Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing is a quick and easy dressing recipe you can put together in just a couple of minutes! It keeps in the fridge for a few days so you’ll always have some on hand. Give this one a try – it’s the real deal with buttermilk!

overhead view of ranch salad dressing in glass measuring jug on platter with fresh herbs and garlic

Buttermilk ranch dressing recipe

A homemade ranch dressing couldn’t be any simpler to make. But I’ve seen a lot of recipes not even use buttermilk, and to my understanding this is a non-negotiable. So, we’re definitely using buttermilk here!
The dressing keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days – great to make ahead!
You can adjust the seasoning/ingredients to suit your family’s taste and needs, which is a bug advantage when making your own salad dressing from scratch!

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

ingredients for homemade ranch salad dressing with text labels — Ingredients in Ranch Dressing: Buttermilk, mayonnaise, white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, dried garlic powder, dried onion powder, dried thyme, dried parsley and dried dill.

Ingredient notes

Mayonnaise: Feel free to use sour cream or Greek Yogurt in place of the mayo, if you’re looking to make the dressing lighter or just don’t like mayonnaise.
Buttermilk: The thicker your buttermilk, the creamier your dressing will be. Modern buttermilks can actually highly vary in thickness – if yours is very liquid, consider using half buttermilk, half Greek yogurt for a creamy consistency. It’s perfectly fine to use powdered buttermilk, too – just follow the package directions for rehydrating.
Herbs: This dried herb mix is the classic way, but honestly, if one of these herbs isn’t in your pantry (or you really dislike it)… Just leave it out. You can obviously also use freshly chopped herbs here, if you have them on hand! Just double or triple the quantity given for the dried herbs.

How to make ranch dressing

ingredients for ranch salad dressing in glass measuring jug — add all ingredients to measuring jug

homemade ranch salad dressing in glass measuring jug with metal whisk — add all ingredients to measuring jug

Whisk together all of the ingredients, then check for seasoning/vinegar and adjust to your taste. Homemade salad dressing: Done! Just pour it over your salad and serve.

homemade ranch salad dressing pouring from glass measuring jug over salad ingredients

Recipe tips

I highly recommend sticking to real buttermilk (or powdered buttermilk you rehydrated according to package directions) in this recipe, it’s essential to the flavor of a classic Ranch dressing.
This recipe makes a little over 1.5 cups of dressing. You can easily double it or cut it in half if you need a larger or a smaller quantity.
Store the dressing in a jar or bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Use within 3 days.

homemade ranch salad dressing in glass bottle on plate with fresh herbs and garlic

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Sign up for my email list, too!

Recipe first published on 04/30/2018. Updated with new photos, better text and improvements to recipe wording on 06/08/2021.

Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing

Buttermilk ranch dressing recipe

Ingredients you’ll need

Ingredient notes

How to make ranch dressing

Recipe tips