Homemade Ranch Dressing

Notice: Array to string conversion in /homepages/39/d825246014/htdocs/app826711063/wp-content/plugins/google-captcha/google-captcha.php on line 614

If you’re on a mission to reduce your single use plastic and you’ve got even a fraction of space for an herb garden… you should drop everything and start making your own ranch dressing… immediately!

The herbs in this recipe are so easy to grow!

Thyme is a perennial herb and fresh green leaves emerge amidst the dead stalks in my garden each spring.

Parsley is an annual herb, but it readily re-seeds itself if you let it go to seed at the end of the season. I panicked this year, thinking mine hadn’t re-seeded, and bought new parsley plants… only to find these little beauties a few days later  it’s a good thing I love to eat parsley because I’ve got loads of it now!

Oregano is another perennial that comes back year after year and grows in my herb garden with reckless abandon and I’m always struggling to find ways to incorporate it into my cooking routine.

Bonus points if you make your own sour cream, mayonnaise, and/or yogurt to reduce your single use plastic consumption even further.

Karoline (you can follow her @motherfoodie on Instagram) shared this recipe with me a few weeks ago and we’re officially hooked!

We have modified it slightly to match the ingredients we regularly have on hand, the fact that we like more herby flavor, and cut the recipe in approximately 1/3 to make about a pint of dressing (though we usually store in it a quart jar as shown in the photo below).

Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1-2 sprigs of parsley (1 tsp if using dried)
5-6 sprigs thyme, leaves removed from the tough stalk (1 tsp if using dried)
5-6 leaves oregano (1/2 tsp if using dried)
1 clove garlic
Pinch of sweet paprika
Salt and pepper, to taste

We throw all of the dry ingredients into our food processor to chop first, then add the liquid ingredients.

If you fall in love with making your own ranch dressing, like we did, all of these herbs are easy to dry in bulk at the end of the season so you can make delicious homemade ranch dressing from your own herb garden all year long.

To dry your own herbs:
1. Gather them into small bunches and hang somewhere with good airflow (so they don’t get moldy while drying) for several days.

2. Once herbs are dry and crunchy, remove the leaves (they will naturally crumble) and store them in an airtight container (spice jars, pint jars, or plastic bags all work well).

If you have a food dehydrator, it will speed up the drying process, but it is definitely not necessary.