The Best Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe (5 Minutes, No Mayo)

A family tested, kid-approved ranch dressing recipe made with real food ingredients that you mix up in just minutes, without mayonnaise and your choice of sour cream or yogurt. It’s a creamy, flavorful alternative to store bought versions that you can use for all your favorite pairings: veggies, salads, or as a dip. With lots of 5-star ratings, you can confidently forget about bottles and packets for this simple and delicious recipe.

✩ What readers are saying…

jar and bowl of ranch dressing recipe with carrots

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After many years of trying all kinds of recipes for homemade ranch dressing – both dry mixes and the complete dressing – and being disappointed, I finally came up with my own recipe for the best ranch dressing that our whole family likes!

I know that next to a basic vinaigrette, ranch salad dressing is probably the other bottle of dressing in most family refrigerators. And since we know how easy it is to make your own vinaigrette salad dressing (i.e., “Italian dressing”), and pretty much any dressing, I know you are going to LOVE this easy and flavorful ranch dressing recipe, too.

The Testing

When making all those other recipes I tried out, there was always something that just wasn’t “right” about them.

There was too much dill.
Or not enough garlic.
Too salty.
Or too bland.

Then I’d find a coupon for a bottle of organic ranch dressing and I’d forget about the homemade for awhile. But even on sale and with a coupon, organic dressings are not cheap. And I knew that ranch dressing is just sour cream (or mayo), buttermilk and some spices. Hardly expensive stuff.

So I went back to my recipes and combined and adapted some to come up with something that was simple, tasty, frugal (a batch costs around $1.50), and REAL.

But it wasn’t until it passed the taste test with our ranch-aholic son that I knew we had a winner. And since then it has passed the test with more family and friends as well as the many 5-star ratings in the comments!

Recipe Video

Ranch Dressing Ingredients & Notes

three of the ranch dressing recipe ingredients

Items and ingredients needed:

  • Sour cream: Our family preferred the taste of a sour cream based dressing vs. mayonnaise (see more on this below). I often make this with half sour cream and half plain yogurt (regular or Greek) which adds more protein but doesn’t have a full-on yogurt flavor. Some reviewers have made it with all yogurt and like the added tang, so feel free to experiment with the sour cream-yogurt ratios.
  • Buttermilk: This is the classic ranch dressing ingredient (the dry mix packets have buttermilk powder), so if you can find a buttermilk without additives (usually a cultured type) that’s great. I find it hard to find so usually use the “faux buttermilk” mixture of regular milk with vinegar (for this recipe, a 1/2 cup milk mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoon vinegar).
  • Lemon juice: Either fresh or bottled is fine for this classic salad dressing ingredient that really brightens the flavor. Some people have suggested just using this with regular milk to recreate the buttermilk and not add the vinegar at all – it could work, though I haven’t tried it.
  • Fresh garlic: While I prefer the flavor of fresh garlic in the dressing, you can use 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder if you’d like.
  • Dried parsley: This is the main herb in ranch dressing.
  • Onion powder: I always use granulated onion instead of powder as I feel it measures better and has more flavor.
  • Sea salt: You can use any salt you have. Start with the measurements, but taste after it’s mixed and see if you’d like more.
  • Black pepper: I usually use coarse ground pepper – if you use fine ground, start with less than the 1/2 teaspoon and taste to adjust.
  • Dried dill or fresh: The second herb in ranch dressing, a little goes a long way with dill. Adjust the amount if you’d like more or less.

Buttermilk Note

A note on buttermilk: A few years ago I realized that, for the most part, what they sell in the stores as “buttermilk” is not true buttermilk (which is the milk extracted during the process of making butter), but a milk with thickeners and often preservatives added to it. It’s sometimes cultured, but traditional buttermilk wasn’t always cultured. Since I’d like to avoid additives and I don’t have access to real buttermilk, I always make the “faux buttermilk” I mentioned above.

Sour Cream Note

ingredients on back of sour cream container

Check the label of your sour cream!

If you don’t make your own, you’ll want to find a sour cream that contains only cream like the one listed above (which is Daisy brand). Compare this with the ingredients on most of the other store brands which list at least 10 ingredients including fillers, preservatives, and thickeners.

Why no mayonnaise?

Some ranch recipes call for mayonnaise instead of sour cream. We like sour cream for a couple of reasons:

  • It creates a thicker dressing that works for a dip
  • Or with just a little thinning with milk it can coat lettuce for a dressing
  • Our family likes the flavor better.
  • And it seems a bit ‘lighter’ than oil-heavy mayo.
  • Bonus: it makes the dressing egg-free for those avoiding eggs.

Plus, since I make my own mayonnaise, we pretty much save it for sandwiches and caesar salad dressing since mayo is a must for that dressing.

A few tools that are great for homemade salad dressings

How to Make Ranch Dressing

adding dry ingredients to jar of ranch dressing

Step 1: Start by mixing sour cream, buttermilk, and lemon juice. Once the wet ingredients are mixed, add the garlic and dry spices.

mixed ranch dressing in a jar

Step 2: Mix ingredients well. You can simply shake everything together in a pint jar (shown) use a whisk it up in a 2-cup container before pouring into a bottle.

TIP: Don’t be tempted to skip the lemon juice- I really think it makes it so much fresher tasting. The lemon might seem a bit strong at first, but after the dressing has sits overnight the flavors mingle and it’s no longer as dominate.

jar and bowl of ranch dressing with carrots

And that’s it! Seems silly that I’d ever take the time to buy this when it takes like, 5 minutes, right?

Storage

How long does the ranch dressing keep?

We’ve never had it go bad, but I’ll stay on the safe side and say 3 weeks to a month in the fridge. Since it’s homemade with no stabilizers, it will thin a bit as it sits, but you can add a bit more sour cream or yogurt and maybe a bit more salt, whisk it in and it’s good to go.

Interested in storing a dry ranch dressing mix?

I put all the seasonings together in a recipe here (as a cute jar gift) with instructions on how to mix it up. I often make a batch to keep on hand when I want to whip up a fresh batch of dressing quickly or to use to shake on popcorn, crackers, or chicken.

dipping carrot into ranch dressing

Reader Raves

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dipping carrot into ranch dressing
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5 from 62 votes

Best Homemade Ranch Dressing (5 Minutes, No Mayo)

Creamy ranch dressing recipe without mayo is kid-approved, healthy, and better than store-bought for salads, veggies, and dipping.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Yield: 1 -1/4 cups
Author: Jami Boys
Click for Cook Mode

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sour cream*
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk add 1-1/2 teaspoons vinegar to milk to equal 1/2 cup if you can’t find real buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced (or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon sea salt or regular salt, to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried dill or 1 teaspoon fresh, to taste

Instructions

  • Combine sour cream, buttermilk, and lemon juice in a pint jar or quart mixing bowl. Shake or whisk to mix well.
  • Add the remaining ingredients and shake (or whisk) again until well combined. If using a bowl, transfer to a dressing container with lid.
    NOTE: If you like your dressing thicker, mix the sour cream and seasonings first, then add the buttermilk slowly until you reach your desired consistency.
  • Refrigerate one or more hours before using to let the flavors mingle and then taste to adjust seasonings.
  • Shake well before each use (see storage tip if dressing thins some in the fridge).

Notes

*You can use yogurt (Greek or regular) for part of the sour cream – or all of it if you’re okay with a slightly tangier ranch dressing.
To serve as a thicker dip: increase sour cream by 1/4 cup (or, conversely, add more milk, a little at a time if a thinner consistency is desired).
Storage: Keeps in the refrigerator for 3 weeks to a month. Since it’s homemade with no stabilizers, it will thin a bit as it sits, but simply add a bit more sour cream or yogurt and maybe more salt, and whisk again. 

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 56kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.9g | Protein: 1.2g | Fat: 4.9g | Saturated Fat: 3.1g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 166mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.7g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @anoregoncottage or tag #anoregoncottage!

More Favorite Homemade Dressings

ranch dressing recipe Pinterest image

This recipe has been updated in 2018 and 2025 – it was originally published in 2011.

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Recipe Rating




5 from 62 votes (37 ratings without comment)

122 Comments

  1. This tastes very good! I actually like it better as a dip for wi gs a d vegetables. It tastes even better the next day after the seasoning gs have meld together. I would like to try this on a gyro! I think it would pair well!5 stars

  2. This is simply the best Ranch dressing recipe, Jami. I can’t count how many times I’ve made it; I always make a double batch to save time. It’s our all-purpose sauce, dip, and dressing. So good slathered on burgers! I increase the dried dill to 1 teaspoon per batch, but that’s just personal preference. Thank you for sharing this gem.5 stars

  3. This is the most enjoyable ranch recipe that I have tried. The consistency is great. I love that it doesn’t call for mayonnaise. Thank you for sharing it.5 stars

  4. My comment is: I want to try your recipe but it is SO difficult to read it through all the lists and steps with ALL the whizz-bang-whoppty-do moving ads!😟 It’s the most frustrating thing for a person on our phone to try to get thru a recipe. But I’m going g to keep trying. I’m sure the recipe is good, and it’s not only your site with this issue of course.

    1. I wish I could have a site with no ads, Lynn, as I find them annoying as well. However, this is my job and without the ads I couldn’t put up free recipes and maintain the site, so it’s a give-and-take sort of thing. I do try to keep them as minimal as possible and always include a way to remove the ones on the top and bottom that stay withe the little “x” in the corner you can use (some sites don’t have these).
      Also, if you’re wanting just the recipe and steps in the recipe card on your phone, use the jump to the recipe button and then click the “print” button – the recipe opens in a new window with no ads so you can cook from it! (This works on any site).

  5. If you can get it where you live “Kate’s Buttermilk” is real buttermilk made from cream. It’s our go – to for everything from ranch dressing to marinating chicken and pork to grain-free baked goods. It’s made in Maine, so maybe it’s just a northeast thing.

  6. thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!! I didn’t grow up eating mayo. I’ve eaten a few things with mayo, but I won’t make anything that requires mayo. So my online search was ranch dressing without mayo and it led me to your page. I bought some dill and buttermilk for the first time and it was so worth it, this was delicious! I no longer can eat the premade Hidden Valley Ranch anymore, that was my favorite back in the days, but it tastes differently now. So happy to have this recipe now, thank you again for sharing!5 stars

  7. Most buttermilk sold in the store is “cultured buttermilk”. It is essentially a type of yogurt & does not have thickeners, etc. Add 1/4 cup cultured buttermilk to a quart jar, fill the rest with milk. Cover the jar & leave it on top the DVR overnight. You will have a quart of buttermilk. Milk with vinegar added does not approximate cultured buttermilk. It thickens it but does not approach the taste.
    Longer ferment times will make it thicker & MUCH more tart.

    1. Agree! There are additives in the brand of buttermilk I used to buy, but you’re right, the cultured buttermilk is better than the vinegar substitute.

  8. Finally found a ranch recipe that tastes great!!!! Really don’t like the mayonnaise flavor in ranch. So Thank you!!!!!5 stars

    1. Definitely weeks, Elya. It thins a bit, but I’d just add a bit more sour cream and whisk it in. It may last longer, but it’s usually gone by that time at our house!

  9. Jami – I’m so excited to find your site. I recently followed a link to this dressing recipe and I’m hooked! I made it with Greek yogurt as I’m trying to eat more raw veggies. The Greek yogurt adds flavor and protein to a whole food that I already love.5 stars

  10. This is the best ranch dressing I have ever tried (I have tried and disliked a lot). Even my husband who is a diehard Hidden Valley Fan said this was so good, he would finally quit buying ranch from the store.

    We made pasta salad last night and this was the dressing. Amazing.5 stars