Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Ranch dressing is something I loved as a kid but could mostly live without now. When it comes to salads, I much prefer lighter dressings like vinaigrettes. However, I’ll occasionally get a craving for vegetables and ranch dressing. As much as I love other dressings, they don’t really work well for dipping vegetables. The thing is, bottled ranch dressing kind of makes me gag. It’s just so thick and gloopy, not at all what I want to dip my carrot and celery sticks in. Homemade ranch dressing, on the other hand, is everything the bottled kind isn’t – fresh, light in texture and absolutely delicious.

If you’re anything like me, you probably have all the ingredients you need for this dressing in your refrigerator. This dressing beats anything you can buy from the store because it’s made fresh when you want it. Plus, making it is as simple as tossing all the ingredients in your food processor and hitting the pulse button a few times. I loved this dressing as is, especially the bit of tang from the Dijon, but I may try adding a handful of parsley next time just to up the herby flavor. I bet the basil could be replaced with dill for a different spin, too (which I’m guessing would be fabulous with fried pickles). I’ve enjoyed having this and carrot sticks as a snack every afternoon, and it would be a wonderful addition to any crudités platter you may be serving this weekend for the Super Bowl. Even if you’re not serving vegetables, imagine how good wings would taste dipped in homemade ranch. I definitely plan on having a jar of this around (with plenty of fresh vegetables) when the baby comes so that I can snack to my heart’s content.