Let’s be honest…
…ranch dressing is the new ketchup.
Ranch has become an iconic American food product. So many of us have been taken with the creamy, mild — and flat-out delicious — taste of the ranch dressing flavor.
Ranch goes with everything…and in our home it’s almost considered a staple.
But with many of the major brands producing ranch dressing containing ingredients such as:
- Soybean Oil
- Sugar
- Natural Flavors (Soy)
- Phosphoric Acid
- Xanthan Gum
- Modified Food Starch
- Monosodium Glutamate
- Artificial Flavors
- Disodium Phosphate
- Sorbic Acid and Calcium Disodium EDTA as Preservatives
- Disodium Inosinate
- Disodium Guanylate
I figured it’s just best I make my own!
So I do…
…and it’s pretty amazing!
Here’s the recipe.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup homemade mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh onion, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- salt and pepper to taste
- kefir to thin, optional
Method
- Combine homemade mayonnaise (click this link to read my recipe for homemade mayonnaise), lemon juice, garlic, onion, parsley, and dill in a small jar or bowl.
- With a stick — or immersion — hand blender
, blend for a few seconds until smooth. Adding kefir to thin if desired.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Store in the refrigerator and use within a few days.
Money-Saving Tip
As I’ve shared with you in the past, I keep my pantry and menu plan using the Pantry Principle. This means I mostly buy foods in bulk — including oils and spices — thereby saving a ton of money on products that are usually super expensive when purchased at the grocery in small quantities.
For example…I can purchase a half ounce of dried parsley leaf at the grocery for approximately $4. Or I can head over to Mountain Rose Herbs and get 4 oz. for $4 or a pound of the herb for $12.
Same can be said for the culinary oils.
Buying in bulk just makes financial sense.
Where Can I Get This Stuff?
–Mountain Rose Herbs…I purchase many of my organic culinary oils and spices — in bulk — from Mountain Rose Herbs. Click the link and head over to check out their selection.
And as always…if you really enjoyed this post I would be so honored if you’d click this link and subscribe to the blog! To those of you who have been committed readers, I sincerely thank you.
How to Make Homemade Mayonnaise
I never buy from Mountain Rose Herbs b/c their shipping is so high. I was going to order some kaolin clay and a few other herbs (in the smallest bulk I could get to try them out) and shipping was over $12 I think! I quickly decided I didn’t need to buy from them. I know they have quality products, everyone seems to think so, but when shipping costs are so high that it becomes cost prohibitive, I have to find another way to afford to be frugal. Maybe I am not buying in large enough bulk from them to negate the shipping charges. I didn’t explore further. I’m not trying to bash the company – please don’t think so – but if we are talking being frugal, one must take shipping/handling charges into consideration (and I know they are high b/c gas prices are high. I understand it, it just has to be taken into consideration) THANKS for the recipe. I’ve tried a number of different Ranch recipes and haven’t found quite the right one, so I’m eager to try yours! LOVE your site and your recipes 🙂
I do agree with you. Love their stuff and prices, but shipping is outrageous. A friend and I combine orders, though, and thereby split shipping also. It saves a lot!
I know a lot of people who do just what you suggested Susie! My friend and I do the very same thing and you’re right it does save a whole bunch!
It’s because they ship through UPS and that can be expensive. My husband works for UPS though and they are a great company that really tries to be green and has fantastic benefits for their employees. The part time employees that load packages have full health benefits that costs them virtually nothing. USPS on the other hand operates at a loss of 25 million a day of taxpayer dollars!
It’s painful for me to pay the shipping, but both Mountain Rose and UPS are great companies and I buy in bulk (essential oils, herbs, oils, containers) for my many natural living crafts and I also combine orders with friends and split shipping.
I agree about the mountain rose company! I was going to order a $2.95 packet of something and it was going to cost over $12.00 to ship it! I refrain form ordering from there! There are other good sources.
Given my love for plant-based remedies and natural living all together…I order a lot of raw materials monthly. And I’m ALWAYS on the look out for deals, pricing changes, shipping costs, etc. For the smaller purchases like you’re talking about Emily…I have to agree that’s nuts. But when you’re buying habits — like mine — are built around bulk the shipping becomes less of an issue.
I’ve researched so many companies to find the best deals. And I will say that the Bulk Herb Store has very good shipping prices but the cost of herbs are higher than Mountain Rose…it’s all a wash in the end I guess 🙂
The problem here is — just like we’re seeing everywhere — the cost of raw materials, gasoline, and foods is increasing rapidly. Best bet for ultimate savings…grow your own 🙂
Cheapest way to get bulk herbs – grow them and dry them yourself. Can’t beat it!
Preach 🙂
I’m loving the homemade condiments! We are a family off condiment eaters and this is one area that keeps me glued to the supermarket. I’m glad to see I have options. Now, if only I could find a sustainable way to make liquid foundation (makeup) and I’d be all set! Thank you for all of your great, insightful posts!!!
Can’t wait to give this a try …. I would guess that if you used homemade mayo with whey, it would extend the shelf life. Have you tried this option?
You are correct Gabie!
If you’re too lazy to go to all the trouble of making this ranch dressing, I found a ranch dressing powder at my local health food store in the bulk section that tastes just like to store bought kind….with NO MSG and is organic. I would never use Hidden Valley again.
To Sandy from 7/17/13 @ 6:35 a.m.; I work part time for USPS. The postal service has not been taxpayer funded since 1977. Every stamp and postal product that we sell is what pays for the business and our paychecks. While the postal service no longer is funded by taxpayer money, it is still required to fund certain things by congressional order. First class mail delivery has dropped over 26% in the last several years because more and more people of our great country are using the internet for communication. I don’t blame people for doing that. What is needed for an economically healthy postal service is for congress to let it operate as any other private industry.
The postal service has worked very hard at reorganizing its operations, reducing costs by closing plants and cutting operating hours. Enough said.
Excited to try this. Have not found a good recipe yet! Just started making my own mayo! It seems like we eat ranch on everything! lol how long dose this last in the fridge? would Whey help it last longer?
It lasts in the fridge for about a week and yes whey would increase it’s shelf life by approx. 2 months.
I avoid MRHs as well, I try to place a large, non-bulk order a few times a year, and then forget the recipes I was ordering for. I eventually go to Amazon. I live in a smallish area and there is not one to split orders with. I dislike that I have to go to ‘big boxes’ for certain things, and with all the hype MRHs has, I am starting to consider them a big box. I have started to compare the easiness of recipes, if they seem to hard, or have hard to find, expensive ingredients, I order from your Etsy shop!
Hi Andrea!
I make my own ranch as well, using the recipe from the Tightwad Gazette. Similar to yours but I add milk, scallions,paprika and a bit of cayenne. Nothing beats homemade dressing. 😀
My kids were so spoiled by commercial products- they wanted one that tasted more authentic. (What- are you my kids?! You want Hidden Valley Ranch?!) So I played around, discovering that SUGAR seemed to be the missing ingredient. Coconut palm sugar would be a great substitute (or, at least organic sugar), and homemade mayo puts it in the “healthy” category. We make this dressing at our cafe, adding some Italian herbs and “VegeSal Magic”. Has anyone else tried VegeSal Magic? I think it has a perfect blend of dried herbs and veggies to give it a unique, “Ranchy” flavor. Find the recipe here (http://gratefultable.com/veggie-tray-with-ranch-dressing/), and modify to your liking, if you want.
I love in the same town as Mountain Rose and the quality and the overall products are fantastic. I make my own household products and also make creams ,all my own personal products, I find it is cheaper for me because of the shipping of other companies. My friends also enjoy the benefits of my products.