I love ranch dressing!  It’s good on salad, vegetables, and a lot of other things too.   I think the dry mix packet that you buy at the store is a little expensive, so when I found a recipe for it made mostly with things already in my pantry, I decided to try it.  It really is quite easy to make at home and it actually tastes good.  I also like this recipe because it contains no MSG.  So, why not try your own today?  It’s easy and will save you money at the grocery store.

History of Dry Ranch Mix

The original brand of ranch was Hidden Valley Ranch which was created by Steve Hensen.  He devised a dry mix that would be added with mayonnaise and buttermilk. Hensen and his wife served it at their dude ranch called Hidden Valley Guest Ranch.  The guests at the ranch were reported loving it so much that they not only poured it on their salads but also poured it on their steaks and ice cream.  The guests loved it so much that they started buying jars of it to take home.  When one man wanted to buy 300 jars to take to Hawaii, Hansen offered to give him packets of the dry mix instead so it would be easier to transport and that started a very profitable mail order business.  The business was eventually sold to The Clorox Company.

Dry Ranch Mix Recipe

15 saltine crackers

2 cups dry minced parsley flakes

½ cup dry minced onion

2 Tablespoons dry dill weed

¼ cup onion salt

¼ cup garlic salt

¼ cup onion powder

¼ cup garlic powder

Put crackers through blender on high speed until powdered.  Add parsley, minced onions, and dill weed. Blend again until powdered.  Dump into bowl.  Stir in onion salt, garlic salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.  Put into container with tight-fitting lid. You can store dry mix at room temperature for 1 year.

Makes:  42 (1 tablespoon servings)

Buttermilk Ranch Salad Dressing

 1 Tablespoon dry mix

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup buttermilk

Mix together well.  Recipe makes 1 pint.

Variation: You can add some bacon bits to make a bacon ranch dip.

Ranch Dip

1 tablespoon dry mix

2 cups sour cream

Mix all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.