I Tried 10 Popular Ranch Dressings & the Best Was Tangy and Delicious

Ranch is the most popular salad dressing in the United States. Over 143 million Americans used the dressing in 2020, according to Statista. It makes a great dip for veggies or potato chips. When done right, it's a creamy, tasty dressing with a variety of spices. It's an iconic part of American cuisine. There are a variety of ranch dressings on grocery store shelves, but Hidden Valley Ranch has been the standard for years.

With so many delicious ranch dressings on the market these days, I wondered if any brand could knock Hidden Valley out of the top spot. To conduct this taste test, I purchased 10 popular ranch dressings and judged them on looks and taste. All ranch dressings were sampled on the same day, and each was judged on its own merits. I also considered the price and nutritional value of the dressings.

At the end of the test, there was one clear winner for best ranch dressing—but was it Hidden Valley? Read on to uncover the top 10 ranch dressings ranked from worst to best, to see which ones you should drizzle on a salad or dip your veggies in, and which ones should be left on the shelf.

Walden Farms Ranch Dressing

Any dressing advertised as keto-friendly is an instant turn-off. When I looked at the label, I wondered how this dressing had no calories or fat! All this nothing cost $5.69.

The look: This ranch looked like a gelatinous blob of goo. I did not want to eat this. I was scared.

The taste: This dressing is so jelly-like that it would not even cling to a spinach leaf. I could not detect any taste, and I just didn't want any more of it.

Rating: 0/10

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Chosen Foods Ranch Dressing & Dip

The glass bottle made me think this avocado oil-based ranch would be thick, but it poured out fast and liquidy like paint. This dressing cost $6.99.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: Chosen Foods ranch had a darker, off-white color and visible spices.

The taste: This dressing was too thin for dipping and tasted watery. It had some tang, but I did not want to eat it.

Rating: 1/10

Primal Kitchen Ranch Dressing & Marinade

This ranch dressing is also made with avocado oil. It was difficult to pour out of the bottle, and I had to use a knife to get it into the dish. This dressing sold for $7.99.

The look: The dressing was darker in color than many of the others I sampled. It had lots of visible spices and a very thick, gelatinous appearance.

The taste: This dressing tasted more like Caesar than ranch. It was overwhelmingly tangy, and the consistency was very jelly-like, which was unappealing.

Rating: 2/10

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Kraft Classic Ranch

This ranch dressing poured out of the bottle easily with a liquid-like consistency. It was on sale for $4.39.

The look: The Kraft ranch was very white, so much so that it almost looked like mayo. I saw a few spices, but not many.

The taste: This dressing had some tanginess but lacked that special zip. Overall, it was bland and reminded me more of mayo than ranch.

Rating: 3/10

Wish-Bone Ranch Dressing

Wish-Bone dressing came in a big bottle and it poured out easily. The large size and very white color made me think that this dressing was very basic. This dressing was on sale for $3.49.

The look: The consistency of this dressing appeared a little thin. It was white, and I couldn't detect many spices.

The taste: Wish Bone had a middling taste—there was a little bit of spice, but overall, it was bland. I would put this dressing in the same category as Kraft. It was OK but nothing special.

Rating: 3/10

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Newman's Own Ranch

I've always loved Newman's products, but the paper around the bottle was glued to where I struggled to open it. This dressing was on sale for $4.69.

The look: When I finally got the bottle open the dressing looked creamy and appealing. The color was slightly off-white and dotted with spices.

The taste: This ranch was very tangy. The dressing had a good consistency, but the flavor was unremarkable. I was surprised to put this in the Kraft/Wish-Bone category—maybe slightly higher—because I usually have such high regard for Newman's products.

Rating: 4/10

Hidden Valley the Original Ranch

The OG of ranch dressings looked appealing, though the bottle was hard to open. It looked like the classic ranch we all know and love. This dressing was on sale for $2.49.

The look: This dressing was white but creamy looking and dotted with lots of spices. This looked like a dressing I would love to dip some veggies into.

The taste: I can see why people like this dressing. It has the perfect texture, but it's missing that extra zip of flavor to take it over the top. Still, I would put this out with veggies at a party.

Rating: 7/10

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Stonewall Kitchen Bacon Ranch Dressing

I love Stonewall Kitchen products so I was excited to try this. This dressing was so thick that I could barely get it out of the bottle, even with a knife. At $8.49, this was the priciest dressing I tried.

The look: This dressing looked good, but nothing like ranch. I was brown, probably from the addition of bacon.

The taste: This was a tasty dressing, but the bacon overwhelmed it. It didn't taste like traditional ranch, and the saltiness eclipsed any other spices. It's yummy, but the bacon defeats the whole dipping ranch in vegetables thing. It was still really good, and I'd spread this on a piece of grilled chicken or a burger.

Rating: 7/10

Ken's Steakhouse Farmhouse Ranch with Buttermilk

This small bottle was easy to open, and knowing the brand, I had high expectations. This dressing was on sale for $2.49.

The look: This thick dressing poured easily out of the bottle. It was off-white and dotted with spices and visible flecks of carrot.

The taste: This is a really good ranch dressing. It was thick and delicious and had a tang that was different from the others in a good way. My only criticism was that it was too heavy on the buttermilk. But, one other brand got the balance better.

Rating: 8/10

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Brianna's Home Style Classic Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

I've loved Brianna's dressings over the years, but this was my first time trying its ranch. This dressing was so thick that I had to use a knife to coax it out of the bottle. This dressing cost $4.79.

The look: This ranch dressing was slightly darker in color than many of the others I sampled. There were big, visible spices, and it looked homemade.

The taste: This ranch was downright delicious. It was tangy but not overly so, and the consistency was perfectly creamy and dippable. I want to take a bath in this.

Rating: 10/10