In trying to eat healthier one of the things I have been doing is making my own salad dressings. I have found several we liked, but nothing that really stood out. Especially when it came to a homemade ranch style dressing.
That was until last week. Several weeks ago I found at the library the book “How To Cook Everything Vegetarian” By Mark Bittman. I contains a lot of helpful tips and ideas. One of his recipes that caught my attention was his Real Ranch Dressing. He said that in order to give you the twang and the thickness of ranch dressing you need to use buttermilk powder along with buttermilk. I was instantly curious. This was what I had not liked about the other ranch dressings I had tried. That had not had the right texture and taste. Something was missing. So I gave the buttermilk powder a try. It worked. It was the best of all the ranch style dressings I had tried.
I will list his recipe and my variation of his. I used his basic one but added some extra things. I thought it needed a little more flavor. I would also suggest you let this sit in the fridge several hours before using it. It will thicken up. You should also taste this when you are making it. Adjust the herbs to your taste, add more or less depending how you like it. I think the real tip is the buttermilk powder. It gives it the extra taste it needs.
Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
A make at home recipe for a favorite salad dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/4 cup buttermilk powder
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Mix together in a blender. Blend for 30 seconds or until well combined.
- Store in a jar in the fridge.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 143Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 213mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 2g
Nutritional values are approximate and aren't always accurate.
I’ll have to try this. Dd2 likes ranch dressing but never wants to make it & I don’t want to buy it. High price tag.
Oh, goodie, I only need to get buttermilk and I can make this! I already have the powder. I bet it’s good!
That sounds yummy…I’ve never heard of buttermilk powder though…where do you get it.
Kirstin, you can usually find buttermilk powder in the baking aisle. At our Walmart it is near the canned milk and powdered milk, near all the other baking items. I know my sister in OR gets it. I think she got hers at Winco but it may have been somewhere else. You should be able to find it. It is nice to have if you need buttermilk and don’t have any.
I just made some of this and am blown away by how good it is! I was wondering what I can do to thicken it up to make it more into a dip than a dressing? Thanks!
You can cut back on the buttermilk and/or add in some sour cream. You might have to tweak with it a bit, but you should be able to make it work.
Really good, I just made a batch for our pizza night tonight! My youngest who only loves the bottled stuff really liked this too. Thanks, Lynn!