Newsflash for ranch lovers! Did you know that it is super duper easy to make delicious ranch seasoning mix homemade?
True story. No need to run to the store for one of those processed packets, or to pick up a jar of your favorite ranch dressing or dip. All of the ingredients are likely sitting right there in your spice cabinet! Just do a little measuring, a little mixing, and you’re ready to make your favorite ranch dressing or dip or whatever other ranch-ness you may love in less than 5 minutes. It is seriously that easy!
The great thing too about homemade ranch seasoning is that it won’t be full of un-pronounceable mystery ingredients. Just your simple herbs and spices, and some optional powdered buttermilk if you’d like (similar to powdered milk).
I love using mine to make skinny Greek yogurt ranch dip, ranch dressing, or I’ll even just use the mix to season some chicken or fries. Delish!!!
Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- optional: 1/3 cup buttermilk powder*
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together until blended. If you want a more finely-ground seasoning mix, you can pulse the mixture in a food processor until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Store in a sealed container for up to 1 year. (If using the buttermilk powder, refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 month.)
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
What’s the point? Making this from scratch is at least 20 times more expensive then buying it in packets.
We like that doing it this way is a little healthier and much fresher.
I got fresh buttermilk in place of powdered buttermilk, but I’m confused whether I’m supposed to substitute it 1-1? (Not a baker here, and even after reading Tom’s comment, I’m confused…).
I’m using the season mix for your buffalo chicken dip, which requires 1 tablespoon. It strikes me as odd to add liquid buttermilk to a dry ranch seasoning recipe… but then I wasn’t sure if your buffalo dip recipe is 1 tablespoon of just the spices themselves (no buttermilk), or if that 1 T is including the powdered buttermilk, so 1 T of the spices only would be far too strong.
Please clarify, and thanks for not laughing at me! :)
Hi Betsy! Thanks so much for your question. And no laughing — this powdered buttermilk business totally confused me when I first learned about it!
Unfortunately, there’s really no way to substitute fresh buttermilk for the dried seasoning mix in this recipe, especially if you’re adding it to the buffalo chicken dip. The ratio for powdered to fresh buttermilk is 1:8, so you would need to add in lots of fresh buttermilk to equal the flavor in this one, which would turn it into a big cup of liquid instead of the powder. So I’m afraid it probably won’t work. That said, if you’re just adding this to the buffalo dip, I’d just nix the buttermilk completely. It’s more of the other seasonings that are needed for that dip, so the buttermilk isn’t that essential.
Hope this helps, and thanks for your question! :)
I’very found the Saco brand powdered buttermilk at Walmart with the powdered milk. Bob’s red mill also makes it but I’very never had good luck with theirs. You can use powdered buttermilk to make home made pancake mix or in biscuits. I use it in my bread machine. Great stuff but I use enough of it that I’ve never refrigerated it.
Looking forward to making this! Ranch seasoning makes everything taste better (in my opinion) and I’m psyched to find an alternative to the Hidden Valley one with no mystery ingredients.
Thanks Amy — we hope you enjoy!
Having a math concern over the proportion of the mix to use to flavor a pint of sour cream for a dip if using fresh buttermilk. (The powdered buttermilk proved impossible to find at any market near me, lamentably.) The spices in this recipe equal about 1/3 cup, same as the powdered buttermilk, so if you have to use fresh buttermilk, wouldn’t the amount of mix to use be closer to 1.5 tablespoons, or maybe round to 2 tablespoons to account for the additional volume of 1/3 cup of fresh buttermilk? Perhaps not many people would object to double-strength ranch dip, but I’d wager a few might find it too intense. I just mixed up a batch with 2 tablespoons of the mix and can’t want to confirm my hypothesis tomorrow!
Hey Tom! We’re sorry you weren’t able to find any powdered buttermilk — please let us know how this turned out!
Enjoy your recipes on the different spice mixes. I am looking for a recipe for Garlic and Herb mix.
I’m sorry if this has been answered, but where would I find dried buttermilk?
Hi Helen! You should be able to find it in the baking aisle of most grocery stores.
I made this last night and it was soooo runny? Any suggestions on how to thicken it? The taste was great!
Thanks – Allie
Hmmmmm it shouldn’t be runny, so we’re not sure why it came out that way! :( You could try adding a little more mayo or yogurt to thicken it up a bit — that should help!
I made your ranch seasoning tonight, minus the buttermilk powder, and added it to sour cream. I used it in for “loaded” hashbrown recipe. Mixed together with a bag of frozen hashbrowns, added some cheddar cheese, crumbled bacon, and spread onto a cookie sheet. Delish! Thank you. Love your site!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it Joy! Thanks for sharing! :)
I made this and mixed 1 Tbls with 1/3 cup mayo and 1/3 cup lactaid 2% milk it is on the thin side is there anything that will thicken it up? The flavor is great just to thin to use as a dip.
Hmmm, we think maybe just adding some more mayo or sour cream would thicken it right up. We hope that helps!