DIY: Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix
I grew up in the 80’s, which means that I grew up eating A LOT of stuff that included a packet of ranch seasoning mix. The most common one was the basic veggie dip, which was simply a packet of the seasoning mix stirred into a 16-ounce container of sour cream. This was (and a lot of times, still is) the de facto veggie dip to go along with a platter of cut-up veggies for a party or get-together. My personal favorite has always been the veggie pizza appetizer, which is crescent rolls from a can pressed into a sheet pan and baked, then topped with the sour cream/seasoning mixture and chopped vegetable and shredded cheddar. What can I say? I’m a sucker for nostalgic food. Earlier this year, one of my husband’s best friends came over for the afternoon with his wife and their two daughters. We weren’t doing lunch or dinner, but I wanted to have some stuff to munch on, especially stuff that a 3-year-old would like. I settled on a bowl of pretzels, some Rice Krispie treats, mac and cheese on the stove, and a platter of fresh vegetables with ranch dip. I used the ranch seasoning packet and sour cream, but a part of me felt guilty serving it to a 3-year-old after I looked at the back of the packet. It has MSG, as well as some other not-so-great sounding ingredients. Bleh. After that, I decided that I needed to find a homemade alternative to that seasoning packet so that I could continue to enjoy ranch-flavored things without the crappy ingredients. Mission accomplished.
This seasoning mix is exceptionally easy to make with ingredients you should be able to find at your local grocery store. The primary ingredient is dried buttermilk powder, which my grocery store stocks in the baking aisle on the top shelf near the baking powder and cornstarch. If you can’t find it at yours, it is also available to order from King Arthur Flour.
A quick buzz in the food processor or blender, and you’ll have your homemade mix all ready to go. It will keep in the fridge for months, and you could even store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. I have included information below in the recipe on how to use this to make the classic veggie dip, as well as a quick ranch dressing. I’ve kept a container of this in the fridge for the last couple of months and I’ve used it for both quick ranch dressing and dip. I usually stir some of it into a container of plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream for a little bit of a healthier snack option with cut-up carrots, red peppers and cucumbers.
I’m beyond thrilled that I now have a homemade way of making one of my favorite seasoning packets.
If you grew up on those ranch packets, you have to make yourself a batch of this and keep it on hand!
One year ago: Thai Peanut Cabbage Slaw
Two years ago: Ginger-Peach Granola Squares and Apple Pie Ice Cream
Three years ago: Garden Zucchini Pizza Casserole
Four years ago: Monkey Bread and Cowboy Cookies
Five years ago: Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes
Six years ago: Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Seven years ago: Black Bean Burgers
DIY: Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) dried buttermilk powder
- 2 tablespoons dried parsley, divided
- 2 teaspoons dried dill, divided
- 2½ teaspoons (2.5 teaspoons) garlic powder
- 2¼ teaspoons (2.25 teaspoons) kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) paprika
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Place the buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, 1 teaspoon of the dried dill, garlic powder, onion powder, dried minced onion, salt, sugar, black pepper, paprika and cayenne in a food processor or blender. Process until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed, about 15 seconds. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container or glass jar, add in the remaining 1 tablespoon dried parsley and 1 teaspoon dried dill and whisk to combine.
- Store the mixture in the refrigerator for up to 3 months, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Your recipe looks really good, however, you did not indicate how much dried buttermilk powder to use………I would like to make this but can’t until I know the buttermilk powder to herb ratios.
Your views on MSG are unfounded https://www.google.com/amp/s/beta.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/03/20/why-americans-still-avoid-msg-even-though-its-health-effects-have-been-debunked/%3foutputType=amp
Michelle….you can get buttermilk powder cheaper from Atlantic Spice company as well as a whole bunch of other bulk spices and teas.
Love there stuff! Especially their teas if you are looking for that sort of thing.
Can you use regular milk instead of buttermilk when making the ranch dressing recipe you provided?
Hi Monica, You won’t get the same traditional tang of ranch dressing without using buttermilk, but you could certainly try with regular milk and see how you like it! It will likely be a little thinner so you may want to use less milk or increase the sour cream to get to your desired consistency.
I’m looking for a healthy alternative to Laura Scudder’s Green Onion Dip Mix. It is very famous, but has MSG and transfats and also gives me a migraine (no kidding). Have you researched it yet? I would be very, very grateful if you invented something my family could use.
Thank you so much for posting this. I’ve been looking for a good mix and I’m pretty sure this is it. I’m a child of the 80s too, so I know exactly what you’re talking about! :)
Hi. I live in Mexico and we don’t have buttermilk powder here. What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Maria, You might be able to use milk powder, but the resulting flavor will be a little altered.
Thanks my family loved it. Myself especially because I can’t have msg and I used to like using those seasoning packets. Once in a while I can find one with out msg but far and in between or they just don’t taste right. Can’t wait to try it in recipes that call for those packet mixes.
This is my go to dressing. I couldn’t find buttermilk powder at my grocery store so I used dry milk powder. Works out very well.
Hi, how will leaving out the sugar affect the flavor? I’m trying to reduce my sugar intake overall so looking for homemade foods that don’t require added sugar. I know it isn’t much but I’d like to leave it out if it isn’t absolutely necessary.
Hi Amber, I always use at least a little pinch of sugar in my salad dressings (it’s always been my mom’s “secret ingredient”), but you could definitely leave it out; I don’t think it would have any negative effects.
I made this with 2% milk and it came out very thin… is it because I didn’t use actual buttermilk? The flavor is fantastic (I also added a couple Ts of minced bacon and oven dried Italian tomatoes – yum!) I know when making buttermilk by adding vinegar to milk it comes out a little thicker… do you think I could just add the appropriate amount of vinegar and it would thicken? Love your site and your recipes… and your pooches, too!!
Hi Laurie, Yes, buttermilk is much thicker than 2% milk, so that certainly could be why yours is thin. You would need to add the vinegar to the milk on its own for this to work (and I think it would still be thinner than regular buttermilk), not after it’s all been mixed together.
I planned to make a pretzel dip that called for a package of ranch seasoning, but I really did not want to buy it given I shared the concerns you noted (MSG and other weird ingredients). For me, this recipe was perfectly timed as I found it right before I went to the store to buy what I needed for the snack dip. I am really happy with it and will be mixing up the rest in vegetable dip or dressing. Thanks!
Do you have any suggestions on how to make your own dill dip mix instead of from the packet? Thanks!
Hi Sara, I’ve never had dill dip, is it a specific packet or something that you make from the ranch packet?
Thanks for your reply! It is a packet, right next to the ranch packet.
An excellent recipe, I’ve been making it this way for years. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beau-monde-dip/
Thanx so much for the Ranch recipe – yes, MSG is evil. Here is a perfected Dill dip but recipe not in bulk – this is a fresh dip:
Dill Dip
1-16oz sour cream
3/4 cup mayo
2 tbsp dried chopped onion (3tbsp fresh)
1.5 tbsp dill weed
1/2 tsp Morton Style seasoning salt (or other to taste)
Mix all into sour cream container except mayo – mix in mayo. perfection.
Good on everything from fish to veggies.
This is awesome! Homemade is always so much better!
This is awesome, I love ranch but cringe when I look at the label! So excited to try this one!
My dad eats ranch dressing all the time, so this is awesome! I remember the dip as a kid. I actually made it for a how to speech once :)
Just made this to have on hand…made up a batch of salad dressing too! My two year old is a ranch addict and I love the idea of giving him something better to have with his snacks! I’m not a huge buttermilk fan, so I used 2% milk instead of the buttermilk. It still has a little tang from the buttermilk powder, but not overly tangy, which we all love! THANK YOU!
Ranch is my guilty pleasure, not so guilty now! I can’t wait to whip up my own batch to use for flavoring everything! I especially love ranch seasoning on kale chips. As luck would have it, I just bought some powdered buttermilk!
Why do you hold out some of the ingredients and not process them all? Am I missing something?
Hi Susan, Just because in the store-bought mix, there are flecks of green herbs throughout, without grinding them all up, it still leaves some larger flecks for appearance sake :)
I can’t tell you how excited I am to make this! So many of my recipes call for packets of ranch dressing mix and I am always very hesitant to use it because of the awful ingredients. My husband and I have been eating healthier recently and I’ve really tried to pay close attention to labels. Thanks for sharing! I really enjoy reading your blog.
That’s awesome. I love it when I find ways to make homemade versions of things that have a ton of preservatives.
Where can one find buttermilk powder? Is it refrigerated or in the baking aisle? Is it available at “regular” stores or do you need a specialty/health food store to find it?
Hi Kate, I actually talked specifically about this in the write-up above – it’s in the grocery store in the baking aisle. If you can’t find it there, I also included a link to King Arthur Flour.
I get Saco Cultured Buttermilk Blend, 12 oz around $4 at my local Walmart. It’s a powdered buttermilk.
SChttp://www.walmart.com/ip/Saco-Cultured-Buttermilk-Blend-12-oz/10319960
HTH!
This looks wonderful! I always have a packet of ranch seasoning on hand to give dishes that extra pizzazz, but making homemade would be so much better and, I’m sure, more delicious!
This looks amazing! Michelle, are you familiar with Laura Scudder’s green onion dip mix? If you google it it will be the first thing to pop up, I don’t know if I’m allowed to link in your comments. It hasn’t changed at all since I was a kid and I think I like it even better than ranch! I’d love to find a homemade version, maybe you can put it on your list :) I’m not sure how I’d get the green onion flavor from something dried.
I’ve never heard of that, I’ll have to check it out and do some research!
Oh my gosh pretty please with sugar on top, come up with a homade version of the Laura Scudders green onion dip!! I loved that stuff as a kid and can still see the colors on the packet….probably hasnt changed…lol. This recipe looks great btw, i definitely have it on my list to do!
Been looking for a substitute for the dry ranch mix I grew up with and this is perfect! I know I’ve seen the buttermilk powder at Trader Joe’s… Will be making this really soon!
Oh my goodness, this sounds amazing, yum! I have pinned it for later!
xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
This is fabulous! I have been avoiding a few family favorites that use a Ranch packet due to all the unhealthy ingredients. Can’t wait to make a batch of this for a pot of Chicken Stroganoff for the first “crisp” Football Sunday!
Hi
This sounds delicious. Is buttermilk powder available everywhere? I’ve never heard of it. Can or should buttermilk (liquid) be substituted for immediate use?
Thanks
Hi Aisha, I actually talked specifically about this in the write-up above – it’s in the grocery store in the baking aisle. If you can’t find it there, I also included a link to King Arthur Flour. You cannot substitute fresh buttermilk.
Hi
Thanks for your personal reply! You are a celebrity to me! I see I missed the info when I skimmed, I jumped right to ingredients. It’s on my grocery list! Love all your recipes I’ve tried so far!
I love this DIY recipe! I was a high schooler in the 80s, so the ranch thing is embedded in me. haha I will definitely try this seasoning mix!
I have a similar recipe, although I like your addition of cayenne. Along with making dip and dressing, I use the homemade ranch mix, along with my homemade taco seasoning, when I make the infamous taco soup – works great and tastes so much better than the packets.
Sounds great can’t wait to make this for my family. Speaking of family Congratulation on your new upcoming family! Get your rest in while you can : )
Thank you, Diane! :)
This is awesome! My MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group is doing this as a DIY craft this year! Also YES veggie pizza made with crescent rolls! That has been a food staple at family gatherings for years…so easy, versatile and delish! Thanks for sharing!!
This is such a great idea! I love the idea of a homemade seasoning mix instead of buying the packet with who knows what in it…
I love ranch seasoning but hate ALL the SALT that most commercially-prepared packets have. This is perfect! Pinned :)
Thank you!! This is so much better than a packet and I’ll be making this soon. :D