I think that the ranch dip mix is a quintessential part of the American diet! It seems it makes any meal delicious if you have the ability to "dip" it! In our household that means pizza, breaded chicken, breaded zucchini, veggie sticks and patties of all sorts. A simple food, plus a simple dip, with a nice salad and you have yourself a decent meal. The upsetting part is that the ranch dip mixes in the store bought packets are anything but decent...
Only 3 ingredients are recognizable foods (and the main three ingredients are maltodextrin, salt and MSG)! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Hidden Vally Original Dip Mix: "Maltodextrin, Salt, Monosodium Glutamate, Onion*, Spices, Garlic*, Modified Food Starch, Less Than 2% Of: Calcium Stearate, Natural Flavor."
However, with 5 very basic pantry ingredients, you can have yourself a tasty ranch dip mix option that is very inexpensive to make! It is also healthy as it is created with nutritious and powerful herbs and spices.
(While I did share a ranch mix many years ago, I now prefer this updated recipe. Maybe you will too...)
- 1/2 c. dried parsley
- 1/4 c. garlic powder
- 2 tbsp. onion powder
- 1/4 c. salt (we use the Himalayan pink salt)
- 2 tbsp. ground black pepper
Mix together all the ingredients and pour into a pint sized jar.
I have provided a label to paste to the jar to make refills convenient. I noticed that half the battle to making the mixes is finding the recipes in the heat of the moment. When they are on the jars, it takes literally minutes to make!
To prepare the ranch dip:
Mix together 1 cup of sour cream with 2 1/2 tsp. of the dip mix. For best results, let it chill in the refrigerator a few hours before serving to allow flavors to “marry”.
- Substitute 1/4 c. of plain kefir for part of the sour cream to create a tasty probiotic blend.
- Squeeze some lemon juice into your prepared ranch mixture for a more tart flavor.
I think these make useful little gifts! Make a few extra pints for hostesses!
Free printable recipe with convenient label is found HERE.
Happy Homemaking!
Recipe was adapted from Live Simply Blog.
Hi Jes,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reminder of homemade Ranch mix. I've made mine homemade for years. I add some dill to mine, which makes it more authentic to Hidden Valley Ranch.
I do enjoy the pictures, the recipes, and the quotes you post!
Thank you for taking the time to visit and share! I hope you have a lovely weekend!
DeleteMy family really enjoys ranch dip/ dressing as well. For quite awhile I've been making our own for the same reason you make yours. I sometimes add in a bit of dill to change things up. I also love to add in a bit of buttermilk with the sour cream or mayo depending on what is in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of including some buttermilk! Thanks for that!
DeleteThank you so much for the recipe & label ....Can't wait to try this
ReplyDeleteIt's a fun and frugal little homemaking project! My favorite kind :)
DeleteJES, how would you suggest turning this into a salad dressing rather than a dip? Would it be wrong to just add a bit of water to make it more runny, do you think?
ReplyDeleteHi there! I would try mixing together 5 tsp. of the ranch mix with one cup of mayonnaise AND either one cup of kefir or buttermilk... (whole milk may work but I don't know if it will be thick enough since there are no thickeners in the mix)...
DeleteI finally made your previous recipe about a year and a half ago because I didn't have dill and I waited for my mom to go east and get some at the dollar store (I didn't want to pay more for a spice I pretty much won't use for anything else because it smells like pickles). The blend smells and tastes just like the well-known HVR kind. I buzzed it in a grinder to make it a powder and keep it in an upcycled pizza sauce jar with your label and directions on it. :-)
ReplyDeleteI'll keep this recipe for when I run out of dill ;-)
DavetteB
Thank you so much for sharing Davette! Placing it in the grinder is a great idea!
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