Barb Hodgens
Barb Hodgens

Barb Hodgens loves to cook with alternative, healthy whole food ingredients, with a focus on gut health. Barb has overcome her own gut health issues through healthy eating. Share your ideas, comments and photos at the end of this post :)

Homemade Ranch Dressing

A delicious way to get beneficial bacteria into your family’s diet.

Here’s a Ranch dressing you can feel good about feeding to your family. This probiotic-rich, yogurt-based dressing is a delicious way to add beneficial bacteria to your family’s diet.

Store-bought Ranch dressing may be convenient, but you might be shocked by the list of flavour enhancers, sugar, unhealthy fat and fillers that go into it. When it comes to nutrition, nothing beats making your own. This homemade Ranch dressing relies on only natural ingredients for flavour. With homemade cultured dairy as a gut-nurturing creamy base, you’ll get healthy fat and protein in every serve.

If you fancy a bit of extra spice, a sweeter finish or an umami dimension we provide a few simple additions to experiment with.

homemade Ranch dressing

So, if you’re concerned about unnatural additives in your dressings, but don’t want to miss out on tasty condiments, give this homemade Ranch a try. It’s delicious. It's versatile! Here are a few ways to enjoy it:

Leafy salads
Coleslaw dressing
Pasta or pasta salads
Baked potatoes, jacket potatoes
Dipping hot potato chips & wedges
Dipping veggie sticks
Sandwiches, wraps and burgers
Dipping chicken nuggets or tenders
Dipping buffalo chicken or cauliflower
And much much more!

homemade Ranch dressing

Any of the following homemade yogurt recipes will be suitable:

SCD & GAPS homemade yogurt (24-hour yogurt)
L Reuteri probiotic yogurt – or this recipe
Raw milk yogurt
A2 milk yogurt
Greek Yogurt
Goat milk yogurt
Quark
Sour cream (cultured cream)

Use our measurements as a guide. You can change the ratio of cream to yogurt depending on your taste preference or what you have on hand. If the dressing is too thick, simply thin it down by adding a little whey, lemon juice or water.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of cultured cream (homemade sour cream)
½ cup homemade yogurt
1 garlic clove crushed
2 tablespoons parsley finely chopped
1 tablespoon dill finely chopped
1 tablespoon of chives or spring onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon of mustard (additive free)
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste 

Optional extras

1-2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup
1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Green chilli or jalapeño finely chopped 

Tip: Make this dressing at least an hour before you need it, so the garlic and herbs have a chance to meld with the cream. 

METHOD

1.   For a rustic style ranch dressing: combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. 
2.   For a smooth, fleck free ranch dressing: add all the ingredients into the clear Vibe Blender jug and blend on ‘smoothie’ mode for approx. 20 seconds.
3.   Store in an airtight glass jar in the fridge until required. 
4.   Homemade cultured Ranch dressing will keep for at least a week.
5.   If separation occurs, just give it a quick stir or shake before using it. 

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Homemade Ranch dressing