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Homemade Ranch Seasoning is easy to make and convenient to keep on hand. Use it for dips and dressings or in any recipe that calls for a packet of ranch seasoning.
My girl is obsessed with all things ranch. And while she’s loved Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing as a dip for fresh veggies for years, she’s recently wanted to try all the ranch things after I showed her Dawn Farmer’s TikTok (@dawnnfarmer).
If you aren’t familiar with Dawn, she is a young girl that lives in the U.K. and is known for trying American snacks. After trying ranch dressing for the first time, she too became obsessed with it and people starting sending her every available ranch product from American grocery stores.
Now Elle and I like to browse our local grocery stores for ranch flavored items and we’ve been having so much fun taste testing new to us products like ranch popcorn seasoning, Ranch Corn Nuts and Ranch Pringles and Ranch Veggies Straws. So naturally I thought, let’s try to make our own Homemade Ranch Seasoning.
HOMEMADE RANCH SEASONING INGREDIENTS
You know by now that I’m a big fan of making homemade seasoning mixes. I go through loads of homemade pumpkin pie spice, chai spice blend, apple pie spice, and homemade taco seasoning.
I just think it’s more convenient to keep jars of the homemade stuff in my pantry than to have to remember to buy packets at the grocery store every time I want to make a recipe. Plus, it’s nice to be able to control how much of each spice goes into the mixes.
So is anyone really surprised that I had to whip up a recipe for Homemade Ranch Seasoning?
I definitely don’t have anything against the packets of ranch mix you can buy at the store, but have you ever tasted the actual mix? It’s super salty and not really very flavorful.
So I grabbed my favorite dried herbs and spices to make this homemade mix:
- Dry buttermilk powder
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Mustard powder
- Dried parsley
- Dried dill
- Dried chives
- Dried tarragon
- Fine sea salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- Sugar
Out of all of these ingredients, the only one I didn’t have on hand at the time was the buttermilk powder, which you can usually find in the baking aisle at the grocery store.
You can use leftover buttermilk powder in baking in a pinch, but I usually just keep it on hand for making this Homemade Ranch Seasoning.
HOW TO MAKE MY HOMEMADE RANCH SEASONING
You know those recipes that feel silly to even write down? This is one of them.
To make this Homemade Ranch Seasoning, all you have to do is put all of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk them to combine.
Yep, that’s it!
You can easily double or even triple the recipe if you want to have lots on hand or gift it when going to cookouts this summer.
HOW TO STORE THIS SEASONING MIX
I keep my ranch mix in a small glass jar, but any airtight container will work. Just store the container in a cool, dry place.
It will keep for months, although I doubt it will last that long!
HOW TO USE YOUR HOMEMADE RANCH MIX
You can use this Homemade Ranch Seasoning anywhere you might use a store-bought ranch packet.
To substitute the homemade mix for store bought, use 2 tablespoons of the homemade mix to replace 1 packet of ranch mix. Try it in Mississippi Pot Roast, Ranch Burgers, Cheesy Ranch Pull-Apart Bread, or Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball.
You can also use the mix to make homemade ranch dip and homemade ranch dressing.
And you can add it to any of your favorite savory recipes! Try it on Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes, in Twice-Baked Potatoes, or in the breading for Ritz Cracker Chicken.
Homemade Ranch Seasoning
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup dry buttermilk powder
- 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried dill
- 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons dried chives
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon dried tarragon optional but recommended
- ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon mustard powder
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
Made a single batch twice (buttermilk powder is hard for me to get). Stocked up and just made a triple batch! Love using this dry as a seasoning on my baked veggies!
I really like the inclusion of buttermilk powder to your ranch seasoning mix recipe. So many recipes out there don’t include it. The only addition I make to is Accent Flavor Enhancer, which really makes it taste like Hidden Valley Ranch, since msg is the fourth ingredient on the packet.
Incidentally, Cook’s Illustrated calls for buttermilk powder in one of their cream cheese frosting recipes. As they said, it reinforces the tangy flavor of the cream cheese without making the frosting too soft. I get a lot of compliments on my cream cheese frosting because of it. So it’s great to have on hand for more than just the ranch seasoning mix. (It’s also easier to keep on hand than a quart of buttermilk when needed for recipes.)
Great frosting tip! I always have buttermilk powder on hand (best price at Walmart and Winco), for my cornbread recipe and (now) ranch seasoning mix. I am definitely going to try it in cream cheese frosting.
Can I substitute powdered buttermilk with fresh one and simply mix the rest of the ingredients with it?
Hi Jacek โ Not quite. You would also need some mayo and sour cream to get the right consistency for ranch dressing โย you can see my ranch dressing recipe using this seasoning here: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-ranch-dressing/. This seasoning is really meant to be used in place of the store-bought dry mix in all kinds of recipes, so that’s why it’s a powdered seasoning. Hope this helps!
Jamie
After the mix is made… how do I make the dressing? Do I stir the mix into mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk? Or something else?
Hi Laura –ย I have a recipe for dressing using this mix: https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/homemade-ranch-dressing/ It adds a few extra ingredients for a really jazzed-up version, but a simplified version would just use the buttermilk, sour cream, and mayo. Hope this helps!
Jamie
Oh this is amazing! With the prices going up we had to cut back costs and this was so worth the try!
I do have a couple questions!
Could you replace the sea salt with Himalayan salt? Do you think dried cilantro would be an okay replacement for parsley or even as an additional herb?
Hi Bronte โ So glad you enjoyed! Yes, you could use a finely ground Himalayan salt, it should work just fine. Dried cilantro will definitely add a different type of flavor if you use it in place of the parsley, but if you love cilantro you may find that you really enjoy that! You should certainly feel free to experiment with the herbs you like best. Hope this helps!
Jamie
This has been awhile in the making for me! I grew and freeze dried several of my own herbs, freeze dried my own store bought buttermilk – and whipped it up today and I love it! It taste better than any ranch shaker I ever bought, mine is completely organic – and I know whatโs in it- nothing I canโt pronounce and spell! Thank you for this recipe- I wonโt even be trying any others to compare it to. This one is printed and in my permanent recipe binder! Thank you!!
That’s amazing, Tonya! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Hi there,
I’m a Canadian mom living in Holland.Thanks a MILLION for this recipe.Need it to make Buffalo Chicken Salad.Going Keto :).Doei,doei!
So glad I could help! Thanks for stopping by and sharing! Happy baking โ
Jamie
Amazing! I live in Australia and we donโt have ranch seasoning here, and ordering any online cost a small fortune. I may not have anything to compare it to but this is amazing! I just made a massive bill batch to put in everything! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Giselle! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your feedback. Happy baking!
Jamie
Since I make recipes all the time I have a full cupboard of ingredients and I have all the ingredients to make this wonderful seasoning I noticed that the store bought ones are changing and they swapping out ingredients for salt. So this is like a great find for me thank you for putting this recipe out it’s greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Shareen! Happy baking!
Jamie
Can I leave out the salt since I am reducing my sodium intake for health reasons or will that destroy the Ranch flavor. Any suggestions?
Thank you
Sharon
Hi Sharon-
I think you could probably cut it back a little bit, but I don’t think I’d omit it completely.
-Jamie