Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe

Name: Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe
Prep time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup mayonnaise; 1/4 cup milk or buttermilk; 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (finely chopped); 1 teaspoon dried dill; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; Pinch of salt and pepper

By Laura Fuentes Updated Jun 16, 2025

4.99 from 62 votes

Recipe

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This easy ranch dressing recipe is so good, you'll drizzle it over everything and it only takes 2-minutes to make!

All you have to do is mix the ingredients in a jar, give it a good shake, and it’s ready. It will last a week in the fridge and you can use it for salads, as a dip, or with pizza- if that’s your thing!

jar of homemade ranch dressing with a spoon in it.

If there is one dressing everyone in my house loves and use on a consistent basis, it’s Ranch. Creamy, herby, and slightly tangy, Ranch covers a broad spectrum of flavors and it’s easy to pair with some popular foods like Buffalo chicken, wraps, chicken tenders, french fries, in potato salad, and some argue- pizza, but we won’t go there. That’s another debate for another day.

Without a doubt, homemade Ranch dressing is a 1,000 times better than the gloopy storebought version, and it’s really easy to make- 3 minutes max!

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Ranch Dressing Ingredients
How to Make Ranch Dressing
Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe

Ranch Dressing Ingredients

Aside from the better flavor and consistency, the simple ingredient list is another reason I prefer homemade Ranch over storebought. The amounts are in the recipe card below, but first, give your fridge and pantry a quick check and I guarantee you’ll find each of these items:

Mayo
Ranch dressing wouldn’t have that creamy consistency without mayonnaise! If you’d like to cut down on the fat, you can use half mayonnaise and half plain Greek yogurt, but mayo is still a MUST for this recipe.

Milk
You can use regular whole milk as I do in this recipe, but if you like a little more tang, try it with buttermilk. In case you need this to be dairy-free, you can use any of your favorite nut-milks such as unsweetened almond or full-fat coconut.

Parsley
For fresh flavor, parsley is the herb of choice. In realize some people can’t handle the taste of parsley, and my solution for you: cilantro, IT’S SO GOOD! If you don’t have fresh parsley a teaspoon of dried will work.

Dried Dill
Is it even Ranch dressing without dill? In my opinion- absolutely not! It has a lemony, fresh flavor that brightens the dressing.

Garlic Powder
Garlic makes everything better, including this homemade dressing, but in this case we are using the powder form. It’s easier than chopping garlic and packs a ton of flavor, so a little goes a long way.

Salt n Peppa
Obviously!

How Do Restaurants Make Ranch Taste So Good

Restaurants usually use fresh ingredients like creamy milk and mayo. That’s why making your own ranch can result in that creamy, rich consistency we all love from the restaurant.

large jar of homemade ranch net to buffalo chicken quesadilla

How to Make Ranch Dressing

Three minutes is all it takes to combine the ingredients and make this homemade Ranch dressing, whether you use a jar or a bowl. Here are the easy steps:

Combine
In a lidded jar or a small bowl, you combine the mayonnaise, milk, parsley, dill, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Mix
If you’re using a lidded jar, seal it and shake to combine. If using a bowl, whisk to combine.
Refrigerate
For best results, let the dressing chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using it. It can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

Check out this quick video to see the incredible consistency this homemade Ranch has:

How to Store Homemade Ranch

You can store this homemade Ranch in the same lidded jar you used to make it or transfer it from the bowl to a glass dressing bottle or an airtight container. It lasts up to a week in the fridge.

Best Salads to Use Homemade Ranch

Now that we’ve mastered this homemade Ranch, let’s use this stuff! I most often use Ranch to pack with salads for lunch, like this Easy BLT Salad, this Buffalo Chicken Salad, or this Simple Side Salad.

Unless you make the Cobb Pasta Salad, I recommend that you pack this in a lidded sauce container, like this one, so the salad stays fresh for lunchtime.