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Homemade Ranch Seasoning + Paleo Ranch Dressing

Making your own paleo ranch dressing is SO easy and having a dry paleo ranch mix on hand makes it super easy without having to keep fresh herbs on hand.

 

I was 1000% a ranch dressing kid. I put that stuff on everything. When I had kids of my own I wanted them to have a fresher, healthier ranch dressing than I had as  kid.

When we decided to cut out some of the dairy we had at home, I was determined to create a dairy free, paleo-friendly ranch dressing that even my kids liked.

A tall order, I know.

I started by making traditional ranch from scratch — with buttermilk and all. Just to get a baseline of what homemade ranch dressing was like.

There are a lot of recipes for homemade ranch dressing floating around the internet, but most of them call for fresh herbs. (Pioneer Woman has a great recipe using fresh herbs that can be a starting point for all kinds of add-ins.)

Fresh herbs are delightful. Don’t get me wrong.

But almost every time I make ranch dressing it’s 5 minutes before dinnertime when I realize that my jar is nearly empty in the fridge. There’s no way I was going to head to the store to buy fresh herbs. I wanted the convenience of those little green ranch dressing packets, but in a healthier way.

When I finally found (and tweaked) this dry ranch dressing mix recipe using all dried ingredients, I was happy to have a ready-to-use blend in my pantry.

You probably don’t always feel like chopping a bunch of herbs, too, I’m guessing?

(Or spending a lot of money on herbs when your herb garden isn’t doing so well. Or is non-existent. Like mine right now.)

I do want to. . . (warn?) tell you that this doesn’t taste exactly like the little green ranch seasoning mix packets you get at the store.

It’s hard to compete with monosodium glutamate (MSG), but I’m OK with my tongue not being tricked. I really like this version, though, and I hope you do, too.

How to make dairy-free ranch dressing mix

Another key ingredient in most ranch dressing mixes is buttermilk powder. If you want to add buttermilk powder and aren’t concerned with this recipe being dairy free, go right ahead.

Just add about 1/4 cup of buttermilk powder to the recipe below. You’ll also need to add a little more of the ranch mix when you make ranch dressing because it won’t be as potent. The buttermilk powder dilutes it some.

My recipe doesn’t contain buttermilk powder and because it’s made with non-dairy milk it’s easily made dairy-free!

This recipe is also gluten free in case you’re wondering.

Do you have to make homemade mayonnaise?

Nope.

There are healthier brands of mayonnaise popping up that aren’t vegetable oil based. Using avocado oil as a base for mayo is MUCH better for you.

99% of the time I make paleo ranch dressing, I do it immediately after I make homemade avocado oil mayo.

In fact, the reason why I make homemade mayo most of the time is so I can turn it into paleo ranch.

How to make paleo ranch dressing

I like to make my dressing in a quart-size mason jar. I have a serious crush on mason jars.

I just dump some of dry mix on top of the mayonnaise and add a little milk to thin it out.

This works well if you make your mayo using a mason jar and an immersion blender. Then you don’t have have to dirty up another jar to store the dressing.

Paleo Ranch Dressing + Dry Ranch Seasoning | paleo ranch recipe | salad dressing recipe | paleo recipes | dairy-free recipes | Whole30 recipes | perrysplate.com

What kind of milk do you use in paleo ranch dressing?

Add the milk — either almond or coconut. I recommend unsweetened almond milk though, and, surprisingly, the Silk unsweetened vanilla flavored does just fine. (Not the Costco unsweetened vanilla. It’s too strong.)

Add less milk than you think you’ll need.  I included the ranch dressing recipe in the notes of the seasoning mix below, but you can make it as thick or as runny as you like.

I also like to add a squeeze of lemon juice and an extra pinch of salt to brighten the flavors. It actually makes a big difference.

IMG_2974

And whisk (or shake) like there’s no tomorrow. Have you ever used a ball whisk? It’s my new favorite gadget. It gets into corners and edges a lot better than a regular whisk. I didn’t even need a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of my mason jar.

This dressing seriously tastes good and is super versatile. The dried herbs and spices in this mix are plenty for an awesome dressing or ranch dip.

How to make different types of ranch dressing

To mix it up, you could add some fresh herbs (extra fresh dill is AMAZING in this!) or pureed chipotle. Or cilantro, jalapeno, and tomatillo to make a mexi version. (Cafe Rio knock off? :))

Extra garlic would be nice, or BBQ sauce & bits of crispy bacon. Mmm.

I wrote a post for Pioneer Woman all about how to make different kinds of ranch dressing and turn it into something special: Elevating Ranch Dressing.

You can even use the dry mix as a spice rub or a popcorn seasoning. Or part of breading for chicken or fish!

Recipes Using Paleo Ranch Dressing

Here are a few recipes that use this homemade ranch seasoning mix that that we love from my site and my cookbooks.

Green Chile Turkey Burgers with Guac-Ranch

Buffalo Ranch Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Bake

Green Chile Chicken & Spaghetti Squash Bake

Buffalo Ranch Chicken Chowder (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

BLT Egg Salad (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

BBQ Ranch Chicken Bites with Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

Bacon Ranch Potato Salad (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

Recipes Using Homemade Ranch Seasoning

Ranch Chicken with Broccoli & Bacon (Big Book of Paleo Slow Cooking)

Tomatillo Beef & Zucchini Taco Soup (Big Book of Paleo Pressure Cooking)

I’d love to hear what you do with your dry ranch mix! If you create something, tag me on social media so I can see! @perrysplate #perrysplate
 

If you make one of my recipes, be sure to post it on social media and tag me at @perrysplate or #perrysplate so I can send you some love!

Paleo Dry Ranch Seasoning

Paleo Dry Ranch Seasoning

Yield: 1 cup of mix

Making your own paleo ranch dressing is SO easy and having a dry paleo ranch mix on hand makes it super easy without having to keep fresh herbs on hand.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dried parsley
  • 6 Tablespoons freeze dried chives
  • 1/4 cup dried dill
  • 3 Tablespoons ground mustard
  • 4 teaspoons paprika
  • 4 teaspoons dried minced onion
  • 1 Tablespoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Shake together all ingredients in a pint-sized mason jar or another similar container. Store at room temperature. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.  

Notes

To Make Paleo Ranch Dressing

  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons Paleo Dry Ranch Seasoning
  • 1 cup paleo-friendly mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk, plus more if necessary
  • A squeeze of fresh lemon juice

Whisk together all ingredients. Taste, and add a little more lemon juice or a couple pinches of salt, if necessary. Or add a little more almond milk if you'd like it looser.

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge. Keeps for about 10 days. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

This post may contain affiliate links. Any purchases made by using these links won’t cost you any extra and helps keep my content free. These links may be Amazon links as I am part of the Amazon Associate Program.

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Jenn

Friday 6th of April 2018

I love to make my own salad dressings from scratch, LOL... when I have the time. This recipe looks so much tastier then the one I have. Thanks for your trail and error and sharing your hard work.

Jenn

Friday 6th of April 2018

Trial and error... not trail. ugh.

Gwen

Monday 23rd of October 2017

Why did I wait years to make this?! I'd contented myself with a natural-ish storebought dressing, but this takes ranch to the next level. Thanks as always! :)

Gwen

Monday 23rd of October 2017

(More emphasis on the ish than the natural part of that well-marketed storebought dressing.)

Kelly

Tuesday 2nd of May 2017

Hi Natalie, I sent you an email about getting the original recipe a few months ago. Is it possible to still get it? Thanks

Kelly

Wednesday 1st of March 2017

Hi, Do you have the original recipe with the powdered buttermilk. I absolutely love the original and had it bookmarked for years. . Thanks

Natalie Perry

Thursday 2nd of March 2017

I do! Can you send me a note at perrysplate@gmail.com so I can email you the recipe?

sharon eaton

Wednesday 4th of June 2014

Greetings! Would someone break this recipe down to a one serving recipe? I am only making it for me.

Natalie Perry

Thursday 5th of June 2014

Hi Sharon! When you say one serving, do you mean enough dry mix to make about 3 Tablespoons of dressing for one side salad? It would be impossible to measure out all those ingredients at such a small scale. Maybe try making 1/2 or 1/3 of the recipe and then you'll have a little extra in case you like it. And it wouldn't be too much of a waste if you don't. Best of luck!

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