Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix

This homemade dry ranch seasoning tastes like you’re beloved ranch dressing packet, but it’s made with a handful of simple ingredients that you already have in your kitchen!

This copycat Hidden Valley ranch is made without buttermilk powder, it’s keto and low-carb, and you can adjust the salt to your taste!

Why you’ll love this recipe

Substitute for ranch packets: This easy recipe is perfect to use when you don’t have ranch dry seasoning packets, and you can substitute in any recipe that calls for it!

No buttermilk! Buttermilk powder is hard to find and not usually shelf stable (you’d have to keep the ranch mix refrigerated). It’s also high in carbs, which isn’t ideal for keto or low-carb. So I made this ranch seasoning without buttermilk.

Simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen: Just dried herbs, salt, pepper, and one ingredient to substitute buttermilk powder that’s low-carb and keto.

Make it yours: I suggest the amounts for herbs, spices and salt but you can, and should, adjust quantities to what is best for you and your family. Eating low-sodium? Reduce it, don’t like dill? Leave it out!

If you are reducing UPFs, homemade is the way to go!

Check out the ingredient list in any ranch packet, and you’ll be surprised by what’s hidden in those valleys. For sure you’ll be getting a lot more sugar, modified food starch and maltodextrin than you signed up for.

And monosodium glutamate, which might be of concern if you are sensitive. It’s there, too.

And let’s not forget the mystery “spices”. Like “fragrance” on non-food products, the purposeful vagueness of the word just puts me off putting it on my body. Or in it, in this case.

Ingredient notes

To make this keto, low-carb, sugar-free AND dairy-free homemade ranch dressing mix you’ll need only a handful of dried herbs and spices.

All the ingredients must be fresh, in the sense as they are recently bought or far from the best-by date. This will guarantee the delicious punchy taste of ranch that you know and love!

(The specific quantities are listed on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post)

Granulated garlic and onion: These can also be powdered or in flakes if that’s what you can find. The important thing is that they are dried.

If you use powdered instead of granulated, reduce the amounts by 1/2 tablespoon. Powdered garlic and onion have a more concentrated flavor by volume, so you’ll need a bit less.

Dried herbs: Dill weed, dried parsley and dried chives.

Ground white (or black) pepper: I prefer white pepper for both taste and color (no black powder specks on the seasoning). You can use black pepper instead.

Cream of tartar: A common baking ingredient, used here to replace buttermilk powder – it gives the characteristic tangy taste of buttermilk ranch dressing.

I decided to make this ranch mix recipe without buttermilk powder. Most DIY ranch mix recipes call for dried buttermilk, but this is an unusual ingredient that’s not low-carb or keto friendly.

You’ll only need a little bit of cream of tartar to give a tangy buttermilk-like taste to this ranch recipe. Not much more than what you’d add to a cookie recipe, or to whisk egg whites.

How to make ranch seasoning from scratch

There’s two ways of making this ranch mix: the easy way and the easiest way!

1. Just mix all ingredients

The easiest way is, you just combine all ingredients together. You can add them all to a bowl and mix with a fork or whisk.

Or, even easier, you could add all the ingredients to a jar (the airtight jar that you plan to store ranch mix in is the best one) and shake it!

The only downside with this method is, that if you are not going to use the whole amount of seasoning at once (it makes 1/2 cup), you’ll need to shake the jar again very well to mix the spices every time you use it.

The finer and heavier spices and powders will settle down at the bottom of the jar, and the greens (chives, parsley, dill) will float at the top.

I find this a bit annoying. So I usually go for the second method, the easy one:

2. Blend or grind all ingredients

Add all the ingredients to a blender or spice grinder and blend/pulse until powdered. It just takes a few seconds.

This DIY ranch seasoning mix can be used exactly like you would use a ranch seasoning packet, which means… on everything!

Because you know that this homemade ranch dressing mix is sugar-free, keto and made with natural ingredients there’s no reason to hold back. Ranch up at will!

Here are great ways to use ranch seasoning:

Make ranch salad dressing

Combine 2 tablespoons of ranch mix with 1/2 cup keto mayonnaise and 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt, plus about 1/4 cup of low-carb milk (e.g. almond or macadamia) or water to thin out the dressing.

You should adjust the quantity of milk to get the salad dressing to the consistency you like. Slowly add the milk for last after mixing the first three ingredients, so you’ll have a feel of the texture.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using to let the flavors mingle.

To make the ranch dressing it more tangy and fresh tasting, add 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Make ranch dip

Combine 2 tablespoons of ranch mix with 1 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream and mix.

You can add low-carb milk or water as needed to make the consistency thinner – one or two tablespoons might be just enough.

Use in recipes

• This addicting keto crack chicken recipe is our new favorite easy weeknight dinner! The combined flavors of ranch, cheddar and bacon are just to die for!
• Sprinkle dry ranch on your veggies before cooking, especially when baking or air frying. Try on these simple roasted radishes, a tasty low-carb potato alternative.
• Add to keto casserole dishes and mashed “potatoes”, like this keto turnip mash. Ranch and keto potatoes are a match made in heaven!
• You can also use it as a dry rub for protein. Be it pork, beef or chicken, ranch kicks the flavor up a notch! Chicken wings with dry ranch rub on the air fryer are incredible!

This homemade ranch recipe is low in salt, so if using it as a rub by itself you’ll need to add the desired amount of salt to the meat first.

How to store and keep fresh

Store the ranch powder in an airtight container for up to 1 year (there’s no need to refrigerate).

After mixing with yogurt or sour cream, dressings and dips made with it should be kept refrigerated and used within 3 days.

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