Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a “5-ingredients or Less, Special Edition of Works-for-Me-Wednesday.”
Here’s my contribution: Homemade Ranch Dressing. We love this stuff, and it’s so easy to make and so much healthier than the store-bought variety. It’s great on salads or for dipping veggies or chicken strips. And yes, it’s technically 6 ingredients, but shh! don’t tell. Can we say that the pinch of cayenne is “optional” and call it good?
Ranch Dip
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate for several hours to allow flavors to blend.
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I’ve been wanting a good ranch dressing recipe! Thanks!
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Is the buttermilk necessary? I only ask because I would not have anything else to do with the rest of the carton! Could regular milk be used?
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Yes, Jen, the buttermilk is what “makes” it. But, the product should stay good for a long time, usually a couple weeks past the sell-by date.
Buttermilk is a mainstay at our house — for dressing and baking. Sub it for milk in whatever you’re baking and it will give a boost to the muffins, pancakes, biscuits, bread, whatever.
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I have been wanting a good ranch dressing recipe since my husband loves it. As for buttermilk, you can substitute 1 cup of regular milk with 1 Tablespoon of vinegar for 1 cup of buttermilk.
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Yes EOL, you can do that. But, I find that really only works in baked goods. It doesn’t taste quite the same in this dressing. IMO.
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woo hoo – I’m so excited to see a ranch recipe…I keep meaning to look for one, but never seem to remember when I have time. I HATE processed tasting grocery-store ranch…can’t wait to give this one a try.
You can also use lemon juice + milk to make “buttermilk” a lot of baking cookbooks have that shortcut in them…I always pull out my Betty Crocker when I need the conversion, bc I never have buttermilk on hand! Don’t know if it would work here or not, but it’s something handy to know!
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btw buttermilk freezes well and you can freeze it in ziplocs in whatever proportion you would need for the recipe.
I didn’t see a place to email you privately so I understand if you take this off and answer later. but i was wondering how you decide what to buy(groceries) versus what is healthy for your family. does that make sense? staying on budget vs. non-hydrogenated fats.
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ZZ, I was just thinking about both things this morning: explaining why I have so much Chex Mix and making sure my email was evident.
I put up the email link and will answer the other soon. If you’d rather, feel free to email me.
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I’m always looking for dressing recipes. I can’t stand bottled dressing.
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I LOVE ranch dressing and homemade dressings in general! Can’t wait to try this one!
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Jessica,
How long does this keep in the fridge?
Thanks,
Keli
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I never keep it longer than a week.
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I have about 3/4 gallon buttermilk to use up and thought I would make this dressing, but do you have any other ideas how to use it up. Does buttermilk freeze well? Should I attempt it?
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Jessica Fisher Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 1:07 pm
@Jackie Brown, yes, you can freeze it. It is also great in most baked goods.
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