Katie Lee Biegel Just Shared The Secrets To Her Best Homemade Ranch Dressing

And we can't stop making it!

Hidden Valley holds down a lot of the ranch market. Their seasoning packets are a staple in the Southern Living Test Kitchen, and there’s even a Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream (!).

But similar to how nearly every Southern cook has their own secret technique or ingredients to make their fried chicken or biscuits stand out, many creative culinary minds shake up their own sauces and dressings—including ranch—and swear by their signature blends.

In other words, Hidden Valley isn’t the only ranch in town.

Ree Drummond, for one, calls for a base of buttermilk, mayonnaise, and sour cream in her Best Homemade Ranch Dressing. She doctors up those creamy components with white vinegar, garlic powder, fresh dill, salt, and black pepper.

Our go-to Herbed Buttermilk Ranch Dressing takes that same triple-play base and ups the ante with real garlic, shallot, fresh parsley and chives, hot sauce, and whole-grain Dijon mustard.

And another Southern chef, Katie Lee Biegel, has an ultra-easy equation for her perfect ranch, which she declares "the king of all dressing recipes," in a recent behind-the-scenes Instagram demo.

"A homemade ranch is really easy to put together, so I think it’s worth the extra effort… It starts with my favorite ingredient: mayonnaise," the Huntington, West Virginia, native explains, before noting that she always opts for full-fat mayo for this purpose. (You’ll need one cup.)

As she pours 1/2 cup buttermilk into a bowl alongside the mayo, Biegel adds, "the buttermilk gives us a nice tang, a little zing."

She then spices things up with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives, and 2 tablespoons fresh parsley.

Biegel goes on to suggest a couple optional upgrades:

• "If you want this to be a cheesier ranch, you can totally add some Parmesan in there as well."

• "Some people like dill in their ranch; some people don’t. You do you!"

As a refresher, Biegel’s "best" ranch is simply 1 cup mayo + 1/2 cup buttermilk + 2 tablespoons each minced fresh chives and minced fresh parsley +  1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, salt, and pepper. It makes about 1 1/4 cups, and any ranch not used immediately can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

This homemade ranch recipe is so tasty, it will likely not last nearly that long, fans confirm: “I make this so much! It’s become our favorite! The dressing IS truly the best and doesn’t need the dill (and I LOVE dill),” one says.

Another adds, “I have made Katie’s Ranch while being skeptical on the lack of dill. She is right; it doesn’t belong! [This is the] first homemade ranch I have made that I like, and I have made dozens.”

Biegel originally shared her signature ranch recipe with Food Network as a topping for her five-star BBQ Chicken Ranch Salad. That salad also stars romaine, roasted sweet potatoes, shredded rotisserie chicken doctored up with barbecue sauce, pickled and fried onions, black beans, avocado, and cherry tomatoes.

As someone who has known to share her penchant for “trough salads” often on Instagram and Food Network’s The Kitchen, it’s fitting that she ends her ranch dressing how-to video with this note: "If I was stranded on a desert island and I had to pick one thing to eat, I would ask for a salad bar because the combinations are endless."

With that in mind, we imagine Biegel’s ranch dressing would also be incredible with our Crunchy Okra with Corn Salad, chicken wings, Southern Cornbread Salad, and Bacon-Ranch Pasta Salad.

For more Southern Living news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Southern Living.