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Oct 27, 2010

Homemade Ranch Dressing (Janssen)

Vegetable oil, egg yolk, sugar, salt, buttermilk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, MSG, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.

Appetizing list, yes? I do love some disodium guanylate with my dinner. That's what's in your standard bottle of Ranch Dressing (this list is from Hidden Valley Ranch, although let me tell you, it is NOT easy to find the ingredient list ANYWHERE on their site).

In my ongoing attempts to limit the amount of processed foods we eat, I've started making my own ranch dressing. I have a glass bottle that something else came in that I washed and saved (do I sound like I lived through the Great Depression?), so that it's easy to keep in the fridge and also pour from. The recipe is super easy and I think it's delicious:

Homemade Ranch 
(adapted from Annie Eats)

¾ cup mayonnaise (light is fine)
¾ cup sour cream (light is fine)
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup parsley or cilantro (frankly, I like cilantro better)
1 green onion (green part only) or chives
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
2 TB -1/2 cup buttermilk

Put all ingredients except buttermilk in the blender and process until smooth; add buttermilk until desired consistency is reached. Store in fridge for up to two weeks.

As a side note, I tend to like my ranch somewhat thinner than the kind from the grocery store. I feel like it coats my salad better, instead of being a few large clumps. My husband, on the other hand, likes his more the consistency of a dip, rather than a dressing. The amount of buttermilk you put in is what's going to make the difference - if you like it thick, go really light on the buttermilk. If you like it a little more runny, put in a little bit more.

3 comments:

Lisa said...

What do you do with the rest of the buttermilk?

Stephanie T said...

Have you ever tried it without the buttermilk?

I have made a similar dressing but add chives to get that ranchy taste too. But chives are spendy, so I'm going to have to try your version out.

Packrat said...

Thank you for the recipe. Does this taste fairly close to Hidden Valley? If not, my husband probably won't eat it. (Brat!)

Personally, I think Hidden Valley is too "sweet". I like the ranch dressing from the dairy section at Costco. (Can't remember the brand.) The only problem with that is it comes in a large container, and I can only eat so much salad dressing by myself.