Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing from Lemony Thyme

When I first began the Lemony Thyme blog it was our fresh herb porch pots that I recognized/acknowledged/gave credit to/sited/attributed for my cooking inspiration. Fresh Herbs still continue to amaze and inspire me daily. However, I have found an equally intriguing element to cooking. Recreating fridge/pantry staples from scratch (or mostly from scratch). Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing is super easy to make at home and just as good if not better than the bottled variety.

So about this ‘from scratch’ thing. Yes, you can make Buttermilk and Mayonnaise from scratch. I actually started separate posts for both well over a year ago but have either yet to perfect or find the need to recreate these fridge staples. Yet.

Store bought buttermilk is made from natural ingredients and will generally last for a month or so in the refrigerator. So unless I run out and don’t want to get out of my PJ’s, I’ll probably stick with store bought here.

Homemade Mayonnaise on the other hand is awe-mazing. While we did successfully make it from scratch once (albeit rather late in the evening with poor record keeping), we’ve also attempted it 3-4 times unsuccessfully. Since homemade mayonnaise really should be used within a week vs. our ranch dressing that can be refrigerated for two weeks, I like store-bought mayonnaise in this recipe. For the time being.

So for now, our Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing was made from five ingredients that we generally always keep on hand, far less than the bottled variety. Using fresh herbs like chives or parsley also give this dressing a wonderful flavor boost.

Recipe Note: the base for this dressing is a 2 to 1 ratio of buttermilk to mayonnaise, with garlic powder, fresh herbs and black pepper added to taste.