This ranch dressing is the secret weapon I use to get my kids (and husband? sshh!) to eat a lot of salads and raw veggies. It’s quick to make and doesn’t have all the garbage that dressings from the store have. I am working on making homemade mayo so I can get soybean oil out of this recipe. Mayo recipe to come soon.

The base for this is 1/2 mayonnaise, 1/2 sour cream. If you leave it as this it will be good for dipping. If you want to be able to pour it, add buttermilk or whole milk a little at a time until you get the right consistency. Be sure to add a little of the secret ingredient, pickle juice! Keep in mind that I don’t ever measure any of this and it turns out great, even if the amounts are a little different. Here are approximate amounts to get you started, it’s totally ok if you just sprinkle and don’t measure.

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4-1/2 cup buttermilk or whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh parsley
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or Real Salt (what we have been using lately)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon or more pickle juice (we like Claussen or any high quality pickles)

Instructions

Mix all that stuff up! Keeps for about a week in the fridge or whenever the dairy products expire.

Wishing you a happy weekend and delicious salads!

P.S. We went to California this week and enjoyed the Monterey Bay Aquarium and visited our good friends, Katie’s godparents. Here is a selfie of us and the pygmy oaks, proof that you CAN get 8 people into a selfie! :)