Rachael Ray's Homemade Ranch Dip Is the Tastiest Last-minute Super Bowl Snack

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We don’t know what your plans are for the Super Bowl, but you can’t go wrong with the classic pastime of spending your entire paycheck on a huge assortment of snacks, take-out, and special drinks. But if you ever decide you maybe don’t need to shell out an arm and a leg for a full arsenal of good eats for the big game, Rachael Ray has you covered. Sometimes, just making one or two of your favorite munchies from scratch can up the ante on your entire snack spread — less is more. We think that for your time, money, and effort, there’s no better bet than swapping out that greasy store-bought ranch dip for Rachael Ray’s homemade ranch dip recipe instead.

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Store-bought ranch (especially the shelf-stable kind) just can’t compare to the taste of homemade. Instead of just tasting like salt and grease, homemade ranch dip is creamy, garlicky, and filled with aromatic fresh herbs that help brighten up the usual dipping subjects, from potato chips to buffalo wings. But it’s also a great way to dress up crudite, so you can eat some extra veggies during the game while still feeling like they’re a treat.

Courtesy of Ballantine Books.

Ray’s ranch dip recipe is really easy to make. She calls for a base of Greek yogurt or sour cream, but she doesn’t add mayo or buttermilk, because she wants it to be a thick dip rather than a dressing. It is important to use full-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream though, so the dip still has a rich and creamy texture even without the mayo.

Then comes the flavor. Ray adds freshly grated garlic, lemon zest, and lemon juice to the base of the dip which adds a much-needed hint of brightness. Worcestershire sauce, Frank’s Ret Hot sauce, salt and pepper round things out. But ranch wouldn’t be ranch without the green element.

Courtesy of Frank’s.

Ray finely chops a selection of green herbs before stirring them into the rest of the dip: a combination of chives, parsley, and dill. Fresh herbs make a big difference here, so it’s worth tracking them down.

The result is an affordable homemade ranch dip that tastes so much better than store-bought, and is versatile enough to pair with everything from hot wings, raw veggies, and chips, to take-out pizza crusts and more. Once you try it from scratch, you just might never buy ranch dip at the store again.