Description
Delicious ranch seasoning mix is super easy to make homemade!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- optional: 1/3 cup buttermilk powder*
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together until blended. If you want a more finely-ground seasoning mix, you can pulse the mixture in a food processor until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Store in a sealed container for up to 1 year. (If using the buttermilk powder, refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 month.)
Notes
Buttermilk powder: If you would like to make ranch seasoning that is identical to the stuff sold in the packet, you can add buttermilk powder to this recipe. Otherwise, you can just add fresh buttermilk if you are turning this seasoning into ranch dressing.
Store-bought equivalent: Approximately 3 tablespoons of this mix (made with the buttermilk powder mixed in) equals 1 packet of the store-bought ranch seasoning mix.
To make ranch dressing: Combine 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning mix (including buttermilk powder) + 1/3 cup mayo + 1/3 cup milk, and whisk to combine.
Thank you for your recipe. My daughter is allergic to so many additives. I have turned down so many recipes because of that. Now I have so many I can use.
I whipped this up, omitting powdered milk and onion powder. Subbing goat’s yogurt (all items I had in my kitchen). The first taste tester was my son in law who eats the mainstream american diet, and he was leery to try it, but was surprised at how good it was! He gobbled up paleo chicken tenders in almond flour, dipped in this ranch. Thank you for the recipe!!
How long can I keep the dressing in the fridge?
I would keep it for up to 5 days.
Is the yield of this recipe equal to 1 packet?
No, but if you measure out 3 tablespoons of the seasoning mixture, that will equal one packet. Good luck!
I used this recipe for a veggie dip. I didn’t have any buttermilk powder, so I omitted that, but I added the avocado that someone suggested. It was a big hit–so delicious! I will definitely be making it again!
If you shop at WalMart look for the powdered buttermilk in the aisle where they sell the regular low fat powdered milk, condensed and evaporated milk.
Thank you for the recipe, I used it on my Whole 30 blog! https://mekwhole30.blogspot.com/
Thank you soooo much for this recipe! I bought all the items fresh and mixed it up. Planning to make ranch dip for dd’s bday party this weekend. I’m so sick of all the ranch dressing mixes having stuff like maltodextrin in them and I refuse for my children to eat that stuff if I can help it but i’ve missed out on Ranch for a while now. I’m SOOO very glad to have my ranch back!! :-D
And if you look at the ingredients the maltodextrin is the MAIN ingredient! Sad… :-(
What’s wrong with maltodexterin? It’s just starch like corn starch.
I can’t speak for everyone else, but if I eat maltodextrin, I end up with a 2.5 day migraine headache, every time.
Its just like corn syrup solid, bad for diabetics and everybody!
The most popular and sometimes the only Ranch envelop available , in a regular grocery, has MSG, so does Badia seasoning! So I have avoided Ranch too. Can’t wait to try it. Seems that the buttermilk powder is pretty important part, though.
I was out of the packets and found this recipe! Made in 5 minutes and am thrilled with the results. Super cool. Thanks
I love this recipe because it is free of MSG and other unwanted ingredients, and tastes great. My kids love the chicken I make with it. I combine in a bowl some seasoning mix (minus the buttermilk) with nonfat Greek yogurt. In another bowl I combine an equal amount of crushed corn flakes and parmesan cheese. First, I dip chicken tenders (I cut up chicken breasts into the size of tenders) in the yogurt mixture. Then I coat them with the corn flake/parmesan mixture. I arrange the coated tenders on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sometimes I sprinkle a little pepper and salt on them too. Then I bake them at around 425 degrees until they are not pink in the middle. The leftovers don’t last very long:-)
Thanks Sue, and I love what you did with it, yum! : )
Thank you for this!
I’m laughing right now brcause the ad at the bottom of your page is for Hidden Valley Ranch packets. =)
Ha!! Well done, advertising networks… :)
Dumb question – can you use regular powdered milk instead of powdered buttermilk? I’m trying to avoid buying a $15 bag of dry buttermilk that I have no other uses for. Thanks!
wow, what a great idea! I love ranch seasoning but hate the chemicals, I can’t wait to try this. Thank you!
Thanks Jeannie, I hope you enjoy it!
I live in the UK after s trip to the US loved ranch dressing. We cannot buy it here ! So will give this recipe a try, dried buttermilk is not on sale here so will have to make it with ordinary dried milk, but will also try it mixed with Greek yogurt to get the tart flavor.
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Cathy, I hope you find you like it! And I think the Greek yogurt is an excellent idea, let me know how it turns out!
I made this and mixed 3 Tbsp of the mix with 1cup of mayo & 1 cup of milk and it was very watery, is there anything I can do to thicken it up?
Hmmm, I wonder if you just try adding the milk gradually, until you’ve achieved the texture you want? I hope that helps!
This recipe made a delicious seasoning mix, but I found that it lacked a lot of the tanginess that “real” ranch seasoning has. Anyone else feel like it’s VERY close, but just missing a little something?
Question – does anyone know how long the mix itself will last?
Hey Sonia, you need to store the seasoning in the fridge, and as for how long it lasts, it should depend on the expiration date listed on your dried buttermilk. Hope you enjoy!
Sounds so good! Question? Do you make this with one Tbs. seasoning mix, how much yogurt AND milk? Your instructions seem a bit confusing. Unless I just missed something.
I make this with plain kefir. It’s a great substitute for buttermilk.
We love kefir, that’s a great idea! Let us know how it turned out!
This sounds wonderful! And much healthier than the store bought packets. If we will not use the dried buttermilk (I want to use it for seasoning only), do we still need to refrigerate it?
Thanks Tyler, we hope you enjoy this, and yes, you still need to refrigerate it. :)
I’m confused about why this needs to be refrigerated if you are omitting the
buttermilk and are using it for seasoning only. It is all spices. I don’t keep mine in the fridge. Wouldn’t this basically be the same thing? I realize once it is mixed with some kind of dairy products it needs to be refrigerated.
Hi TJ. Once the buttermilk powder has been opened/removed from the package, it should be refrigerated, according to what we’ve read. It’s nothing dire — we’re not sure that the mix will necessarily spoil if you don’t refrigerate it, but refrigerating should help prolong its life/freshness. We hope this helps!
My kids both have a really scary reaction when they eat bottled Ranch so I am going to try this because what kid doesnt love Ranch and my kiddos wont eat veggies, But Id rather not put Mayo in it can I sub Sour cream instead?
Oh no, that’s awful Kaitlyn! We hope you and your kiddos like this, and we think sour cream would work just fine in place of mayo.
instead of dry chives or dried chopped onio n would it still be good with fresh chives and fresh chopped onions?
It would taste delicious, but the mix wouldn’t hold up as well – you would need to use it pretty quickly. Either way, we hope you enjoy!
Hi please can you help. Your Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix sounds amazing. I live in Australia and love Ranch Dressing which is difficult to find. My problem is that I cannot find dry buttermilk powder anywhere in Australia. Is there anything I can do to substitute this?
Many thanks
Jane
Hi Jane! Unfortunately we are not able to find a substitute for the buttermilk powder. :( We wish we knew of something. You can order it online here though:
Hi! Wonderful recipe, thank you. Have you tried to make into a ranch dip? Would you just omit the milk and add only mayo or Greek yogurt? Thank you!
Thanks Erica, we hope you enjoy this! yes, we would probably do it exactly that way (you can always add a touch of milk to thin it out if you need to, depending on your desired consistency).
Horrible. Way too much onion and dill. One star.
We’re sorry to hear you didn’t are for this, hopefully you can find another recipe that you enjoy.
If i dont use buttermilk powder how much of the seasoning mix do i use and do i use 1/3 cup buttermilk instead of milk?
Hi Alex! If you are making Ranch dressing with this recipe, then just omit the buttermilk powder and use 1/3 cup buttermilk instead of regular milk. We hope you enjoy!
Thank you for sharing this as we can’t get ranch dressing mix here in the UK !!
Going to make this today.
Awesome Cath, we hope you enjoy! :D
Love making my own seasoning. Haven’t found a ranch dressing that doesn’t include mayo or yogurt. I thought the buttermilk poweder in interesting look forward to trying it. In my opinion one of my favorite ranch dressing is Chili’s ranch. I heard they add a bit of pickle juice, that’s the secret ingredient. I haven’t been able to perfect that recipe. Curious if you’ve ever added a bit of pickle juice to your ranch dressing mix?
We haven’t tried pickle juice, but we think that would be a fantastic addition to this – we’re totally going to have to give that a try next time! :D
I made this and mixed 1 Tbls with 1/3 cup mayo and 1/3 cup lactaid 2% milk it is on the thin side is there anything that will thicken it up? The flavor is great just to thin to use as a dip.
Hmmm, we think maybe just adding some more mayo or sour cream would thicken it right up. We hope that helps!
I made your ranch seasoning tonight, minus the buttermilk powder, and added it to sour cream. I used it in for “loaded” hashbrown recipe. Mixed together with a bag of frozen hashbrowns, added some cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and spread onto a cookie sheet. Delish! Thank you. Love your site!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it Joy! Thanks for sharing! :)
I made this last night and it was soooo runny? Any suggestions on how to thicken it? The taste was great!
Thanks – Allie
Hmmmmm it shouldn’t be runny, so we’re not sure why it came out that way! :( You could try adding a little more mayo or yogurt to thicken it up a bit — that should help!
I’m sorry if this has been answered, but where would I find dried buttermilk?
Hi Helen! You should be able to find it in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
Enjoy your recipes on the different spice mixes. I am looking for a recipe for Garlic and Herb mix.
Having a math concern over the proportion of the mix to use to flavor a pint of sour cream for a dip if using fresh buttermilk. (The powdered buttermilk proved impossible to find at any market near me, lamentably.) The spices in this recipe equal about 1/3 cup, same as the powdered buttermilk, so if you have to use fresh buttermilk, wouldn’t the amount of mix to use be closer to 1.5 tablespoons, or maybe round to 2 tablespoons to account for the additional volume of 1/3 cup of fresh buttermilk? Perhaps not many people would object to double-strength ranch dip, but I’d wager a few might find it too intense. I just mixed up a batch with 2 tablespoons of the mix and can’t want to confirm my hypothesis tomorrow!
Hey Tom! We’re sorry you weren’t able to find any powdered buttermilk — please let us know how this turned out!
Looking forward to making this! Ranch seasoning makes everything taste better (in my opinion) and I’m psyched to find an alternative to the Hidden Valley one with no mystery ingredients.
Thanks Amy — we hope you enjoy!
I’very found the Saco brand powdered buttermilk at Walmart with the powdered milk. Bob’s red mill also makes it but I’very never had good luck with theirs. You can use powdered buttermilk to make home made pancake mix or in biscuits. I use it in my bread machine. Great stuff but I use enough of it that I’ve never refrigerated it.
I got fresh buttermilk in place of powdered buttermilk, but I’m confused whether I’m supposed to substitute it 1-1? (Not a baker here, and even after reading Tom’s comment, I’m confused…).
I’m using the season mix for your buffalo chicken dip, which requires 1 tablespoon. It strikes me as odd to add liquid buttermilk to a dry ranch seasoning recipe… but then I wasn’t sure if your buffalo dip recipe is 1 tablespoon of just the spices themselves (no buttermilk), or if that 1 T is including the powdered buttermilk, so 1 T of the spices only would be far too strong.
Please clarify, and thanks for not laughing at me! :)
Hi Betsy! Thanks so much for your question. And no laughing — this powdered buttermilk business totally confused me when I first learned about it!
Unfortunately, there’s really no way to substitute fresh buttermilk for the dried seasoning mix in this recipe, especially if you’re adding it to the buffalo chicken dip. The ratio for powdered to fresh buttermilk is 1:8, so you would need to add in lots of fresh buttermilk to equal the flavor in this one, which would turn it into a big cup of liquid instead of the powder. So I’m afraid it probably won’t work. That said, if you’re just adding this to the buffalo dip, I’d just nix the buttermilk completely. It’s more of the other seasonings that are needed for that dip, so the buttermilk isn’t that essential.
Hope this helps, and thanks for your question! :)
What’s the point? Making this from scratch is at least 20 times more expensive then buying it in packets.
We like that doing it this way is a little healthier and much fresher.
I NEVER comment on things, but really wanted to thank you for this recipe! I omitted the buttermilk, dill weed and chives because I didn’t have any on hand, and added 1 tbsp to a cup of my homemade goats milk yogurt and am embarrassed to admit that I just ate half of the dip myself with sweet potato chips!!! It is incredibly flavorful and pairs amazingly with the slight sweet taste of the sweet potatoes. I can’t wait to try it as written!
Thanks for taking the time to comment Leah — we’re so happy you enjoyed this! Also, we think your homemade goats milk yogurt sounds pretty amazing (as does enjoying this dip with sweet potato chips — YUM)! :)
This powder is the best! Try it on popcorn. We have, and it was an instant classic.
Thank you.
Thanks Katie — we’re so glad you enjoy it! And YES, it would be amazing on popcorn!! :)
Quick question… Can you substitute the dried buttermilk with powdered milk? I’m an American living in Germany and having serious ranch withdrawals, but I cannot find dried buttermilk anywhere!
Hi Sheri! Awww, we feel your pain! But hmmm, we haven’t experimented with that so we can’t say for sure. But if you’re feeling pretty desperate, we have to say it can’t hurt to try! We hope this helps — please keep us posted!
1/3 cup greek yogurt too 1/3 cup milk made this way too liquid.
We’re sorry it was too liquidy Terry! You could just whisk in some more of the seasoning mix and maybe a bit more yogurt to thicken it up. We hope that helps!
Someone asked what the point was in making this since it’s “20 times more expensive” than buying a packet. Not even close! I broke down the cost using online prices and was surprised at what I found.
Store-bought ranch packet = $2.29
For one recipe of homemade:
Powdered Buttermilk = $1.45
Parsley = $0.59
Dill = $0.26
Garlic Powder = $0.26
Onion Powder = $0.60
Onion Flakes = $0.40
Chives = $0.10
Total for one cup of the homemade mix = $3.66
Use 3 tbs of the mix for one “packet.” Sixteen tbs per cup, so one tbs of the mix costs $0.23. One “packet” of the homemade costs $0.69.
My question is this: why would you NOT make it, when a store-bought packet costs over 3x more? lol :o)
I didn’t calculate salt and pepper, as those are staple ingredients that should be on-hand anyway. Truth be told, I usually have parsley, onion powder, garlic powder, and onion flakes in the pantry all the time. The only “specialty” items I would have to buy are chives, dill, and buttermilk powder. These could be considered an investment upon first purchase, but breaking down the price-per-ounce (or tsp, tbs, whatever) clearly shows that homemade is cheaper per packet. Plus, you have the ingredients in the pantry and can make TONS of ranch mix whenever you want! :o)
Oh, yeah, and this homemade recipe is also much healthier than the packet of powdered junk and sodium you get from the store.
Thanks for sharing all of this with us Marti! The biggest thing for us is it just tastes better and fresher, but the less expensive factor is definitely a big plus! :)
Just found your web site and was wondering why, if all the ingredients are “dried” , why is it stated to store in air tight container in the refrigerator ?
I do a lot of make my own mixes and usually don’t refrigerate mixes that are made up of dried ingredients.
Thank you for answering my question. Will come by often to scan your site ? ,!!
Hi Kathy! It’s just because of the buttermilk powder (which ideally should be refrigerated). We hope you enjoy this!
I’m so glad to find this as the others I have found seemed the be lacking. I am unable to eat the packaged dressing mix as the msg, sulfites, sulfates and such make me violently ill, so it’s great to make it at home. I usually just want the seasoning and not to make dressing so I omit the buttermilk all together.
One question : I would like to make a spicy or south western version, what would you suggest?
Thank you.
Hi Haley! :) A spicy/Southwestern version sounds yummy! We’d suggest maybe adding a bit of minced chipotle pepper in adobo to it (or some of the sauce that the peppers come in). Add to taste, as a little goes a long way! Or, you could try adding some hot sauce. We hope this helps!
Do you still have to refridgerate if you omit the buttermilk?
Hi Kristin! No, if omitting the buttermilk powder, you don’t need to refrigerate the mix.
@haley for a spicy or southwest flair you could also add Chipotle powder to the mix. Just be careful, as a little goes a long way. ?
Hi Rebecca! This is Ali’s recipe, but we like that tip — thanks! :)
I ran out of ranch dressing tonight and instead of going out in the rain, I decided to ask Google what the ingredients for ranch are, and was directed to your page. I Loved this recipe so much I just had to post a quick thank you- you saved my pizza bites tonight!! I will take this recipe with me through life, and for that, I am truly greatful!?
What a happy accident! :) And we’re so happy you loved the recipe! :D