Domestic Dreamboat

  • Recipes
  • Special Diets
  • Kitchen Basics
  • Meet Carissa
    • Get in Touch - Learn How to Contact Domestic Dreamboat
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Resources
  • About

search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • Resources
  • About

×
You are here: Home / Condiments / Best Ever Light Ranch Dressing and Dip

Best Ever Light Ranch Dressing and Dip

Modified: Apr 24, 2024 · Published: Aug 31, 2014 by Carissa · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

It will only take a few minutes to make the Best Ranch Dressing or Dip you have ever eaten. Bonus, it has less fat and calories than store-bought.

Jump to Recipe Save RecipeSaved! Pin Recipe

Do you have a spare 15 minutes? Because if you do, you have time to make your own Best Ever Light Ranch Dressing and Dip.

Before coming across a recipe for ranch dressing a few months ago as I was looking for some ideas for homemade salad dressing, it never would have occurred to me to make ranch dressing. Aside from "something creamy", I would have had no idea what the ingredients would even be.

From ranch dressing in a bottle, I knew there were flecks of green stuff in it, but could not tell you what they were. To me, ranch dressing had it's own distinct flavor and I didn't know where it came from.

Ranch dressing in large bowl

How to make the Best Ever Ranch Dressing and Dip:

As it turns out, the ingredients in ranch dressing are not exotic, nor hard to find, nor is the ingredient list particularly long. The "something creamy" includes buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and light mayonnaise, at least in this lighter version.

For the buttermilk, you can use either fresh or powdered (which is what I use because it's easier to store, and lasts longer). Don't try to use a soured milk substitute as you won't get the rich buttermilk flavor that ranch needs.

The flavoring in ranch dressing comes from shallot, garlic, lemon juice, salt, pepper, cilantro, and dill. For the last two, make sure you use the leaves only. You don't want any big chunks of stems floating around in your dressing.

This dressing really could not be easier to make. You just have to do a little mincing of the shallot, cilantro, and dill. Then toss everything into a small bowl and whisk it all together. It can even be made ahead and actually gets to taste better if you do. You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Ranch dressing with vegetables

You can use this recipe as either a vegetable dip or for salad dressing. If you're using it as a dip, follow the recipe omitting the addition of water at the end. You will end up with a thick, creamy dip.

If you want salad dressing, you will likely need to add a touch of water to thin it out. Unless you want super thick dressing. Follow the recipe without the water then assess the consistency. If you want it thinner, add 1-2 tablespoon water at the end.

veggies dipped in ranch dressing

Want more ranch recipes?

Ranch Dressing Powder in a bowl with a spoon
Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix
Butter Ranch Pretzels in a Black Bowl
Buttery Ranch Pretzels (Dot's Pretzels Copycat)

Ranch Dressing and Dip Nutrition Notes:

The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one Tablespoon of the dip/dressing. The nutrition calculations use regular mayonnaise and low-fat Greek yogurt. This recipe is gluten-free as written.

Ranch dressing with vegetables cropped

Light Ranch Dressing and Dip

Carissa Serink
This delicious ranch dressing is made with Greek yogurt and fresh herbs. It's perfect as a veggie dip, or thinned out to use as a salad dressing.
5 from 1 vote
SaveSaved! Pin Print
Prevent your screen from going dark
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Condiment
Cuisine American
Servings 16
Calories 30 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ¼ cup buttermilk see note
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise regular or light will work
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 Tablespoon minced shallot or red onion
  • 1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • pinch cayenne optional
instacartGet Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

  • Whisk ¼ cup buttermilk, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 Tablespoon minced shallot or red onion, 1 Tablespoon minced fresh cilantro, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons minced fresh dill, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and a pinch cayenne together in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until needed. Will hold for up to 5 days in the fridge.

Notes

I use dried buttermilk (follow instructions on can), but real, fresh buttermilk will work great too. Don't try to use a soured milk substitute for salad dressing.

Nutrition

Calories: 30kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 64mg | Potassium: 11mg | Fiber: 0.04g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 13IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 0.03mg
Keyword dip, dressing, Greek yogurt, herbs, mayonnaise, ranch, salad, salad dressing
Tried this recipe?Please remember to Leave a Review!
Best Ever Ranch Dressing and Dip
(Visited 431 times, 1 visits today)

More Condiments

  • Yellow Japanese Pickled Daikon in a small white bowl.
    Japanese Pickled Daikon
  • A glass jar of Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette.
    Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
  • Cottage Cheese Onion Dip Closeup cropped
    Cottage Cheese Onion Dip
  • Italian Meringue on a stand mixer whisk attachment.
    Italian Meringue
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Hi, I'm Carissa!

I'm the face behind Domestic Dreamboat. I love to cook, I love to eat, and I love to stay healthy. Thanks for joining me in my homemade journey!

Learn More

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Bluesky
  • Facebook
  • Threads

What's Trending

  • Korean beef and mushrooms over rice in a black bowl.Quick and Easy Korean Beef and Mushroom Bowls
  • Homemade spreadable butter on wheat bread.How to Make Spreadable Butter
  • Sliced pork tenderloin sitting on a bed of sauerkraut on a large plate.Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Sauerkraut
  • Overhead photo of salmon noodle casserole in a glass baking dish.Salmon Noodle Casserole
  • Homemade Rhubarb soup in a white bowl.Rhubarb Soup

Footer

↑ back to top

Policies

  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Opt-Out Preferences
  • Cookie Policy
  • Imprint

Newsletter

Sign Up!

About Me

  • Contact
  • About Carissa
  • Work with Me

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2014-2025

11 shares
Manage your privacy
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required

Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.