Salsa Ranch Dressing

Homemade salad dressing is so much easier than you think! This simple salsa ranch dressing has only a handful of staple ingredients and tastes way better than store bought.

Although I’m certainly no purist when it comes to food, I try to eat whole foods whenever possible. I like to live by the 80/20 rule – 80% of my diet should be healthy veggies, fruits and proteins, and the other 20% can be cocktails and cookies.

I especially try to avoid highly processed foods. I LOVE creamy ranch salad dressing, but most store-bought options are full of ingredients that I can barely pronounce, much less identify.

Thankfully, homemade ranch dressing is super simple to make, and tastes better than anything you’ll get from the grocery store. This salsa ranch dressing is one of my favorites. With creamy yogurt and buttermilk, fresh green onion, jalapeno pepper, sweet cherry tomatoes and lots of dill, this salad dressing takes the best flavors of classic ranch dressing and pairs them with the best flavors of fresh salsa. All you need is a food processor or blender and a few minutes of prep time to make the perfect homemade dressing for your next taco salad.

For other delicious homemade salad dressings, try my super popular Greek yogurt Caesar dressing, or blackberry balsamic vinaigrette.

You Will Love This

• This salad dressing is made with a handful of simple ingredients and is ready in just a few minutes. It’s easy enough even for the busy weeknights.
• This dressing is great for taco night! Drizzle it over a crisp bed of romaine lettuce for a killer taco salad, or serve it as a dip for raw veggies like bell peppers.
• This 100% homemade dressing doesn’t have any yucky additives – no need to worry about artificial colors or flavors, preservatives or other questionable ingredients.

Ingredients

For this homemade salsa ranch dressing, you need the following ingredients (exact measurements are in the recipe card below):

• Cherry tomatoes: You could substitute grape tomatoes. If you use large tomatoes, like a slicing tomato, remove the seeds first.
• Fresh green onions: For a little different flavor, try chives or red onions.
• Fresh garlic clove
• Jalapeno pepper: I used pickled jalapeno pepper for a little more mild jalapeno flavor. You could substitute fresh jalapeno for more spice.
• Dried dill
• Sour cream: I prefer full fat sour cream for this recipe.
• Greek yogurt: I used 2% plain Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is great in this recipe because it is extra thick and creamy. I don’t recommend substituting regular yogurt, as it contains much more liquid and will result in a thin dressing.
• Buttermilk
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper

Instructions

Step One: Add washed and dried cherry tomatoes, green onions, garlic, jalapeno pepper and dill to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for about 30 seconds, until everything is well blended and reaches the consistency of a restaurant-style salsa.

Step Two: Add the sour cream, Greek yogurt, buttermilk, salt and pepper. Pulse a few times until just combined. Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately!

Can I use store bought or leftover salsa?

Yes! This dressing is one of my favorite ways to use up leftover salsa. Omit the first four ingredients, and instead add about 1/2 cup of fresh salsa to your food processor. Proceed with the rest of the recipe. Using a premade salsa will change the flavor of your dressing (a hot salsa will lead to a spicier dressing, etc), so make sure to taste the dressing at the end and adjust your seasonings or add more salsa if needed. If using a store-bought jarred salsa, I recommend waiting until the very end to add salt and pepper to taste, as jarred salsa is often saltier than fresh salsa.

Storage

Store leftover salad dressing in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Salad dressing will keep for a few days. It will thicken up in the refrigerator, so add a little additional buttermilk or regular milk to thin it out again before serving, if needed.