An Old Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe (Careful! This one is addicting)

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A true back-pocket gem, my Old Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing recipe gets along well with just about anything. It’s great drizzled and dolloped atop some crunchy lettuces (Little Gems here) and fresh veggies in a simple side salad as I’ve pictured here. But it’s also great on wraps and sandwiches, as a sauce for grilled pork or chicken, and as a dip for crudités as well. Read on for a few tips and tricks, or just jump ahead to the recipe.

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Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe FAQ’s

What is buttermilk salad dressing made of?

Buttermilk salad dressing is very similar to a classic ranch dressing, but just pared down a little bit. This simple mix is a blend of rich mayonnaise, tangy buttermilk, punchy garlic, herbs (here, parsley or dill), and usually a little more acid from either lemon juice or a splash of vinegar.

What is the difference between buttermilk dressing and ranch dressing?

There’s a fine line between a simple Southern-style buttermilk salad dressing and a classic ranch. Ranch typically has more going on – more herbs and seasonings for sure – and also some sour cream. This buttermilk dressing sticks to one herb and we’ll nix the sour cream, as the buttermilk brings quite enough acid to the table I think (so does the lemon).

How long can you keep buttermilk dressing?

This homemade dressing will keep nicely in the fridge for up to about one week. I never recommend freezing homemade salad dressings, as that can really mess with the consistency, creating something that feels less creamy and not as appetizing .

What you’ll need to make this Old Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe

This is pretty straightforward and classic. We’ll use a mayonnaise base and, instead of sour cream, we’ll reach for some creamy, tangy buttermilk instead. Buttermilk, incidentally, is one of my all-time favorite ingredients. I love it in dishes both sweet and savory, and it’s just liquid gold to me. It’s also not unhealthy, as the name might have you think. So, that’s a bonus.

Old Fashioned Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe INGREDIENTS

Mayonnaise: You could also add sour cream to this mix, but I find that it’s a little redundant with the buttermilk. The buttermilk serves to both add acid/tang and to thin out the mayo. The lovability of buttermilk truly knows no bounds.

Buttermilk (full fat): See above. But let’s be honest, you can’t have a good old fashioned buttermilk salad dressing without the top billed ingredient itself. You will almost always be directed to use full-fat buttermilk in your recipes, as anything lightened up will typically replace the lost fats with sugar. So, you’re not doing your health or your waistline any favors in the end. But that’s just my two cents.

Garlic: A little bit of freshly grated garlic is such an essential component to a great homemade salad dressing. But a little truly does go a long way, so if your clove is humongous, you may want to only use half.

Chives (to taste): A little allium action is a quintessential part of a classic old fashioned Southern buttermilk dressing. You could use green onions/scallions instead, but the dainty flecks of green chives are perfect to me. They blend in seamlessly to our beautiful dressing and round out the flavor profile.

Green Herb of Choice: In addition to the oniony bite from the aforementioned chives, I like to select one more green herb to use in my old fashioned Southern buttermilk dressing but nothing to loud, like say … tarragon. I’d say go for dill or some grassy parsley. I say “grassy” in the best way here. Or, you could use both I suppose, but one nice fresh herb will really add a lovely note to our Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing recipe.

Lemon Juice: Even though the star ingredient does give nice tang to the Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing recipe, we still will benefit from a splash of fresh lemon. You could get away with just using the zest if you’d like. That will work nicely as well, and you could save the lemon for another use.

Lots of freshly cracked black pepper: Lots and lots.

Salt: We should season our salad dressings rather aggressively, as they’re going to ultimately flavor our whole salads, right? Yep.

How to make our Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe

It literally doesn’t get any easier than this, y’all.

Southern Buttermilk Salad Dressing Recipe DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking until very smooth, and using as much/little of each as you like.
This should be to YOUR taste. If you love a lot of lemon, go a little heavier there. Love onions like I do? Add extra chives. Want it thinner? Add more buttermilk until it’s just right. Make it yours …

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