Give a quick and easy mason jar gift of the best homemade ranch dressing, including a dry mix, easy pour lid and complete printable recipe tag. Head over to the handmade gifts page for more great ideas!
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Here's a super quick mason jar gift idea that makes a really useful and different gift for teachers, hostesses, and for families at the holidays. I gave it one year to my family in our homemade gift exchange and they were a hit.
You simply pull together mason jars - vintage, regular or even the colored special editions - special pop-top lids to fit, and a seasoning mix for salad dressing. Finish it off with the recipe card that I've created for you to easily print, cut it out and it's done!
You probably know I love gifts like this (I know I'd like to receive it!) not only because is it something that has a good chance of being used often, but also that it may also introduce the recipients to something new (like the pop-top lids made to fit mason jars, I use here which I LOVE and wanted to share). I also like that it encourages scratch cooking with something that is super easy to make at home - salad dressings.
And while this type of gift can be made for any type of salad dressing (like Italian seasonings with directions for a Balsamic Vinaigrette or a small bottle of apple cider for Apple Cider Vinaigrette), I decided to gift my Best Ranch Dressing & Dip because it's so popular and because I actually show it being made in a mason jar in the original recipe.
Salad Dressing Mason Jar Gift
Here's what you need to put this gift together:
- mason jars (vintage or regular - the reissued Heritage jars in blue or green would be fun, too)
- plastic pop-top lids made to fit mason jars (I used these "Pour Caps" made by reCAP which I bought in 4-packs, which is a better price for each)
- dry seasoning mix (recipe below)
- small zip-top baggies to package the seasoning mix
- printed recipe labels/tags (link below)
Since I was using my original recipe, I simply combined the seasonings called for in a bowl and measured enough to make 2 batches of dressing (you could easily add more).
I didn't bother trying to create a typical dry Ranch mix with dry buttermilk because, well, I think my recipe is the best, 🙂 so the recipe tag lists the sour cream and buttermilk needed to make the dressing. I did substitute powdered garlic for fresh, since it is obviously easier for this application.
The Ranch Dressing Dry Mix Recipe
This will make enough for 2 recipes of the dressing for each jar - if you want to give more, simply increase the amounts x the number of jars:
Best Ranch Dressing Dry Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon dry dill
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together well in a small bowl.
- Transfer to a small baggie.
- Makes 4 tablespoons, enough for 2 batches of Best Ranch Dressing.
Nutrition
Once your seasonings are mixed up add the baggie to the mason jar gift and print out the recipe tags on card stock to accompany it:
(click on the image below to open in a new window, then click on the download arrow at the top to save to your computer):
I made the recipe tags to fit inside a pint-sized jar, but you can also use them as gift tags by punching a hole in the top and tying it around the jar (then you can write "to" and "from" on the back).
Handmade gifts don't have to be complicated - purchase a few inexpensive items, mix up some ingredients, print out tags, add them to a jar and you've got a really useful gift for under $10.
SO much nicer than running out to buy something you're not sure about and that you maybe can't afford, right?
So tell me, would you like getting this mason jar gift, or is it just me who gets geeky over cool mason jar lids?
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Diane SCHULTZ says
Love this gift idea. I want to give it to 7 (8 including me) lady friends on our next Girls' Weekend. Thank you. I also plan to use your Holiday Planner this year. I printed it, but the calendars were still for 2019. Are you planning to update them? I am very happy that I came across your website.
Jami says
I'm so glad you like this, Diane! You are on the ball for sure - I will get that calendar updated asap. 🙂
Karen Williams says
Love this idea for Christmas gifts for my daughters! I found these lids on Amazon in a variety of colors (7 to be exact) ?---could coordinate w/kitchen color of the recipient.
Jami says
How fun to think about coordinating colors, Karen!
Denise says
Thanks so much for sharing this adorable idea! I love those lids for the jars - how perfect!! I have never tried homemade dressing, but I have always wanted to - thanks for sharing the recipe. Thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded!! I will be featuring you this week!!
Jami says
Thanks so much, Denise! I hope you do try making homemade dressing - who knows, you might be like me and wonder why you ever bought it in the first place. 😉
Mindy says
Super cute idea. I'd be MORE than happy to receive it!
Mia says
I love the little wood tag you have on the jar. Is that a branch slice smoothed down?
Jami says
Thank you, Mia! We cut them with a chop saw from a branch and I didn't smooth them at all - though it probably would've been easier to write on them if I had, ha!. Thankfully, sharpies write on almost anything. 🙂
Terry says
Love this idea and I'm so happy to get away from sugary sweet gifts. Is the baggy necessary for any reason other than it's a small amt in a pint jar? I prefer to avoid plastic when possible. The lids are really cool and I appreciate hearing about this new product. A bit pricy, though, unless you're giving them to a canner who will reuse them. Inverted cupcake holders inserted over a regular canning lid are an easy way to add cute holiday color.
What kind of tool do you use to cut your wonderful wood gift tags? They look terrific!
Jami says
The baggie just holds the seasoning mix, Terry - use whatever you can think of to hold it that will fit in the jar. And while the lids are not cheap, they are basically the gift, since I find screw-lids used with dressing to get very messy after a few uses. This flip-top lid would eliminate that, so I knew that my family would love being able to use it versus regular canning jar lids (or even the white storage lids).
So glad you liked the gift tag! We just used our chop saw to cut a bunch of rounds from a branch that fell in our backyard and I drilled a hole in the top to be able to tie it to the gift.
Juju says
Thanks for posting this recipe!
I made this as a gift, minus the onion powder for my daughter who is highly allergic to onion. Can't wait to find out how she likes it!
I also made a regular batch for our home, because we can't seem to get enough ranch dressing at our house!
Jami says
Glad you could adapt it to your needs, Juju! Hope you enjoy this like we do 🙂
Michele says
Thanks for this great idea, Jami! I am making this for all my neighbors!
MIchele
Jami says
Lucky neighbors 🙂
kathy says
What a wonderful last minute, easy, inexpensive, unique, "not geeky", "made-with-love" gift idea!!
Don't know where to buy the flip top lids and it's too late to order online, so here's what I'm doing: Cover the jar with a canning lid, top with a square of light weight cotton material (I'm using a 7" square of colorful red plaid for a wide mouth jar), screw on a new canning band, then finish with twine wrap, greenery and cute wooden tag as you have done. I'm adding a small dried red pepper (from my garden) to the greenery on the outside. I like spicy but since no mention of red pepper flakes on recipe label, I'll just add a separate baggie of 1/4 t flakes to the jar with note that it's an optional ingredient. I'm also adding a small fresh lemon inside the jar.......I love the taste of fresh lemon, and it adds an additonal bit of color to the gift. Thanks for your printable label.
Kathy
a new fan of your blog, and a native ORegonian
Jami says
Great ideas, Kathy! I especially like the idea of including the fresh lemon - duh, that's a terrific addition! So glad to know I'm not too weird. 😉 Oh, and I think I've seen these lids as stores like Whole Foods, Market of Choice and Down to Earth, too. Merry Christmas!