This homemade ranch dip is full of all of the familiar herbs and spices, but has no preservatives like the store bought version. The homemade ranch powder is easy to make and keeps in the fridge for months!
Ranch dip is a classic snack that never goes out of style, and the homemade version is SO much better than those little packets of seasoning.
When I was pregnant with my youngest my #1 craving was ranch. Ranch dressing, ranch dip, I couldn’t get enough of it. So it’s really no surprise that homemade ranch dip is one of Audrey’s favorite foods. This child is a very light eater – she eats about 3 bites of food and she’s done. But I can usually coax her to eat a bit more if I provide a side of ranch for dipping. She calls it “dipt” – I have no idea where that “t” at the end came from but it’s super cute so I don’t bother to correct her.
How do you make ranch dip?
Here’s the thing. It’s super convenient to go to the grocery store, buy a packet of ranch dip and mix it with sour cream or mayo. But have you ever read the ingredient list on the back? It’s full of MSG and preservatives. I didn’t want to feed that to my kids so I mixed up my own ranch dip powder with a blend of herbs and spices.
Most of the ingredients in this recipe are herbs and spices that you already have at home – parsley, onion, garlic, chives, dill. The secret ingredient is powdered buttermilk, and I’m sure you don’t have that at at home. Powdered buttermilk is often sold in a tin near the other powdered milk products. It’s inexpensive and lasts a long time but the can does need to be refrigerated after it’s opened. Which means you’ll also need to refrigerate your powdered dip mix until you’re ready to use it.
This recipe is crazy simple. Combine the dry ingredients and mix it into sour cream. You can use a combination of sour cream and mayo if you prefer. I typically make up a double batch of the dry ingredients so that I always have it in the fridge when the ranch dip mood strikes. Or when I’m trying to get Audrey to EAT!
My children were like vultures circling while I was taking these pictures, you would have thought I was photographing chocolate cake or something. My husband had to actually restrain Audrey so that she didn’t dive head first into the dip. I’ll spare you the messy-baby-covered-in-ranch pictures, but here’s Alice who also approves of it.
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More delicious dip recipes
Homemade Ranch Dip
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup of sour cream (you can use regular or light)
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a resealable container.
- Stir 3 tablespoons of the dry mix into the sour cream. You can serve the dip immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate the remaining dry mix for future use.
Notes
Little Helpers: Let your kids help you collect all the herbs and spices from your cabinet and do the measuring and stirring. My kids like to smell each spice before they add it in.
Delicious! Just made it this morning to go alongside some homemade Buffalo wings. I didn’t change anything, but didn’t have dried chives. I think I’ll add fresh chives right before consuming. Thanks so much for the great recipe, this is my first time here and I’m excited to try other recipes on your site.
I’m so glad that I found your recipe! I need to have a low sodium diet and can substitute for that salt. 🙂
On another note: I LOVE that you added a child friendly section. It’s so important for little ones to be comfortable in the kitchen.
if all the ingredients are dry why do you have to store it in the fridge? If i am not adding the sour cream till i need it
The powdered buttermilk I use says refrigerate after opening. If your brand does not require refrigeration then you shouldn’t need to refrigerate the mix!
Just made this because I didn’t have a Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix. My boyfriend said it’s even better than the real mix! I expect it to be even better after it is refrigerated a day or so. Thanks for the recipe! I’ve saved it for later use.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for reporting back!
I love the idea of making my own ranch mix!
Since you’re only supposed to use 3Tbsp of the herb mixture to 1 cup of sour cream/mayo, approx how many batches of dip should this end up making?
It should make 4 batches!
How to make dressing from this? Would you still use liquid buttermilk?
I haven’t tried making dressing from it, I would suggest using mayo and a little milk to thin it out to a pourable consistency!
Ranch dip with honest, actual seasonings and not chemicals, what a concept!
I haven’t found powdered buttermilk in Germany. I wonder if I can substitute normal buttermilk if I’m making the recipe to be eaten right away?
I would try making the powder with just the herbs and spices, and then when you add it to the sour cream add a tablespoon or two of normal buttermilk. Hope that helps!
Love your recipes! All I’ve tried come out great every time, which is not the case with other recipes I’ve tried via Yummy. Thanks for the honest recipe ingredients and cooking tidbits, makes experimenting with new methods foolproof!
Thanks so much, I appreciate it! 🙂
This looks great! I may try using fat free greek yogurt in place of the sour cream for an even healthier option! Thanks!
How did the Greek yogurt work out?
Love the idea of making your own mix. This would be great as a hostess gift too!
I love that you used powdered buttermilk. No need to buy a quart and have half of it go bad in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, my family LIVES ranch as a staple…I’m looking forward to trying it 😀
Ok, yes and yes! This looks fabulous – and I adore ranch dip, so this is perfectly up my alley!
This looks great – my kids love ranch dip. Thanks!
Nice! I’ve been looking for a homemade mix that actually tastes good; I’ll have to try this.
I have a serious ranch addiction! I dip almost all foods into ranch at some point. Thanks for sharing this homemade recipe with me! I’m definitely going to need to try to make it this weekend.
Yum! I think homemade ranch is so much better than store-bought. I bet my girls would love this (they are ranch vultures too:) )
I had trouble finding the powdered buttermilk – I looked in the baking aisle with the evaporated / condensed milk. What does it look like?
It comes in a metal tin, usually in with the powdered milk which is often by the hot cocoa mix.