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
I am both kind of surprised and rather relieved to hear that you have picky eaters! Your seven-year-old sounds a LOT like mine. Will not eat hardly anything, dipped in ranch or otherwise, except oatmeal (at least that’s healthy, right? Like you said, could be worse!). But I might get my five-year-old to try something with ranch (he likes BBQ sauce, anyway). Thanks for the idea!
(For the record, I like your recipes … but I love your “tips!” My favorite is the watermelon-cutting tutorial. Changed my life, seriously. I’m so excited for summer, and it’s partially because I can eat watermelon without having to spend all afternoon slicing it.)
Can’t wait to try this! Your blog, book, and calendar are WONDERFUL!!!! How about a blog post about how to roast a turkey for those yummy turkey sandwiches. Thanks for all you two do!!! 🙂
Julianne, you could always use this post:
https://fit-over50.news/2011/11/kates-thanksgiving-turkey-2/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Oh and I REALLY wanna hear about “Summer From Hell.” HAHAHAHAHHAHA!! I LOL’ed!
Oh, gosh. It was bad. I got to witness inept management at its finest… 🙂
I want to hear about it too, I worked at a grocery store bakery in college. good times.
Oh yeah! I love to see how others tweak HVR Dressing! So many great things you can do. Here is what I do:
3T. HVR dressing (because *I* buy it by the can at Sam’s Club 😛 to the haters)
3 tsp. fresh garlic
1/4 cup parmesean cheese
1 tsp. Lemon Pepper seasoning (no salt-if you have the kind with salt, be careful-lots of salt!)
2 green onions, washed and chopped
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 cup mayo
1cup sour cream (you can incorporate the new buttermilk and Greek yogurt here!)
Whisk the ingredients together and chill. Serve with a rainbow of raw veggies or over Fried Green Tomatoes!
Thank you for all the fun posts!! I look forward to each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to see the new idea you share. My family has tried and LOVED several recipes from your blog, so thank you!! I am so excited for you new cookbook to come out as well. Thanks for all your hard work! There are lots and lots and lots of people who truly appreciate all you do!!
So I think that when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant you have the right to post whatever you want, whether it has anything to do with food or not. Especially since we all know that when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant you always feel like you are about 14 months pregnant and the last thing you want to do is work or make food or please other people. I think next week you should post “how to take a nap on the sofa” or “how to get in the car and drive to the shop and get a pedicure.” Or you could go into labor and not post anything at all (assuming it’s not too early).
Second, I am not a ranch dressing connoisseur, but now that you mention it the dressing at a restaurant always tastes better than the bottle I buy from costco. I am glad to know how to make the restaurant kind at home. Thanks for posting!
Third, don’t you love Ikea? Veggies and ranch in a tiny cup & saucer would be so cute for a little girl’s birthday party!
Ellie, you win for Comment of the Day, hahaha! I’m totally posting a tutorial on how to take a nap next week. 🙂
🙂 I concur! Naps are wonderful!
I laughed when I saw that you posted your son will only eat the chicken nuggets. When my son was a toddler he wouldn’t eat meat…only chicken nuggets. One night we were having pork chops for dinner and I cut his into nugget size and breaded them and baked them. Viola! Pork Chicken Nuggets. 🙂 Not sure your 7 year old will fall for it, but it may be worth trying when your already serving pork to the rest of your family. 🙂 Also, great idea to mix the greek yogurt in. I have been doing the mix for years (because the bottle is gross) and wanted a way to make it slightly healthier.
I love this post! I went straight to the store and got all the ingredients. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks!!
I didn’t like it with the greek yogurt but all of my kids loved it. That just means more for me when I make it with sour cream. What’s up with everyone hating on Ranch? It’s also good with grated cheese in it.
can’t wait to try this! love your blog! thank you both so much! i have never tried anything from your blog or book that my family didn’t love!
oh and i LOVE all the tips and tricks 🙂
I wish I had this yesterday! I just made a new batch last night using the package directions. Yes, normal people use the packages and sometimes … even the bottle! I know, heresy. Thank you girls for all you do and keep up the good work!