This homemade ranch dip is a creamy and flavorful mix of all the familiar herbs and spices, but it tastes way better than the store bought version. A quick and easy snack for parties and game day gatherings!
When I’m entertaining, I offer plenty of appetizer recipes such as cranberry jalapeno dip, baked chicken wings, bacon wrapped smokies and this classic ranch dip with fresh vegetables.
Ranch dip is a traditional party offering because it goes so well with veggies, chips, pretzels and bread. This homemade ranch dip avoids the store bought ranch mixes which contain lots of chemicals and preservatives, in favor of a fresher approach that’s full of flavor.
Table of Contents
Ranch Dip Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need sour cream as well as dry ingredients including buttermilk powder, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, onion flakes, black pepper, chives and salt. You can add a sprinkle of fresh parsley on top of the dip as a garnish.
How Do You Make Ranch Dip?
Combine all of the dry ingredients together to make the ranch seasoning mix. Add three tablespoons of the ranch seasoning to sour cream, then stir to combine. Serve the dip right away, or cover it and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Add a sprinkle of fresh parsley, and enjoy!
Tips For The Perfect Dip
- Dried herbs and spices tend to lose their potency over time. Make sure your herbs and spices are no more than 6 months old for the best results.
- Powdered buttermilk is often sold in a tin near the other powdered milk products. It’s inexpensive and lasts a long time but the can does need to be refrigerated after it’s opened. Which means you’ll also need to refrigerate your powdered dip mix until you’re ready to use it.
- If you can’t find buttermilk powder, substitute 2 tablespoons of the sour cream for 2 tablespoons of buttermilk.
- The ranch powder will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to one month in an airtight container. You can also store the prepared dip in the fridge for 3 days.
- Serve your dip with a variety of dippers such as cucumbers, celery, potato chips, breadsticks, pretzels, bell peppers, radishes, broccoli and carrots.
Quick Tip
You can turn this dip into a ranch dressing by thinning it with 1/4 cup of buttermilk.
Recipe FAQs
Ranch dip contains sour cream with garlic, onion and an assortment of dried herbs. It also contains buttermilk or buttermilk powder for a tangy flavor.
Ranch dressing and ranch dip are similar in many ways. They both involve a creamy base with a blend of herbs and spices. The major difference is the consistency. Ranch dip tends to be thicker than ranch dressing.
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Flavor Variations
This dip is delicious as is, but you can change some of the ingredients to suit your tastes.
- Herbs: You can use fresh minced herbs instead of dried herbs in your ranch dip. If you go this route, you’ll want to triple the amount of fresh herbs as compared to dried.
- Flavorings: Add extra flavor to your dip with seasoned salt, lemon juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, cooked bacon, shredded cheese or olives.
- Sour Cream: Swap out half of the sour cream with other ingredients such as mayonnaise (can be regular or light mayo), Greek yogurt or cream cheese.
Ranch dip is a must-have for any party. While it’s great with chips and veggies, it’s also perfect to pair with baked chicken tenders, buffalo shrimp or baked French fries. The possibilities are endless!
More Great Dip Recipes
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Homemade Ranch Dip
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dry buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried chives
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Combine all of the dry ingredients in a resealable container.
- Stir 3 tablespoons of the dry mix into the sour cream. You can serve the dip immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days. Add the fresh parsley on top right before serving.
- Refrigerate the remaining dry mix for future use.
Notes
- Dried herbs and spices tend to lose their potency over time. Make sure your herbs and spices are no more than 6 months old for the best results.
- Powdered buttermilk is often sold in a tin near the other powdered milk products. It’s inexpensive and lasts a long time but the can does need to be refrigerated after it’s opened. Which means you’ll also need to refrigerate your powdered dip mix until you’re ready to use it.
- If you can’t find buttermilk powder, substitute 2 tablespoons of the sour cream for 2 tablespoons of buttermilk.
Delicious! Just made it this morning to go alongside some homemade Buffalo wings. I didn’t change anything, but didn’t have dried chives. I think I’ll add fresh chives right before consuming. Thanks so much for the great recipe, this is my first time here and I’m excited to try other recipes on your site.
I’m so glad that I found your recipe! I need to have a low sodium diet and can substitute for that salt. 🙂
On another note: I LOVE that you added a child friendly section. It’s so important for little ones to be comfortable in the kitchen.
if all the ingredients are dry why do you have to store it in the fridge? If i am not adding the sour cream till i need it
The powdered buttermilk I use says refrigerate after opening. If your brand does not require refrigeration then you shouldn’t need to refrigerate the mix!
Just made this because I didn’t have a Hidden Valley Ranch Dip mix. My boyfriend said it’s even better than the real mix! I expect it to be even better after it is refrigerated a day or so. Thanks for the recipe! I’ve saved it for later use.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for reporting back!
I love the idea of making my own ranch mix!
Since you’re only supposed to use 3Tbsp of the herb mixture to 1 cup of sour cream/mayo, approx how many batches of dip should this end up making?
It should make 4 batches!
How to make dressing from this? Would you still use liquid buttermilk?
I haven’t tried making dressing from it, I would suggest using mayo and a little milk to thin it out to a pourable consistency!
Ranch dip with honest, actual seasonings and not chemicals, what a concept!
I haven’t found powdered buttermilk in Germany. I wonder if I can substitute normal buttermilk if I’m making the recipe to be eaten right away?
I would try making the powder with just the herbs and spices, and then when you add it to the sour cream add a tablespoon or two of normal buttermilk. Hope that helps!
Love your recipes! All I’ve tried come out great every time, which is not the case with other recipes I’ve tried via Yummy. Thanks for the honest recipe ingredients and cooking tidbits, makes experimenting with new methods foolproof!
Thanks so much, I appreciate it! 🙂
This looks great! I may try using fat free greek yogurt in place of the sour cream for an even healthier option! Thanks!
How did the Greek yogurt work out?
Love the idea of making your own mix. This would be great as a hostess gift too!
I love that you used powdered buttermilk. No need to buy a quart and have half of it go bad in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, my family LIVES ranch as a staple…I’m looking forward to trying it 😀
Ok, yes and yes! This looks fabulous – and I adore ranch dip, so this is perfectly up my alley!
This looks great – my kids love ranch dip. Thanks!
Nice! I’ve been looking for a homemade mix that actually tastes good; I’ll have to try this.
I have a serious ranch addiction! I dip almost all foods into ranch at some point. Thanks for sharing this homemade recipe with me! I’m definitely going to need to try to make it this weekend.
Yum! I think homemade ranch is so much better than store-bought. I bet my girls would love this (they are ranch vultures too:) )
I had trouble finding the powdered buttermilk – I looked in the baking aisle with the evaporated / condensed milk. What does it look like?
It comes in a metal tin, usually in with the powdered milk which is often by the hot cocoa mix.