When it comes to salad dressings, American have a clear favorite: Ranch. Ranch is by far the most popular salad dressing in the U.S., according to a new report from the NPD Group, a consumer market research firm. It’s the “Swiss Army knife of salad dressings,” NPD says. “It dresses salads, gets kids to eat their vegetables, and adds oomph as an ingredient.” Ranch sells roughly twice as well as the second-place contender, blue cheese dressing, and it easily outpaces other classic flavors such as Italian, Thousand Island, and honey mustard. While I don’t feel ‘Ranch’ dressing is unhealthy when made with REAL FOOD ingredients, the bottled version is totally disgusting. Here’s what’s in Hidden Valley’s bottled ranch dressing:
Vegetable oil, egg yolk, sugar, salt, buttermilk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, MSG, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.
Um – Yeah. That’s gross. And exactly why we don’t buy bottled salad dressings, EVER. Now, if you’re totally disgusted by those toxic ingredients in the bottled version.. don’t think reaching for the package of dry mix to make you own is much better. Main ingredients in Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix include: maltodextrin, buttermilk, salt, monosodium glutamate, dried garlic, dried onion, lactic acid, citric acid, spices and artificial flavors. Ugh. So, what’s a Ranch Dressing Loving Person to do? Does a Healthy Ranch Dressing Exist? No worries!! You can still enjoy your Ranch Dressing with my Homemade Ranch Dressing & Dip Mix. It’s made with all-natural ingredients and you can keep a big batch on hand.. making up as much or as little ranch dressing as your heart desires. Of course I STRONGLY recommend using raw/cultured dairy from organic, pasture raised cows and homemade mayonnaise, with organic spices for optimal healthy eating. Everyone that’s tried my homemade Ranch over the years always loves it. And I’m excited to share it with you!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 tablespoons organic dried chives
- 2 tablespoons Onion Powder
- 1 tablespoon organic dried dill weed
- 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
- 1 tablespoon Sea Salt
- 1 tablespoon Black Pepper
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together and mix well. I prefer to lightly blend the dry ingredients together before storing using my Tribest® Mason Jar Personal Blender so that there aren't any large pieces of dried herbs, but it is not required. Store in a jar with lid or sealed plastic bag.
For Ranch Dressing & Dip:
- Combine 1/2 cup Sour Cream, 1/2 cup Mayonnaise and 1 tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix. Stir well to combine and chill for at least 1 hour prior to serving for flavors to combine. Add enough milk to thin into a pourable dressing.
Oh wow Hailey!! On a last ditch effort I tried this recipe. I have tried many “healthy” versions of ranch, trying to get that restaurant flavor, and all were absolute fails. This one is a winner for our family! Thank you thank you THANK YOU for sharing! It is truly the best we have tasted and a keeper for us now (I’ve already made it twice!!)
[…] Fennel Salad with Honey Mustard Salad Dressing […]
How come I can never see these PIN buttons? I guess I need my glasses checked! Ha help
Julie – the “Pin It” buttons show up when you put your mouse on the photo and there is also a Pinterest button on the side of my blog (see the green buttons on the left? the P is for pinterest)
Hey Haley! thanks for the great recipe and for the humorous comments.:) And just FYI: i could not find this recipe by going through: recipes, dressings, etc… but I did find it when I did a “search”. My wifi was slow tonight, so maybe it was my computer, but I think this ranch recipe may be missing from your Dressings Page.
For anyone who wants to know: you can sub plain (organic, whole fat) yogurt for the sour cream, and it’s delicious! Also, I didn’t have chives at all, and it was still FABO!!
I ran out of ranch dressing while making a pasta salad. This recipe had all the ingredients I had on hand. I didnt read the last line about adding milk (I had my little grandchildren coming over and I was in rush mode). I added it to the salad and my boyfriend said he couldnt eat enough of it. Thank you Hayley we will be using this recipe alot.
Thanks Marilyn!!
What mayo do you use? Or do you make your own? Thanks, Kelly
I use THIS mayo
I was wondering if I could make this with Greek yogurt instead of mayo. My daughter loves ranch but there is a child in her class who has a severe egg allergy. When she takes her veggies and ranch to school she has to leave the room to eat it. If I could make this substitution she could enjoy her veggies in school without any worries for the little boy in her class. 🙂
I’ve made it with Just Mayo (an egg free mayonnaise) it was just as delicious. I haven’t tried it with greek yogurt.
Lol! I just found the Facebook link and liked it
Hi! In the dry ingredient portion of the recipe, dry ranch dressing isn’t listed. Are the ingredients listed the actual dry ranch mix? Or should I add an additional tablespoon of HIdden Valley dry ranch mix to it when blending with the wet ingredients. Thanks for the help! I tried it both ways, and it was fabulous! Just Unsure if I am reading it right.
PS. I am loving this website.. Are you on Facebook ?
Laurie – OMG please don’t use that ranch mix, it’s so bad for you! My mixture is the ranch mix.
Thank You, Hayley! Always exciting to find another website/blog authored by someone who ‘gets it’, regarding REAL food, and its health benefits.Your ranch dressing mix will be a staple in this household – I’m off to explore the rest of your site. 🙂
Thanks Nikki!!! Much Love to you! ~Hayley
Dear Ms. Haley, Thank you for your candid opinions! You go girl!! Yours in health! Gina Milliron
Thanks Gina 🙂 obviously I’m not afraid to say what i feel.
unfortunately store bought mayo has too much crap in it too! I make my own mayo with pastured eggs olive oil and coconut oil, and its also lacto fermented:
🙂
Marlene – which is EXACTLY why I recommend using HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE 🙂
Thank you for the recipe! I make ranch all the time and definitely need to make a mix of the dry ingredients to have on hand when I don’t have fresh herbs. I make my own mayo and for those that don’t tolerate dairy like myself, instead of sour cream I use full fat organic canned coconut milk it separates when cold and part of it condenses and I use that for sour cream replacement. I saw someone post about needing more flavor…I like a little zing so I add either a little braggs apple cider vinegar (which i make my mayo with so it doesn’t need much and always make sure your acv has “the mother” in it! 🙂 ) or lemon juice and grate a little lemon zest and a little fresh garic in.
Naomi, I’m so glad that you said you are dairy free and used coconut milk. I have been eyeballing coconut milk for this recipe because I really want ranch dip to go with my buffalo wings, I just wasn’t sure if it could be done that way. Now I just have to try it. Thanks for sharing your dairy free wisdom. 🙂
I am so thankful I just found you! While I’ve always been an advocate for eating healthy, I had not fully cut out the processed, preservative laden foods. My son has been having some health issues, that have progressively gotten worse. and I finally made the decision to cut out all the remaining junk to see how much that helps him. Ranch is his favorite & this recipe, along with your entire site look like something I will be keeping in touch with frequently!!
I made it yesterday. It wasn’t bad but it needs more flavor for me. I used greek yogurt, light sour cream and 1% milk. What can I do???
Thank you
Celeste – I’d start out by never eating that low fat crap again. You are damaging your health by eating processed foods, please try using real food ingredients in the recipe just as I specified.
I just made this tonight because I took a veggie tray to a Christmas party and everyone raved about the dip! Combining the spices literally took less time then measuring out the mayo and sour cream. Plus, the measurements you provided gave me enough to make at least 3-4 more dips! The only spice I didn’t have was dried chives, so I substituted a heaping teaspoon of oregano. We are Ranch lovers in this hose, so I can’t wait to convert it into dressing! Thank you for posting!
Awesome Kristin!!! Happy Holidays to you <3
If you really want to step up this recipie use Alton Browns recipie for homemade mayo. BUT use a free range yolk and light (or extra virgin if you like it as much as I do) olive oil. Additionally, substitute the sour cream with low fat buttermilk from pastured cows.
The truth is it’s not the amount of saturated fat, it’s the type. Grass fed cows have medium chain fatty acids and an omega-6 to omega-3 that’s close to 3:1 (ideal is 1:1) Feed lot animals have long chain fatty acids and a terrible omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, almost 20:1! Add those types of fat to simple sugars and BOOM! You have the real problem with the Western diet.
Tommy – thanks for your comment. I’ve already covered my recommendations in the post “Of course I STRONGLY recommend using raw/cultured dairy from organic, pasture raised cows and homemade mayonnaise, with organic spices for optimal healthy eating.”
I would NEVER advocate the consumption of “Low-Fat” buttermilk in place of cultured sour cream. There is NO reason to fear fats from organic, pasture raised cow’s milk products.
Health starts in the kitchen? Which kitchen? Smash down half a cup of this dip (really, what people will do when you don’t give them a serving size) and you’re downing 600g of salt, 52 g of fat & 483 cals (not including whatever is being dipped).
Don’t get me wrong, the recipe sounds good but its a bit misleading finding it on this website which is pitched at ‘health’.
Oh Angie! I’m so sorry that you’re not researching healthy REAL FOOD for yourself!! I guess you’re blindly still afraid of fat and eat processed, toxic, chemical laden foods in an effort to cut calories 🙁 There is nothing at all unhealthy about using full fat, REAL DAIRY and sea salt is chock-full of essential vitamins and minerals.
This clearly isn’t the site for you – especially if you need someone to tell you what a serving size is (that totally made me laugh) Healthy, REAL FOOD doesn’t come in a package with serving sizes!!! Maybe you’d feel more comfortable with bottled low-fat ranch dressing from the supermarket – I’ll stick to promoting simple, real foods from farmers not factories.
Best of luck to you!
I so agree with you! when you start actually eating good and healthy it’s funny how you’re body responds! Thank You! Fat is not bad in the right moderation.
Wow. Her comment wasn’t rude at all – this reply is a bit over the top and harsh.
I agree with the content of what you said, but your delivery of it is juvenile and mean spirited.
Comments are read/interpreted in the “mood” of the reader for the most part, which is precisely what you have done with your comment.
Fat is healthy. Just eat healthy fat. Avoid canola. Avoid factory farmed animal fat sources. Salt is healthy unless you have already ruined your health through a lifetime of eating a high carb, highly processed Standard American Diet and now have salt-sensitive hypertension or have advanced to congestive heart failure. Then, by all means, limit salt. If not, choose salt from healthy sources: sea salt or Himalayan pink salt are two good choices. Calories have no bearing on health. Eat REAL food. Please.
Amen Gina <3
This sounds like a great recipe. I’ve been making my own but using fresh herbs, it would be more convenient to have dry on hand. Of course I also make my own mayo and use coconut milk.
I use fresh herbs when they are growing in our garden, however I created this recipe for those who don’t want the fuss 🙂
How long does the dressing last once made?
Lorie – the dressing will keep in the fridge as long as the ingredients would 🙂 i.e. mayo & sour cream
For those of us pressed for time or who just don’t want to take the time to mix our own herb mixture, there is another alternative. Penzey’s Spices makes an all natural Buttermilk Ranch herb mix that is just delicious. I’m not affiliated with them in any way but love their products. I can’t say for sure that all of them are like this but this product is definitely all natural, as are all of the others I’ve used.
Andrea – I purchased Penzey’s spices for years. However, they will not respond to my repeated emails regarding the health & safety of their spices. (i.e. are they irradiated, contain GMOs & MSG) so I no longer support their company.
Thank you, how nice to know about this.