Homemade Ranch Dip

Skip the store-bought Ranch Dip and make your own with this easy Homemade Ranch Dip recipe. Made with real ingredients like buttermilk and fresh lemon juice, along with sour cream and mayonnaise, it has the perfect creamy tang of Ranch dressing. Fresh herbs and dried aromatics like dill, garlic, chives, and onions make it so flavourful, you’ll want to double or even triple this recipe.

This Homemade Ranch Dip is perfect as a dip for vegetable crudité and even better with Hot Honey Chicken Wings. Thin it out with a bit more buttermilk and you have the perfect homemade ranch dressing for a Spring Mix Salad. Once you make it from scratch, you’ll never buy it from a store again!

Homemade Ranch Dip

Where are my big dippers at?! Today I’ve got this amazing do it yourself Homemade Ranch Dip recipe coming your way and you’re gonna love it! It’s much more delicious than any store-bought dip and it uses REAL ingredients that you have in your fridge or pantry. How much better could it be?

Well… if you add just a little more buttermilk to thin it out, it becomes a homemade Ranch dressing recipe! No more running to the store when you need salad dressing and YOU control the ingredients. That means no added preservatives or other junk.

Plus, there are so many other recipes you can pair this ranch dip/dressing with. Try it drizzled on cooked corn on the cob, or baked potatoes instead of sour cream. It’s great mixed into a 7 Layer Dip, in a burrito or wrap, on a burger, in a casserole or mixed into hummus.

You can also use it as a marinade or slather it onto turkey, chicken, pork or salmon before grilling, roasting, or baking. It’s more than just a veggie or wing dip!

Fun Facts

Ranch dressing was invented in the early 1950’s by a work crew chef in Alaska. Once he retired, Steven Henson moved to California and operated a guest ranch with his wife. It was there at ‘Hidden Valley Ranch’ that the dressing became a local favourite and he began selling jars for customers to take home.

As its popularity grew, Steven began selling packets of ranch seasoning mix from his home, then moved to factory production and finally sold the Hidden Valley brand to Chlorox in 1972. Chlorox reformulated the original recipe several times to make it more economical and shelf stable.

Currently there are several producers of ‘ranch style’ dressing, including Hidden Valley, Ken’s, Kraft, Litehouse, Marie’s, Newman’s Own, and Wish-Bone.

Ranch Dip Ingredients

You’ve gotta love a tasty dip recipe with wholesome ingredients that comes together in less than 5 minutes. It really is one of the easiest recipes on this blog. It takes more time to gather the ingredients than it does to mix them together.

The only thing I might add is that mixing it up the day before allows the ingredients to marry together and creates a more flavourful dip overall.

• Sour Cream
• Buttermilk
• Parsley
• Lemon Juice
• Mayonnaise
• White Vinegar
• Garlic Powder
• Dill Weed
• Onion Powder
• Chives
• Salt
• Granulated Sugar

I test all my recipes with full fat ingredients, but I have also used Greek Yogurt instead of sour cream. Just be sure to get the extra thick Greek yogurt. Alternatively, you can use reconstituted buttermilk powder instead of fresh buttermilk.

For best flavour, use fresh lemon juice, real mayonnaise (homemade is best but store bought is okay too), and balance the flavours with salt and granulated sugar.

If you use clean tasting white vinegar, you’ll need more sugar than if you substitute apple cider vinegar. I personally prefer to use white vinegar in this recipe.

Lastly you can use dried herbs or fresh dill, parsley, and chives. As previously mentioned, this dip is tastier when it is made ahead of time. This is mostly because it gives the dried garlic powder and dried onion powder more time to imbue flavour throughout the dip.

How to Make Homemade Ranch Dip

Ranch dip and ranch dressing have a unique and distinctive flavour. I highly suggest you taste and season as you mix the dip then allow it to sit for a while, ideally overnight. Before serving, taste and season again, if needed.

To make Homemade Ranch Dip, measure 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/8 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice into a medium mixing bowl. Next, add the seasonings.

Measure in 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried dill weed, ½ teaspoon onion powder, and 1 teaspoon dried (or fresh) chives. Finally, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar. Mix well, taste, and adjust.

Keep Homemade Ranch Dip in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Hi! I’m Bernice Hill, the recipe developer, photographer, and writer at Dish ‘n’ the Kitchen. It is my pleasure to share easy to follow recipes that are delicious, nutritious, and approachable for the whole family.

If you make this Homemade Ranch Dip recipe, I’d love to hear about it in the comments section or in a recipe rating. Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe, please share your photos and tag me on Instagram. I hope you like this recipe!