Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix (no MSG)

Distinctive, tangy, and famously familiar - classic, all-American ranch dressing mix just makes everything taste better. Made of buttermilk powder, basic spices and salt, but with no MSG or other chemicals we don't need in our food. It's just a stir or shake away from being your go-to seasoning, all day every day!

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Now,  what can you do with a packet of ranch dressing? Here's some ideas:

1. Make your own ranch dressing (you know, for salad dressing). If you don't want to use my ranch dressing recipe, for some reason. It's so much better than store-bought ranch!
2. Make ranch dip. This is what we typically use it for at our house. My grandkids will dip pretty much anything from the garden in ranch and proclaim it the best.
3. Branch out and make some Tomatillo Ranch dressing. It's so good on taco salads, tacos, bowls, and all kinds of food that need some sauce.
4. Use it to make my Healthy Blue Cheese dip.
5. If you're allergic to eggs, you can use this mix to make some Egg Free Ranch Dressing.
6. There are lots of recipes that use a ranch dressing mix packet as an ingredient. This mix will replace that in pretty much any recipe.

The Secret Ingredient that Makes This So Good

It was SO hard getting this recipe to taste like the store bought mixes. I tried all kinds of different ways, including adding powdered dried mushrooms! But nothing could take the place of MSG (monosodium glutamate), which makes foods taste extra… savory? (it was hard to put my finger on it).

But I have learned a lot lately about the health issues that can come from eating too much MSG, and I was determined to cut it out of my food as much as I could. Plus, most ranch seasoning packets contain some form of sugar (like maltodextrin). Why would it need sugar? Why?? It's totally unnecessary.

So what was the key ingredient that made it all work? I actually found 2 ingredients that added that super savory, tangy flavor. Either one can do the job - citric acid powder (which is a common canning ingredient), or vitamin C powder (ascorbic acid).

The 6 Things You Need

Once you've got your ingredients out, there's no need to make just one ounce of this mix. It's just as easy to double or triple the recipe (scroll down to see a handy little chart to help  make that even easier). This mix can be kept on your pantry shelf, ready and waiting for you to whip up something delicious.

• Buttermilk powder - use my link for a quick and easy way to get some ASAP.
• Dried dill - for this recipe you will need dried, not fresh herbs. We want this to be a shelf stable mix.
• Dried parsley -although I adore fresh Italian parsley and use it in a lot of recipes, in this case it needs to be dried.
• Garlic powder and onion powder - just those simple ingredients you can find at any grocery store
• Citric acid powder, or vitamin C powder - Either one will do nicely. These are fairly common ingredients, even if they are new to you. Scroll down to find out where to buy them.

Where to Buy the Ingredients

Buttermilk powder is essential to this recipe, but it might be hard to find in your local grocery store. Save yourself some time and go ahead and order it online. You can use it in pancake and waffle mix too.

Citric acid is pretty common in stores where you find canning jars and supplies. Vitamin C powder can be found where vitamins are sold in grocery stores and in health food stores.

For Tangy, Delicious Ranch Dressing Mix

buttermilk powder

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citric acid powder

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vitamin C powder

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Let's Make some Ranch Dressing Mix

Once you try homemade ranch seasoning mix, I bet you'll want to make it again. Just open up this blog post and let these step by step photos be your guide and you can make it along with me. Scroll down to the recipe card for the complete recipe.

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Make a Double or Tripe Batch

If you're getting all the ingredients out, you might as well make a double or triple batch of ranch dressing mix. It is just as easy and will save you time in the future to have a jar of it already made when you need it.

ingredients	To make 1 ounce:	To make 2 ounces:	To make 3 ounces:
buttermilk powder	2 Tablespoons	4 Tablespoons	6 Tablespoons
dried dill	1 teaspoon	2 teaspoons	3 teaspoons
dried parsley	1 teaspoon	2 teaspoons	3 teaspoons
garlic powder	½ teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 ½ teaspoons
onion powder	½ teaspoon	1 teaspoon	1 ½ teaspoons
salt	1 ½ teaspoons	3 teaspoons	4 ½ teaspoons
citric acid/vit. C pwd.	¼ teaspoon	½ teaspoon	¾ teaspoon

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