Ranch dressing is a workhorse in my kitchen – it goes on burgers and chicken, gets drizzled on salads, and gets used as dip – and there is just nothing like it when it’s fresh and homemade!
Every chef I know picks and chooses what they want to make from scratch and things they’ll absolutely buy from the store, and they all do it differently. Me, I buy a lot of bread from bakeries {Great Harvest near us takes a lot of my money} because while I can make a decent baguette, there are a lot of bakers out there who take care of it way better than me. Same goes with ketchup. Simply Heinz has very few additives and no high fructose, so it’s a win for me.
But I will totally make my spice mixes from scratch, I’ll make my own macaroni and cheese, I’ll set my own marinara sauce on the stove and basically forget about it except to stir it throughout the day, and I’ll make a ton of my own condiments {other than ketchup}. You already know I like to make my own dressings for salad, and this ranch dressing is definitely best when served fresh and made right at home.
Fresh buttermilk ranch dressing is nothing like the stuff you get at the store. It’s creamy, garlicky, tangy, cool, and lip-smackingly good right out of the jar. And it’s so ridiculously easy to make, I rarely buy it by the bottle anymore.
This ranch dressing goes great on your salad, or as a dip for veggies, or – as you’ll see in today’s companion post – as a dip for my spicy Buffalo air-fried cauliflower bites, or the chicken wings you can make with the same sauce recipe.
All you do is put all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk to blend. Pour in a jar, like these cute little Ball jars I love to store all my dressings in, and keep for about a week. It never lasts that long at my house, that’s for sure.
[lt_recipe name=”Buttermilk Ranch Dressing” summary=”Ranch dressing is a workhorse in my kitchen – it goes on burgers and chicken, gets drizzled on salads, and gets used as dip – and there is just nothing like it when it’s fresh and homemade!” servings=”1″ total_time=”10M” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Buttermilk-Ranch-Dressing-1488-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”1/2 cup sour cream;1/2 cup buttermilk;1/4 cup mayonnaise;2 garlic cloves, minced;1/2 tsp salt;1/4 tsp white pepper;1/4 tsp ground mustard;1 1/2 tsp dried dill;1/4 cup fresh chives, finely copped;2 tsp fresh lemon juice” ]Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl. Whisk well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.;Chill until ready to serve. Keep in the fridge for about a week at most.[/lt_recipe]
This dressing goes great with so many things, but I really want you to enjoy it with the Buffalo spiced air-fryer cauliflower bites that are its companion post for today!
This flavor combo was enough to get the carnivorous man-creatures I cohabitate with to demolish an entire head of cauliflower at a sitting. If that doesn’t speak to some flavor magic, I don’t know what does!
What are the things you insist on making from scratch? What will you never make and just buy?
