Looking for a from-scratch Ranch dressing recipe? You’ll find it, here.
One of the most common questions we get is how to get picky eaters to eat. That is a great question. And pretty much one I don’t have the answer to. I have two picky eaters, and the really tricky thing is that they’re picky in different ways. My 7-year-old doesn’t like how certain foods like meat, most fruits, pretty much all potatoes, oatmeal and other hot cereals, any kind of dip or dressing, and jam (yes, jam) feel in his mouth. What will he eat? Cheese, bread, vegetables, cold cereal, macaroni and cheese, seafood (huh??) and chicken nuggets (because apparently those aren’t meat). Nutritionally speaking, he could probably be in worse shape.
My 4-year-old daughter has all sorts of sudden food likes and dislikes that are usually influenced by her BFF of the week (I’m way more concerned about that than I am about her picky eating). I can, however, convince her to eat just about anything if I serve it with ketchup or Ranch (which she refers to as “white ketchup.”)
I had really mean parents that made me get a job when I was 16 (don’t tell them that after all that whining, I’m really thankful for those experiences now). From the time I was 16 until I was 22 or so, pretty much every job I had was in the restaurant industry. And, with the exception of Summer from Hell in a grocery store bakery, all of those jobs involved Ranch dressing in some form or another. At one particular Utah-based sandwich establishment that roasts their own turkeys and bakes their own artisan breads, customers felt strongly passionate about the Ranch dressing served there. I made it every morning for 2 years and it’s so unbelievably beyond easy. And before you say, “Hey, lame-o, post a real recipe!”, let me just tell you that yes, I’m just making a few tweaks to the instructions on the packet, but a) this isn’t a recipe, it’s more of a tip, b) those few tweaks end up making a HUGE difference, and c) this is always something I have to go back and look up to make sure I have the right proportions, so now I’ll always know where to find it.
You’ll need a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix, buttermilk, mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip), and Greek yogurt.
You can use sour cream in place of Greek yogurt, but I’ve found fat-free Greek yogurt tastes much better than fat-free sour cream, and since I’m trying my darndest to not gain 82 pounds this pregnancy, I use the fat-free Greek yogurt. If you’re going to use sour cream, I definitely recommend either using full-fat or reduced-fat, but not fat-free.
Disregard the instructions on the packet. Place 1 cup of mayonnaise (or reduced-fat, but not fat-free mayo) in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup buttermilk and 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt.
Add the contents of the dressing packet. In this particular case, I actually prefer the original Hidden Valley Ranch dressing (instead of the buttermilk), but alas, I grabbed the wrong packet out of the pantry. Also, if you have a hard time with packaged salad dressings, check out this recipe.
Whisk it together. That’s it. Use it as a salad dressing or a dip for veggies.
True story: during one of our many Ikea trips last year when we were remodeling our kitchen, I came across their little espresso cups and saucers. They were ADORABLE and irresistible and, in true Ikea fashion, so cheap that I couldn’t not buy a set, even if it was only one cup and saucer and even if I don’t drink coffee. And then I came home and back to my senses and wondered what the heck I was going to do with a teeny tiny cup and saucer. My answer?
That’s right. Perfect little portions of veggies and dip. This is seriously the only way I can get my daughter to eat broccoli–she pretends it’s a tea party. Wouldn’t these cups and saucers be perfect way to serve veggies at a baby or bridal shower? Tiny things make everything more delicious…
Restaurant-Style Ranch Dressing
Recipe from Our Best Bites, inspired by Kneaders Bakery
1 cup mayonnaise or light mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
Instructions:
Whisk ingredients together. Serve as a salad dressing or dip for vegetables. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch. As always, our opinions, ideas, and thoughts are completely our own.
Questions & Reviews
Kids are so funny! Each of mine went through different food phases but my youngest was the worse. But ranch dressing ALWAYS stayed popular. Don’t worry it gets better, just keep offering them a variety of items and they eventually decide to try it. Although I don’t like the bottled or packet dressings (I always make my own….ranch, ceasar, vigerettes, etc) I do love that you give people the option. And I LOVE the cup and saucer idea (SO cute!), wish I had thought of it when my daughter was younger. 🙂
Teresa, about the Homemade Ranch dressing mix you posted…onion is in the recipe 3 different ways: dried minced, powder and onion salt? Just double checking.
Never tried greek yogurt in my ranch…can’t wait to see how it turns out:) Also surprised at how hateful some people feel the need to be. I’ve read this blog forever too and really appreciate the diversity of it. Little tips and tricks in the kitchen are certainly appreciated by lots of us and I’ve never heard either of you claim to be nutritionists. Just don’t make it if you don’t like it and don’t read the blog at all if the posts bother you. Pretty simple. Love you girls!!
This is life, real life, not a perfect little world. That means sometimes I use a can of cream of something soup, sometimes I grab a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch to take with my veggie tray to a BBQ and stop reading now, but sometimes my kids eat McDonald’s! aahhhh! I think any tip on how to make my life easier, or my food tastier is very much appreciated. Thank you guys for all you do!
Amen to that!
Love the idea of using the espresso cups and saucers!! My daughter could eat her weight in carrots if I gave her enough ranch.
Kate, I have to know what Utah restaurant that is. I would like to go there and try their fresh sandwiches.
Kneaders?
Melenie, you got it! 🙂 Tracey, it’s Kneaders and SUPER delicious. 🙂
Ok, next can we have the recipe for the Kneaders sauce? I think it’s some kind of mustard/mayo mixture but it is so delicious and every time we are in Utah I make my husband stop so I can have a turkey sandwich with Kneader’s sauce!!
Also, with the ranch packet, a little trick I saw on pinterest was to make it with just 1 c Greek yogurt and 1/2 c skim milk. It is way low fat and cal that way and my kids don’t even know the difference. Mine eat it like it’s going out of style so that makes me feel a little better about it (and I’m so glad to see in the comments here I can find a packet without MSG!) I also like it this way when it’s just for dipping veggies. Anything to get the kids to eat veggies, right?
Okay, I can’t remember the proportions exactly (it’s been 10 years! Yikes!!!) But I’m pretty sure it was 2 parts mayo, 1 part sour cream, 1 part mustard. So 1 cup mayo, 1/2 cup mustard, 1/2 cup sour cream. Try it out for me because I’m too lazy to do it myself right now, lol! 🙂
Going to try it this weekend. I need to get some good turkey. You may have just changed my life and made it so I never have to return to Utah again. Since we now have Cafe Rio in CA the only thing (besides tons of family) bringing me back to Utah was the Kneader’s sauce. The family is just going to have to come to CA now!
I was so excited when I saw this was your post today! Thanks for sharing! I love the variety of recipes you post.
Wow, for all the happiness you bring there sure are a lot of Negative Nellies out there!!! Why the hating on using a packet mix?? This was done because the majority of us use things like pre-mixed seasoning packets and this is one way to make them more enjoyable. Everyone has their right to pick and choose what they eat/don’t eat and I think it’s great that OBB shows a spectrum of things, from meals and recipes completely from scratch for those who are into that, and things like this that just make an everyday item a little more special for those of us who don’t have the time to milk our own cows and harvest herbs from our fresh herb garden because we would rather spend that time playing with our kids and cultivating our family relationships. I say thank you to these ladies for all their hard work and for sharing all of their wisdom. No one is going to make and love every recipe or idea they post, but let’s face it, even if you’re not going to make the recipe from a post, it’s still enjoyable to read what they’ve written because it will undoubtedly make you smile =) Thank you for the Ranch tip, I will definitely be trying it because I swear bottled Ranch is NEVER as good as what most of us call the “home-made” Ranch from the packets. Cook on ladies, cook on!!!!
I’m confused. Did you just tell us how to make ranch dressing from a packet? A packet loaded with MSG. Very disappointing.
Don’t like it? Don’t make it. No need for the negative, hateful comments. This is a free blog with lovely tips and tricks. They never claimed to be your dietician.
Heather, you are full of more drama than Desperate Housewives.
Ellen, you are a mean, hateful, woman. I pity the people who have to deal with you on a regular basis. Heather is trying to make it clear that we should be thankful to have access to such an awesome, FREE, blog. I’m with Heather… Don’t like it, don’t make it. Super simple!
Homemade Ranch Dressing is the bomb! I’ve never made it with sour cream, though, so I’m definitely going to try it. I do, however, make my own Ranch Seasoning Mix. I have adapted the Taste of Home’s Ranch Dressing Mix Plus recipe as follows:
1 cup dried parsley
1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/2 cup dried minced onion
2 T. garlic salt
2 T. onion salt
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
2 T. dill weed
PULSE ingredient in blender. Store in airtight container. Use as your would Ranch Seasoning Mix. (Note: original recipe called for 1/2 cup garlic salt and 1/2 cup onion salt… WAY too salty!)
Teresa, how much of your mix equals one of the packets? Looks great! I never would have thought to use crackers. Have you tried it with buttermilk powder?