Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…

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Just a few ingredients and plenty of fresh herbs in this quick and easy dressing

We are in full on party planning mode here, getting ready to host my cousin’s engagement party over Memorial Day weekend. So yesterday we did a trial run of our main dish, pulled pork on Jason’s Webber Smokey Mountain, which was delish and helped us nail down cooking times, etc. We’ve been making pulled pork forever, but the Smokey Mountain is pretty new, so we’re still getting the hang of a truly smoked pulled pork. I promise to bring you that in a separate blog post once we have perfected our recipe! Anyway, whenever we make pulled pork I want to have a salad with ranch dressing with it. (Unless of course I’m making my Granny’s coleslaw, but we’re saving that for the party as I’ve made it so many times no trial run is necessary!) And about a year or so ago I developed this recipe for homemade ranch dressing that is so easy you can whip it up in almost the same amount of time it takes to make the kind that comes in the little packet at the grocery store.

I always went for that packet as it seemed fresh and homemade to me, but one taste of this and you will kiss that packet and the bottled versions goodbye. There is NO substitute for fresh herbs, which are what really make this dressing a star! The trickiest part is getting the consistency right, so while you will want a full 1/2 cup of sour cream and mayo, add the buttermilk slowly and you may find you don’t quite use the full 1/2 cup there. But even if you don’t quite use all of it do not think you can skip it entirely, that and the lemon juice are what give this dressing a nice tang.

I also do not recommend fresh garlic, the powder worked much better for me at giving a nice authentic ranch flavor without overpowering the dressing. And while I estimated the fresh pepper to be that same 1/4 teaspoon amount I did not measure exactly. I like a generous amount of coarsely ground pepper and rely on my eye to let me know when I have hit the right mark. Be sure to make it early enough in the day that it has a few hours in the fridge to chill, which gives it time for all the flavors to come together.

I love a crisp salad with cool, creamy Ranch Dressing!

Jason thinks it’s funny that I have certain foods that must be paired with a salad with ranch. Chicken enchiladas is another for me, I cannot make a pan of chicken enchiladas without a big green salad with ranch dressing. I’m curious about your “must pair with” recipes, even if they have nothing to do with ranch dressing? Drop them in the comments if you’re willing to share.

Ranch Dressing

Prep Time15 minutes
Chilling Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 15 minutes
Course: Salad
Keyword: ranch dressing, salad, salad dressing

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp Italian parsley minced
  • 1 tbsp chives minced
  • 1 tbsp dill minced

Instructions

  • Whisk together mayonnaise and sour cream in small bowl. Slowly whisk in buttermilk, paying attention to thickness of dressing. If you like your ranch on the thicker side you may want to use slightly less than 1/2 cup of buttermilk.
  • Whisk in lemon juice, pepper, salt, and garlic powder.
  • Whisk in Italian parsley, chives, and dill.
  • Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.

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