I’ve been thinking about ranch dressing for awhile. Yes, I actually think about dressing. Don’t you?????? Please tell me that you do.
Ranch is our favorite dressing here, but those mixes in the store just don’t appeal to me, so I was happy to find one posted here by CindyP and had to try it out! Verdict: I love it. In fact, I think it’s better than store-bought dressing, so no more of THAT.
How to make Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix:
15 saltine crackers
2 cups dry minced parsley flakes
1/2 cup dry minced onion
2 tablespoons dry dillweed
1/4 cup onion salt
1/4 cup garlic salt
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
*Note: You could replace the salts with powders to reduce sodium.
Put crackers through blender on high speed until powdered.
The saltines are there for thickening. Saltines are the perfect simple, basic cracker, so I’m not arguing with that on the homemade principle. I love saltines.
Add parsley, minced onions, and dillweed. I didn’t blend after this. Well, I tried, but my blender didn’t like that, so I just tossed it all in a bowl–onion salt, garlic salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and all–and mixed it with a spoon.
Place mix in a container with a tight-fitting lid. This fits perfectly in a pint jar.
You can store this dry mix at room temperature for one year.
To make salad dressing:
1 tablespoon mix
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup buttermilk
Makes 1 pint.
For a handy print page, see the original posted recipe here.
I am loving this. It’s so easy to change up when you need to–add bacon bits. Add more garlic. Add grated cheese. Use sour cream or cream cheese for a thicker version. Make as much or little as you want/need at a time. I use an old chili sauce bottle and use 2 teaspoons mix, 2/3 cup buttermilk, and 2/3 cup milk to fit.
I’ve also used this as a sort of “fake” quick Alfredo sauce. It’s wonderful!
I’m thrilled with this recipe! Do you make your own dressings? If you have dressing recipes, post ’em! I’d love to see them! I’m so over store-bought dressings.
CindyP says:
One less jar bought out of the store! Make your own dip with it, too!
On May 26, 2010 at 5:55 am
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Yeah, I need some of this! And saltines come with unsalted tops, too, so am thinking I will make a no-salt-added version. I can think of lots of ideas for this mixture …..
On May 26, 2010 at 7:04 am
joeyfulnoise says:
Any suggestions for making this without the saltines? I am allergic to wheat. If the saltines are for thickening, could corn starch or arrowroot powder be substituted? Or maybe a gluten free cracker?
On May 26, 2010 at 8:11 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
I don’t know what you’d replace the crackers with, but I think you could do away with them completely if you used a thicker base, such as yogurt instead of buttermilk!
On May 26, 2010 at 8:31 am
Aedrielle says:
I have a FABULOUS Caesar Salad dressing recipe… Perhaps I’ll share it… 🙂
It’s better than store bought by about a mile. And it’s easy. And it’s tasty. And you’ll never eat anything else again. 🙂
On May 26, 2010 at 9:42 am
Ruthmarie says:
Oooo, my first thought was yogurt and canned milk instead of the mayo and buttermilk … I have a family member that hisses at mayo. And I like the faux alfredo sauce idea!… with a handful of Parmesan and yum-O! What also intrigues me is the idea of saltines serving as a thickener … hmmmmmm, I have a bag of matzo cracker crumbs, I wonder …
On May 26, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Ok, Aedrielle, my bowl of romaine is waiting ……lol!
Dede
On May 26, 2010 at 12:18 pm
KentuckyFarmGirl says:
Yum! Yum! YUM! Can’t wait to try this!
On May 26, 2010 at 1:23 pm
Moopsee says:
Joeyfulnoise, I’m guessing things like guar gum would even work for the thickening. Cornstarch and tapioca wouldn’t work because you wouldn’t cook them — so the raw flavor is there. Thickeners that work w/o cooking are needed. Clear Jel instant would even work very well. Hmm, using these thickeners you’d cut carbs and drop possible fat and sodium.
On May 26, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Dede ~ wvhomecanner says:
Just remembered too that there is an Olive Garden dressing clone floating around the net that uses pectin for the proper viscosity. Just a thought.
On May 26, 2010 at 7:41 pm
Kimberly in NC says:
You don’t need the crackers if you don’t want. I use a mix from Heavenly Homemakers Blog and it thickens up just fine and is wonderful…
5 T minced onion
7 t parsley flakes
4 t salt
1 t garlic powder
Mix 2 T dry mix with 1 cup mayo and 1 cup buttermilk (or sour cream). For a dip, use 2 T mix with 2 cups sour cream.
I’d bet Suzanne’s version would be fine on thickness as well without crackers.
On May 31, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Richelle says:
Made this straight away! Didn’t have all the stuff in my pantry so I substituted a bit. Only had fried dehydrated onions, thought they were salty enough so hardly added any extra. Didn’t have any crackers but did have breadcrumbs with garlic so used that instead. Upped the dill a bit after tasting first badge and added a spoonful of mustard powder to the mix. Once prepared with yoghurt and mayo I added a squeeze of lemon juice.
Loved the result! Am going to buy a large cauliflower to dip with! And if I want a bit of variation, I’ll just add some smoked paprika powder or ginger syrup to the dip or if I want to use it for a sauce and need some extra oomph I’ll add some chili flakes.
Thanks a lot for the recipe!
On June 2, 2010 at 4:48 am
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
Is it good without the crackers? I have to be wheat free for awhile again now. Is there a substitute that is just as good? Corn meal maybe?
On June 29, 2010 at 7:41 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
I don’t think the cornmeal would soften enough–it would probably be grainy. I’d just leave the crackers out, I think? Use less milk or buttermilk etc to yield a thicker dressing–maybe use yogurt or sour cream instead of milk. The crackers are there for thickening mostly.
On June 29, 2010 at 7:45 am
Sheryl - Runningtrails says:
Ah! ok. Sounds good. I think I will go with sour cream or try both! Thank you for the info!
On June 29, 2010 at 11:23 am
Lindsay says:
Thank goodness I came across this recipe lol! I’ve been doing without ranch dressing for such a long time because the most popular brand is a little heavy with the MSG which causes debilitating migraines for me 🙁 And, the all-natural varieties were pretty gross. Thanks for posting this, this is great!
On August 22, 2010 at 6:01 am
brookdale says:
Could I use the buttermilk powder and water instead of buttermilk?
On February 7, 2011 at 10:37 pm
carriej says:
I made this…I thought it was a little too heavy on the parsley and I am a lover of salt so I modified it a bit. Actually, I now have a quart jar full of this dressing mix and it is delicious!! I tastes just like Uncle Dans 🙂
On May 7, 2011 at 9:14 pm