Homemade Ranch Dressing Recipe: Healthy, Delicious, and Simple (2024)

FAQs

How do you make regular ranch taste better? ›

If you don't have time or inclination to make your dressing from scratch, but you want that elevated restaurant-style ranch, think about zhuzhing up the bottled version with things like finely chopped shallot or scallion, a clove of minced fresh garlic, a splash of buttermilk or dollop of sour cream if you have them ...

The secret that many restaurants have up their sleeves is seasoning mix. Well-known brands make dry counterparts to their bottled ranch that encapsulate all the flavors, including powdered buttermilk, with none of the additives and oils.

Is ranch healthy or unhealthy? A veggie platter just isn't complete without a dish of creamy ranch dressing. However, there are a lot of calories in most ranch dressings, as well as fat, sodium and sometimes added sugar. The ranch is only healthy if the ingredients used to make it are also healthy.

Plain Yogurt is a healthier option than traditional ranch. That's why we love this healthy dressing, it uses nonfat greek yogurt as a creamy alternative. How do you make healthy ranch dressing? You can make healthy ranch dressing by making it at home.

Speaking of condiments, stir in some barbecue sauce or pesto. Basil pesto is great, but I actually prefer dill pesto here. Since ranch seasoning already has a good amount of dill, it simply amplifies it. (If you're wondering if dill pesto is simply basil pesto with dill instead of basil, you are correct.)

Most restaurants don't buy pre packaged ranch. They buy hidden valley seasoning and mix it themselves with ingredients they already have.

While many restaurants use mass produced ranch mix, they often add it to a higher-quality base. This might include milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or mayonnaise. So when you notice that the ranch in a restaurant tastes better than the bottled dressing from the store, what you're really tasting is delicious, creamy fat.

Traditional ranch is made from sour cream, mayonnaise, dried herbs (usually dill, parsley, and chives), garlic powder, and onion powder. Buttermilk versions have, as you guessed, the addition of buttermilk and tend to be a bit thinner.

Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

Is eating a salad with ranch healthy? ›

Worst: Salad With Creamy Dressing

Dressings like ranch, blue cheese, and Thousand Island are often high in calories, unhealthy saturated fat, and sodium. A 2-tablespoon serving of a typical blue cheese dressing tacks on nearly 150 calories and more than 15 grams of fat.

Homemade wins here. The two dressings are roughly equivalent in terms of fat content, but store-bought ranch is the prototypical processed food, with an ingredients list that includes modified corn starch, monosodium glutamate, sodium lactate, polysorbate 60, et cetera.

If you like a creamy dressing, try adding Greek yogurt or avocado for healthy, natural fats. Or if you prefer a vinaigrette, consider adding your favorite citrus juice or zest for a pop of color. “I love a quick homemade vinaigrette of olive oil, lemon, fresh garlic and lots of oregano,” Allers notes.

As you can see, peanut butter is lower in fat, sodium, and higher in protein. I also love that you can out out a mixed tray with fruit and veggies when you are serving peanut butter. Ranch is only good on veggies. My personal favorite natural peanut butter for dipping is Rosemary Garlic, but the kids seem to love…

Milk or cream would work. If you don't like how they change the flavor, you can instead blend in a neutral oil (vegetable, soy, canola, avocado) to thin it out to the desired consistency.

A squeeze of citrus juice, lemon in a poppyseed or orange in French, can brighten things up. Heat is a good balance for sweet, so a dash of hot sauce, a pinch of red pepper flakes or a squirt of sriracha can also be a welcome addition to make these dressings a bit more balanced.

While many restaurants use mass produced ranch mix, they often add it to a higher-quality base. This might include milk, buttermilk, sour cream, or mayonnaise. So when you notice that the ranch in a restaurant tastes better than the bottled dressing from the store, what you're really tasting is delicious, creamy fat.