This vintage buttermilk ranch dressing recipe makes your simple garden salad taste amazing. You may not ever want to reach for the Hidden Valley Ranch bottle again. It’s simple to make and tastes great.
Vintage buttermilk ranch dressing is so tasty
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This buttermilk ranch dressing is seasoned with fresh cilantro, chives, Dijon mustard, lemon, onion powder, salt and pepper. That’s it! It’s so fresh, you’ll really taste the difference between homemade and store bought. Ranch dressing is one of my family’s favorite salad dressings. It’s so much better if you make it fresh at home. No preservatives or other ingredients that you can’t pronounce that tend to upset sensitive tummies.
Our favorite dressing for a fresh garden salad
Buttermilk ranch dressing is perfect drizzled on a garden salad. It’s also great for dipping fresh veggies like carrot sticks, sweet peppers and cucumbers. If you prefer a thicker dressing, you can add a table spoon of sour cream in at a time until you reach a thicker consistency. Store the buttermilk ranch dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Can I use a reduced fat buttermilk? Yes, you can. However you will find the consistency to be more thin. The fat in the buttermilk also provides flavor. So, just expect it to be more like a “diet” version of your favorite dressing. It’s good, but not quite the same.
Fresh herbs are best. This buttermilk ranch dressing features fresh cilantro and chives. In the spring and early summer we have plenty of chives growing wild in the garden. They are an easy perennial with pretty edible purple flowers. You can add as much chives as you like up to a tablespoon. They add a fresh bite to the dressing that you won’t get with dried herbs.
Fresh cilantro
Here’s a tip. Rinse out the herb bunch in cold water and shake off any excess water. Place the bunch in a small glass of water and let it sit on the counter. I usually do this several hours or even day before I’m going to use them. This allows the leaves to air dry. Select the leaves you like and finely chop them. You’ll find it much easier to chop the cilantro when the leaves are dry. This method works great with Italian parsley and basil too.
Use it as a salad dressing or a veggie dip
I hate it when you go to a restaurant and they drown your salad in too much dressing. I almost always forget to ask for it on the side. Homemade salads are always so much tastier but can put people off because of all that chopping. To make things easier, prep as many of the vegetables ahead of time as possible. I store salad veggies in air-tight glass food storage containers. Easily shred carrots, cut up cucumbers or sweet bell peppers ahead of time. Wash and spin the lettuce dry. Wrap it in a little paper towel and store in a reusable produce bag in the fridge. Store tomatoes on the counter, not in the fridge. Try to leave cutting up tomatoes to just prior to serving the salad. They stay juicer and fresher this way. A little food prep ahead of time makes for pulling together a healthy fresh garden salad at the end of the work day is allot less hassle.
Are you a ranch dressing lover? If so, give this homemade buttermilk ranch dressing recipe a try. I’d love to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment below.
Happy cooking! Michelle
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Buttermilk ranch dressing
Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1 tbsp fresh chives, minced
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve immediately. Store in a jar in the fridge up to one week.
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