Even though it's not the healthiest, I LOVE ranch dressing, but of course the store brands never taste like the restaurants. I usually get Hidden Vly & would love to try all the grocery brands, but don't want to waste the whole bottle if I hate the taste. Who can tell me which brands taste MOST like the restaurants? Which ones are horrendous? (If you're familiar w/ the ranches at Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes or Claim Jumper, those are my faves!)
Our lil one love our local store's brand!!! I'll have to find it but my friend has the recipe for one of our local restaurants...it's so yummy!!!
buy the packet of Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk and mix it up at home with mayo and buttermilk. By far the best 'store bought' IMO!
Worrywart... this is the place I was talking about...kinda like yours!!! 1 cup buttermilk 1 cup Kraft mayo 1 Tbls Hidden Valley Ranch BUTTERMILK mix 1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
I usually buy Hidden Valley but I don't think it's great. It doesn't taste anything like restaurant ranch. I think I'll have to try and make my own.
There is no bottle that will ever be as good as making it yourself. I get a big container of the dry mix at Sam's, and mix it myself. Not to mention, I put the dry mix in just about everything I cook!
I like Lighthouse - they are the dressings in the produce section. They have a jalapeno ranch that is to die for, if you like jalapenos! The Lighthouse regular ranch tastes the most like restaurant ranch to me.
I have been making my own dressing lately but the last Ranch I bought was Natrually Delicious by Cains. I tried Chipotle Ranch and Peppercorn Ranch. I thought they were really good.
I have tried buying other kinds, but they just don't seem platable to me. I guess I am a Hidden Valley snob. (BUT... I do love getting Ranch while eating out! YUM)
Yum, I never tried making the Hidden Valley with extra pepper and garlic powder. I will try that next time! I always put a little extra buttermilk to thin it out a little - it is SO much better than bottled dressing for me. Hidden valley also makes a dry mix called Spicy Ranch which I haven't tried yet.
The restaurant I worked at bought Hidden Valley Ranch in gallon jugs. It tastes different from the ones in the grocery stores - it's just a little bit runnier than the small bottles. And - if this makes any sense - I feel like it had less mayo in it, and I could taste the seasonings better. For a fun twist on ranch, try pureeing some avocado in the dressing. Yum!
I like the Marzetti's in the plastic bottles (NOT the expensive kind that is sold by the fresh vegetables) or Hidden Valley Light.
I think Kraft and Hidden Valley are the WORST. We like Ken's Buttermilk or Peppercorn, but I rarely eat Ranch. It's probably my least favorite salad dressing in general but I do prefer it on a Pittsburgh salad.
My lil one calls HV ranch the "yucky one." LOL!!! Likes the store brand. Even went as far as saying, "Can we bring our ranch to Gma's house she has the Yucky Ranch." Which is followed by a scrinched up face!!! LOL!!!
This thread reminded me of an ex-boyfriend I had, who put ranch on EVERYTHING. Burgers, fries, eggs (blech). He would cut up chunks of cheese and dip them in ranch for a snack. Veggies, chicken... everything.
I didn't like Wishbone, Marie's, Kraft, Newman's, Ken's Steak House dressing & whoever had that jalapeno ranch. I know I've tried Marzetti & Lighthouse, but I forgot which tastes better, but I must not hv been too impressed because I returned to Hidden Vly. I probably won't ever mk my own. I thought about possibly buying online. Anyone know how these ranches taste?: http://briannassaladdressing.elsstore.com/view/category/488-dressings/?items_page=12&page=1 http://www.uncledans.com/products.html http://www.girardsdressings.com/ http://www.spicewest.com/ranch_dressing.html
Ken's steakhouse is good but try the buttermilk ranch not the regular ranch. Yes the Hidden Valley Ranch gallon jug does taste different and better than the reg. store kind. It tastes more like the kind that they serve in a restaurant, but it's hard to find.
I tried the new Hidden Vly Ranch Farmhouse Originals Roasted Onion Parmesan, but it's not as good as the original to me. I guess the search continues.
I finally got all the ingredients to make my own homemade ranch dressing. My bottle of Hidden Vly Ranch is almost gone, so I'll make a batch then!
Oh my gosh, there's no comparison. All the ingredients? If you're using the mix it's just mayo and buttermilk. If not using the mix, use Pioneer Woman's recipe. Great!
I got my recipe from an episode of The Kitchen, a new variety cook show: buttermilk mayo little sour cream dried thyme dried parsley garlic powder onion powder white whine vinegar S & P That Pioneer Woman's recipe does look great too: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/salads/homemade-ranch-dressing/
I'm sure that's good, but the packet is just as delicious and much easier. Yeah, yeah, preservatives and all that-it tastes good!
I love marzetti's ranch dressing. There isn't any other store bought ranch that even comes close, imo. Hidden valley and kraft are both really gross!
I've tried different ones & the ones that I can't stand are the Lite ones. I'm thinking about trying to make my own.
I like most Ken's dressings. I have not tried the buttermilk one. We have them at school so I use different ones all the time but the Ranch is so watery. I have no idea why since the other dressings are usually so thick. I have not made my own ranch but I like most of the store bought ones and have tried a bunch of them. I could eat a salad for lunch and dinner every day if I just had different dressings!
I'm telling you all, make your own ranch and thank me later. It is life changing. Actually, it cracks me up that this is a 4-year conversation about ranch!
I make my own ranch dressing. There is something about the bottled stuff, regardless of brand, that is extremely off-putting to me. It must be some sort of preservative or something, I guess. My recipe is very easy. All my measurements are estimates. 1/2 cup mayo 1/3 cup buttermilk 1 tsp each: chives, parsley, dill 1/2 tsp each: onion powder, garlic powder 1/4 tsp each: pepper, seasoned salt a squeeze of lemon juice
The only problem I have with making my own is that it probably won't last too long in the fridge. I only use salad dressing once in a while (usually just drizzle on flavored oils and vinegars) so I'd have to figure out the measurements for a single serving.
