Salt-Free Ranch Seasoning Mix Recipe

Ingredient Notes

This ranch seasoning recipe is salt-free and it only uses common pantry ingredients.

• Parsley Herb, dried
• Dill Weed, dried
• Garlic Powder – I prefer unroasted, but you can use roasted too for your ranch spice.
• Onion Powder – You can use a plain or roasted onion powder.
• Black Pepper
• Chives, dried

If you don't have dried parsley, dill and chives, dry them yourself. You can dry herbs in the air over time, in the oven or with the help of a dehydrator.

How to make it?

Fortunately, preparing this ranch spice blend is super easy if you have all your loose dried herbs and spices ready.

Step 1

Keep your herbs and spices ready.

Measure them out and place them into a mixing bowl or spice jar.

Step 2

If you use a mixing bowl, stir them all together.

If you placed your herbs and spices into a jar, close the jar and shake it.

Step 3

Use your ranch seasoning in your favorite dishes or store it in a jar.

Tips

You will appreciate these tips if you are new to preparing homemade spice and seasoning blends.

• Your herbs and spices should be well dried and in a powdered form so that the ranch seasoning mixes well.
• Keep in mind that onion and garlic powder tend to be heavier than the herbs in ranch seasoning, so they tend to fall to the bottom of your jar. I recommend shacking or stirring your ranch spice mix before using it in your food.
• For the best and highest quality seasoning blend, dry your spices and herbs from scratch at home. Spice brands tend to grind and sell lower quality spices as powders to hide the fact that their product isn't that great.
• You can air dry or use a dehydrator to dry your herbs and spices. Grind them in a spice grinder or coffee grinder or stone mortar and pestle.
• The fastest way to make your own ranch spice is to use store-bought herbs and spices.
• High quality dried herbs and spices are rich in aroma and superior in taste, but they also cost more. Decide on your priorities, quality vs. quantity and price point.

Storing

Spices and herbs need to be always stored away from humidity, heat and direct sunlight.

Your homemade ranch seasoning is good for a few months if stored properly in your pantry.

In a humid climate, such as Florida or the tropics, I recommend storing your ranch seasoning in an Air conditioned room or simply in your fridge.

Dried herbs can turn moldy fast in a hot and humid climate and ranch spice is mostly made of herbs.

Just keep in mind that herbs and spices tend to lose quality and intensity over time.

This is why it's better to prepare a smaller batch, as per my recipe, instead of prepping large batches to save a dime.

Uses

Ranch seasoning is super useful if you want to prepare your homemade ranch dressing for salads or ranch dip.

It's an all-rounder spice blend! I mean, you can sprinkle some over your chicken, shrimps, and even fish.

You will also love this herb seasoning in other dips. Just add a dash or Teaspoon to your favorite sour cream dipping sauce or cream cheese dip or cottage cheese dip.

I encourage experimenting a bit and stepping out of your comfort zone. Think roasted potatoes and ranch popcorn.

I have tried adding a teaspoon of ranch seasoning to my Dijon mustard vinaigrette, and it blew my mind! Try adding some to other salad dressing.

FAQs

What's Ranch Seasoning?

Ranch seasoning is a blend of herbs and spices popularized by Hidden Valley.

Their main product is Ranch Dressing, which was invented by Steve Henson and his Hidden Valley brand. He started out with his Hidden valley ranch in Santa Barbara, California.

The original Ranch dressing was such a success and ranch seasoning packets, also called dry ranch dressing mix, were added to the product line.

Today, it makes us want to have everything ranch flavored, from chicken to salad and beyond and that's when this seasoning comes to play.

This particular Ranch Seasoning recipe, contrary to ranch dressing, is dairy-free because it doesn't include buttermilk powder. It's fab for all suffering from lactose intolerance.

I chose not to include buttermilk powder in my recipe because getting it is not always easy, and it's not a common ingredient. It's not absolutely necessary.

This homemade version is also oil-free, vegan, and gluten-free.

More Herb Blends

Do you like DIY seasoning blends prepared with dried herbs?

To add Italian or Mediterranean flavors to your food, I can recommend the Italian herb mixture, the garlic herb seasoning mix, and the southern French Herbes de Provence.

The pasta seasoning is for all spaghetti sauce flavoring needs.