Homemade Ranch Seasoning (MSG Free!) - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

Homemade ranch seasoning mix that you can make in just 5 minutes with ingredients that you already have in your pantry! Much better and cheaper than the processed packs that you buy from the store. Perfect for dips, dressings, and to be used as a seasoning!

I use lots of spice mixes in my kitchen, and most of the time I make my own homemade blends instead of buying them. Think about it, it’s just a few spices and herbs that you can buy and use to make everything from taco and fajita seasonings to old bay seasoning, french fry seasoning, shawarma seasoning, Italian seasoning, and many many more!

Ranch seasoning mix is something that I use pretty often. I used to buy the little packets of ranch seasoning, but when I started paying more attention to labels, I realized that the store-bought packets contain too many harmful ingredients including MSG (PS. MSG is supposedly safe to consume, but I still prefer to avoid it), and ingredients that I can’t even pronounce.

So I decided to start making my own homemade version of ranch seasoning and after a few tries, I managed to get the flavor right on point! So here’s my copycat recipe for a healthier preservative-free (and MSG free) ranch seasoning that does NOT taste artificial!

How to Make Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix

First, gather the ingredients, here’s what you’ll need:

• Dried Parsley, dried dill weed, and dried chives.
• Dried minced garlic (or granules or powder), and dried minced onion.
• Salt and pepper.
• Buttermilk powder, can be substituted with dried milk powder. Leave it out if you’re not using the seasoning within a month.

What is Buttermilk Powder?

Buttermilk powder is just buttermilk that has been processed into a dry powder. It’s perfect to keep in your pantry/fridge to use whenever you need a little bit of buttermilk without having to buy a whole carton that you’ll have to use up within a few days.

Buttermilk powder can be found on the shelf near the powdered milk in the baking aisle at the grocery store. The brand that I used is Saco, and it comes in a 12oz container.

To make the seasoning, whisk all of the ingredients together until well combined. If you want a finer mixture, you can blend it in a food processor or a spice grinder until you reach the consistency that you want.

How to Use Ranch Seasoning

I like to use ranch seasoning mix to make a dressing, dip, or simply sprinkle it over popcorn, fries, or roasted vegetables!

To make a ranch dip, mix 3 tablespoons of ranch seasoning with 1¾cups sour cream and⅓cup of buttermilk.

To make a ranch dressing, find my recipe here.

For the ranch popcorn, just toss 6 cups of popped popcorn with 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning.

For oven-baked fries with ranch, make fries according to the directions in this baked fries recipe tossing the potatoes with 1 tablespoon of ranch seasoning before baking and omitting the rest of the seasonings.

Storing Tips

I usually store my seasoning blends in airtight glass containers, I love my mini Weck jars, and I recently bought a set of 24 glass spice jars and they’re great! Perfect size for storing herbs and spices, and they come with screw-on caps and handy labels.

I usually store spices for up to 6 months in my pantry, but as there’s buttermilk powder in this recipe then it’s recommended that you store the ranch seasoning in the fridge for up to 1 month.

For longer shelf life, leave the buttermilk powder out and just whisk the rest of the ingredients and store them in a jar in your pantry. Add buttermilk powder before using.

If you’re after a good homemade ranch dressing recipe, mine is lightened up with sour cream and uses fresh herbs. It’s SO good when served with pizza! 😍