Family Chow Hall

Make your own Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

March 23rd, 2006

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing has long been one of my favorites at the salad bar. But when I go to buy it at the grocery, I realize that most dressings (not just buttermilk) are full of not-so-good-for-you vegetable oils. Most of them are also partially hydrogenated oils. Now that’s not good for you at all.

Lately, I have been using mainly vinaigrettes or simply oil and vinegar on my salad. That’s fine, too, but I would like to bring you my old favorite recipe for making Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. This is worlds better than Hidden Valley, Kraft, or any others I’ve tried. Although it’s very quick to make, it will taste better if you can refrigerate it for a few hours before serving, so a little forward planning is good here.

If you are feeling energetic, try whipping up your own mayonnaise before starting on the Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. You can peek at my post about goals to get my recipe for mayonnaise. If you start with homemade mayonnaise, you can use a “good” oil (light olive oil) to begin with and feel great about the quality of the dressing on your salad.

So, go buy some buttermilk if you don’t happen to have any in your fridge, grab your whisk or Tupperware shaker cup, and let’s make some super delicious homemade salad dressing:

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing:
makes 1 1/2 c. / prep. time: 5 minutes

1/2 c. buttermilk
1 c. mayonnaise
2 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. dried dill weed
1 t. minced garlic
1/4 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. celery salt

Combine all in a bowl with your whisk, or shake well in your shaker cup. That’s all. You can adjust the buttermilk to mayonnaise ratio in order to get the consistency you like best. Refrigerate for a few hours. This dressing should last at least a week in your fridge.

Eat Well to Live Better

Entry Filed under: Condiments, Most Popular Posts, Recipes, salads