using.
Lasts 2-3 weeks in frig.

One thing I noticed right away is how much more salt my recipe uses. Probably to make up for not having the MSG! However more salt means it also keeps longer. I can’t wait to try your recipe though! I really love ranch dressing and am always looking for improvements.

Reply
1. May 9, 2011
  
  Urban Homemaker
  
  Marcy,
  
  I like your version because it contains half sour cream, and half buttermilk to give a good balance and dried minced onion which is a real convenience. My recipe has a little more garlic powder, so it is easy enough to “play” with proportions to get the taste you like. It’s important to use REAL salt or Celtic salt, not the highly processed store salt.
  
  Reply
May 9, 2011

Laurie

I need to add this to my “to do” list. Thanks for sharing!

Reply
1. May 9, 2011
  
  Urban Homemaker
  
  Laurie,
  
  This is not meant to be a “burden” but an option. It goes together easily if you have the herbs and seasonings, etc on hand.
  
  Reply
May 9, 2011

Christy @ Raising Knights

I recently tried a homemade ranch dressing and we really like it. It is similar to yours, except I use plain yogurt instead of sour cream or buttermilk. I’ll try adding parsley next time I make it.
http://www.raisingknights.com/2011/04/homemade-yogurt-ranch-dressing.html

Reply
1. May 9, 2011
  
  Urban Homemaker
  
  I especially like the idea of using the plain yogurt instead of sour cream if it has “live” cultures in it.
  
  Reply
May 9, 2011

Linda

I’ve been looking for a good homemade ranch recipe! Thanks for sharing!

Reply
May 22, 2011

Rochelle

I’ve tried other homemade ranch recipes in the past and always ended up doctoring them to try to make them taste good. My kids gave this a big thumbs up. I was out of onion so substituted a bit of shallot salt.

Reply
July 25, 2011

THERESA E.

I SOOO CANT WAIT TO MAKE THIS. I JUST LOVE RANCH SALAD DRESSING ON EVERYTHING AND IT DOES GET COSTLY, BUT NOW I CAN MAKE MY OWN. THANKS A BUNCH!!

Reply
July 25, 2011

Crystal

I make homemade ranch dressing and we LOVE it! I make a large amount of the mix and keep it in my spice cabinet. So, I always have the mix on hand to whip some up! We eat lots of it with our fresh veggies! I use this recipe (but after seeing yours I might experiment and add some dill weed to mine! Sounds yummy!):

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. (I use buttermilk so it’s not as thick.)

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.

Reply