Completely Homemade Ranch Dressing

Ever since my first ranch dressing post, I've been on the hunt for a truly homemade version that tastes just as good as using the ranch seasoning packets. I love the ease of just using a Hidden Valley packet, but I wanted to be able to really control all the ingredients. Plus, those packets cost about $1 a piece, which is just astronomical.

When I got my newest cookbook a couple of days ago, I eagerly flipped through the pages to see if they had a ranch dressing recipe. And they did! I tried it yesterday, and it is vastly better than anything else I've tried. I loved it! The only thing I changed was that I didn't have the lemon juice the recipe calls for, so I decided to see if vinegar would be a good substitute. It worked great! I'm anxious to try it with lemon juice next time and see which way works better.

Another word about the recipe. It calls for shallot, and I highly recommend that's what you use. Shallots have a much more subtle flavor than regular onion or red onion have. You don't want the onion to scream, "HELLO!!! THERE'S ONION IN THIS DRESSING!!!" If you do need to substitute, use red onion, and make sure you dice it very finely. This recipe also calls for 1 tablespoon cilantro or dill. I love both of those flavors, so I decided to use both. I used about 1/2 a tablespoon of each.

Oh, and fresh herbs are a must for this one!

If you want to make it thicker to use as a dip instead of a dressing, just use less buttermilk.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
6 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro and/or dill
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
pinch of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be refrigerated up to 4 days.

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