After playing around with the recipe, finally this homemade ranch salad dressing (or homemade ranch veggie dip) tastes great, and it’s much more delicious than the organic powdered ranch dressing packet that I’ve used in the past. It even tastes like “Hidden Valley Ranch” which is all we used to eat around here. It’s a bonus when healthy real food can taste the way our twisted palettes expect from our days of eating junk.
- 3/4 c. homemade mayo (this makes it lacto-fermented!)
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- 1/4 t. organic (if possible) fresh or dried parsley
- 1/4 t. organic garlic powder
- 1/2 t. organic seasoned salt
- 1/2 t. organic onion powder
Mix together well. If it’s too thick for salad dressing, add a little milk. If it’s too thin for a ranch veggie dip, add a little more sour cream (and more herbs/spices as needed.) Let me know what you think! I’m so excited about how this turned out, I’m still working up the ambition to try my sourdough bread again!
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This post was part of Finer Things Friday, Friday Foodie Fix, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Tammy’s Recipes, & Frugal Friday.
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Debbie 06.25.09 at 7:42 am
Hi Kelly,
I have been following your blog for about a month now. I appreciate all the hard work and research you do. It has helped me so much. I too am a hellmans and hidden valley ranch girl. Couldn’t get into the organic powered ranch dressing or the organic mayo. I will try both of your recipes. Do you need the whey in the mayo? Can I buy whey instead of making it?
Thanks,
Debbie
Romeo Michigan
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Katie 06.25.09 at 8:23 am
I have a homemade powdered recipe that I like, but my husband isn’t as keen on, so I am eager to try this recipe to see if he likes it better. Thanks!
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Katie 06.25.09 at 8:24 am
Also, I read your mayo post. I haven’t had success in the past with my own mayo, but am willing to try yours, will let you know!
Katie’s last blog post..I’m back, and I won!
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karen c. 06.25.09 at 9:18 am
i will try this. i make the powdered simply organic ranch too but instead of mayo or sour cream, i use my homemade raw milk yogurt. it’s runny but is great for salad dressing.
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Brilliant Moms-Robin 06.25.09 at 9:24 am
I can’t wait to try this recipe. We love ranch dressing!
Thanks!
Brilliant Moms-Robin’s last blog post..Buy Next Year’s Clothes Post Season
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Cara 06.25.09 at 11:30 am
I need to try this. My daughter gets a rash from Hidden Valley Ranch, which totally creeps me out. What on earth is in that stuff? Thanks for sharing!
Cara’s last blog post..Peanut Butter on Yeasted Buttermilk Bread
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Millie 06.25.09 at 1:46 pm
Yum. My family is a Ranch family (personally I prefer Bleu Cheese but I accomodate them). This looks great. I just finished some buttermilk that turned out as thick as sour cream so I’m thinking I’ll utilize it in this dressing.
Millie’s last blog post..Frittata
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Alyss 06.25.09 at 3:26 pm
I make ranch like 8 or 9 times a week (OK, I don’t but sometimes I wish I did
and it’s always a little different. My standard recipe is 1/2 and 1/2 mayo and sour cream, lots of dill, a fair amount of garlic powder and a small amount of onion powder, salt, pepper and italian seaosoning or basil. For 1/2 cup mayo and 1/2 cup sour cream I would use a tablespoon of dill, a teaspoon of garlic and about a 1/2 tsp of onion, a little less italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. I thin with milk/kefir or olive oil/vinegar if I’m going to be putting it on lettuce. If I don’t have mayo in the house I just go without and maybe add a little oil and vinegar to the sour cream. Sometimes I use yogurt instead of sour cream. Sometimes I use tiny diced red onion or sliced green onion instead of powder. Sometimes I crank up the black pepper, sometimes I hardly add any. Blue cheese, farmers cheese or feta are all nice additions.. but then you might be leavig the realm of ranch!
Dill and garlic, that’s the secret to a good ranch!
Alyss’s last blog post..Of Probiotics and Pickles
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Local Nourishment 06.25.09 at 6:12 pm
Yup, yup, yup. This is good eats. I RAN to the kitchen to make it when I saw the recipe up. My youngest (the allergic one) loves ranch but I haven’t found a good recipe till I saw yours. I changed it a mite, using freshly grated onion and garlic, creme fraiche instead of sour cream and fresh parsley. I don’t keep seasoned salt around, but a little salt with a teensy shake of paprika seemed to do the trick.
Rose says, “Thank you Mrs. Kop! Thank you, thank you thank you!”
Local Nourishment’s last blog post..Kale dancing in my dreams
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Jen 06.26.09 at 3:14 am
Kelly, I absolutely cannot wait until you perfect the sourdough bread! I have a great starter that makes delicious crackers, pancakes, etc. But all my breads have bombed!
I’ve been waiting on the mayo recipe too, and am going to try it tomorrow.
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Amy @ Finer Things 06.26.09 at 3:50 pm
Can’t wait to try this. We go through a LOT of ranch dressing!
Amy @ Finer Things’s last blog post..Finer Things Friday: Spontaneity and Surprises
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Amy Green 06.26.09 at 5:13 pm
My husband is a huge ranch dressing fan…me, not so much. I still make it from scratch for him, though. I think he would like your version. I found you via Friday Foodie Find today – love your blog. You have a wealth of informatin here.
Amy Green’s last blog post..Simply Peeling a Cantaloupe: A Cool Kitchen
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Melissa Multitasking Mama 06.26.09 at 5:24 pm
My 13 year old eats ranch on everything! Thanks for giving me a healthy recipe to try.
Melissa Multitasking Mama’s last blog post..Menu Plan Monday
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Kelly 06.26.09 at 5:53 pm
Hi Debbie, thanks for reading my blog! Yes, you can make the mayo without the whey, it just won’t keep as long and it won’t be lacto-fermented. (Not as healthy, but still much better than store-bought!) I don’t know if you can buy it, but it’s SO easy to get it from hanging yogurt that you really don’t need to.
LN, how precious. Give Rose a smooch for me and tell her I said she’s very welcome!
Please, everyone who said you were going to try this, let me know what you think after you make it!
Kelly
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Martha 06.26.09 at 10:13 pm
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this. My hubby loves the Hidden Valley Ranch and I haven’t found a homemade one yet that he wants to use instead.
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Melanie Nader 06.29.09 at 9:07 am
Thank you so much for this, I have been looking for a great ranch recipe. Can’t wait to try it out! One question…what kind of oil should I use for the homemade mayo for the best taste in the ranch?
Thanks.
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Kelly 06.29.09 at 2:18 pm
Hi Melanie, at the mayo post I talk about the different oils I tried. Some still say that a mild olive oil worked good for them, but I thought the sesame oil had the least flavor so the other flavors in the mayo could come through. Let me know how it comes out for you! (You, too, Martha, and everyone else who tries it!)
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Diane-thewholegang 06.30.09 at 8:29 am
Wow, that sounds really good. Looks like it’s gluten free but not dairy free. Wish I could try it. Thanks for sharing it on Friday Foodie Fix!
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Lisa@Blessedwithgrace 06.30.09 at 11:15 pm
Wow, that is great! Who doesn’t love ranch! Thanks for linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
Lisa@Blessedwithgrace’s last blog post..Tempt My Tummy Tuesday….Sloppy Joe..BBQ.. I don’t care what you call it.. Just call me to dinner ’cause this is good!
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Catherine 07.05.09 at 5:47 pm
Thank you so much! My husband just brought home the Hidden valley ranch powdered package for dips and we were both grimacing at the ingredients.
For Cara who said her daughter gets a rash from ranch – it’s most likely the MSG or the egg yolk. My daughter also broke out in a red patchy rash all over her sweet 2- year old face after dipping in ranch and getting some of it on her cheeks.
Can’t wait to try this!
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Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship 07.09.09 at 8:38 am
Kelly, I think you should update your recipe to show that you used refined sesame oil. Luckily I used half olive oil, but I still think the sesame flavor will be a bit strong, b/c mine wasn’t refined. It thickened up GREAT with just 2 egg yolks and the stick blender, though!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship’s last blog post..Be Pennywise, Use a Whole Chicken
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Kelly 07.09.09 at 10:18 am
Katie, OK, I just fixed it at my mayo post. Thanks!
Kelly
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Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship 07.11.09 at 8:36 pm
So the sesame/olive oil mayo turned out well enough that when used in this recipe, my husband says two things: “That tastes like ranch dressing.” And, “You’ve renewed my faith in homemade dressings…I was beginning to give up!” Woo hooo! Thanks, Kelly!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship’s last blog post..Yobaby Giveaway Winners
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Kelly 07.12.09 at 11:13 pm
Yay Katie, that’s so fun that he liked it!
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Laura 09.16.09 at 8:15 pm
A simple way to get a quick tbsp or two of whey is to slip a coffee filter over a jar, securing it with a rubber band. Fill with 2 or 3 tbsp of yogurt and in ten minutes, you have whey… In the jar below.
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KitchenKop 09.16.09 at 8:46 pm
Laura, what a GREAT and simple tip, thank you!!!
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Charity 01.08.10 at 10:04 pm
Kelly,
Regarding the whey, can I use the organic plain greek yogurt you can buy in the stores or does it have to be homemade version? Thank you!!!
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KitchenKop 01.09.10 at 8:41 am
Charity, yes, you can use the organic yogurt from the store.
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Valerie 01.22.10 at 10:02 pm
Kelly,
I am in LOVE with your mayo recipe!! I also had several bad batches of mayo, but I’ve done yours twice (and even once by hand with a wisk) and it came out beautifully. And the ranch dressing as well. I don’t know if you have a place to share recipes but I just used the homemade mayo to make the best Cesear Salad dressing.
1/4 c homemade mayo
1/4 c olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 cloves garlic-crushed
several dashes worchestershire sauce
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
just mix everything! it’s best if you let it sit for a while in the fridge
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KitchenKop 01.23.10 at 10:09 am
Hi Valerie, I’d love to post this recipe, but first, do you know of a good replacement for worcestershire? Last I looked this had msg or corn syrup in it, can’t remember now.
I’ll ask my friend, Jeanne, I think she had a replacement idea for this.
Thanks and glad the mayo is working for you, too!
Kelly
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Valerie 01.23.10 at 10:52 am
Kelly,
I’ve got some original lea and perins from the UK and it doesn’t contain HFCS, and claims no msg. I know that in the UK they still make it the same way as the original over 100 yrs ago, it’s aged in wood barrels which would give that wonderful flavor that people try to immitate with msg. The Lea and Perrins website even admits that there are slight variations in the recipe made in the USA factory vs the UK. I’ve also wondered about using anchovie paste, have you ever used it?
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KitchenKop 01.23.10 at 1:52 pm
OK, I talked to Jeanne, she said she just guessed at these ingredients for homemade worcestershire: vinegar, molasses, anchovy paste (by tuna in the store), onion powder, salt, garlic, chili pepper, and water to thin down if needed.
If anyone out there would like to experiment with amounts, I’d love to post that recipe along with Valerie’s Caesar dressing! (I know I wouldn’t get to this for a while.) Maybe I’ll go ahead and post the recipe anyway (if it’s OK with you Valerie) along with this info and a request for someone to experiment, more people would see it in a new post…
Sorry for thinking as I type…………
Kelly
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Valerie 01.23.10 at 3:22 pm
yes feel free to post my recipe, maybe someone can try it with anchovie paste and see if it’s good
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Ella 01.28.10 at 10:25 pm
Hello,
I was at a restaurant the other day and they had something they called Salsa Mayo on their fries. I want to know how to make it because it was delicious. The mayo itself was quite mild in taste, without being thick and it was fairly yellow, but not as yellow as Kelly’s. Then for the salsa part it was just chunks of celery, red onion and capsicum mixed in the mayo. I have made mayo at home but I used a completely different recipe and its far too thick and sweet to compliment the chunks. Does anyone have any thoughts? I’ve tried to make mayo before using the traditional recipes, egg yolk oil etc, but it ended up tasting just like egg and oil. I have looked up salsa mayo online and all i get told to do is mix store bought mayo with store bought salsa. Yuk!
Any thoughts appreciated.
Ella
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Marjorie 01.30.10 at 12:02 pm
Oh! I can’t wait to try this! My 5 year old son will eat anything dipped in Ranch! This will be so much healthier for him:)
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