Ranch Dressing Taste Test
Date Tested: December 5th, 2025
Competitors: Hidden Valley, Wingstop, Trader Joe’s, Hidden Valley Nashville Hot, Ken’s Steakhouse, Bolthouse
Ranch Dressing. THE AMERICAN DRESSING *eagle screech*. Discovered (invented? Concocted?) in the early 1950’s by Steven Hensen, founder of Hidden Valley Steakhouse which in but a few years would close for Steve to focus exclusively on production of his signature salad dressing. No condiment, outside maybe mustard, has the sheer range of flavor profiles on a store shelf as the humble Ranch Dressing. And certainly no other condiment has the death-grip strangle hold on the Women aged 14-35 demographic.
But do you make it out of mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk, or sour cream? To chive or not to chive? What’s with naming schemes such as original-zesty-cucumber-buttermilk-low fat? Why so many qualifiers on the bottle? Well, we set out to figure out. We tested the common brands that are found in nearly every store (Ken’s, Hidden Valley, and Bolthouse Farms), some harder to come by versions (Trader Joe’s and Wingstop) and a dark horse in the Hidden Valley Nashville Hot Ranch to see if Ranch dressing technology has progressed since the 50’s.
The ranch was evaluated using a dipping regimen, with tasters choosing celery, carrots, or a buffalo wing as the vehicle for sampling. While tasting by the spoonful or on a salad might have produced different results, the dipping method was considered the most representative of real-world ranch consumption.
| Notes | Rating | Brand | Group Ratings | Group Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Viscocity, good seasoning, very classic taste | 5 | Wingstop | 5,5,5,4 | 4.75 |
| Buttermilk for sure. Very watery. Good seasoining | 5 | Trader Joe's | 5,4,3,3 | 3.75 |
| Too spicy and smokey. Defeats the purpose of ranch. Also just not good | 2 | Nashville | 2,5,2,6 | 3.75 |
| Tasteless. Just a white goo | 3 | Ken's | 3,4,3,5 | 3.75 |
| Not great, poor seasoning. Tastes like sour cream | 4 | Bolthouse | 4,4,3,5 | 4 |
| Okay THIS ONE is just sour cream. Can barely taste anything. | 3 | Hidden Valley | 5,3,1,6 | 3.75 |
There were no big surprises for me. I’ve been a ride-or-die Trader Joe’s ranch guy for a while, and it did end up being my personal favorite. Overall, the range of average scores was very tight, with four of the six contenders landing at an identical group average of 3.75 out of 7. Wingstop stood a full point above that – an impressive showing – though it did require ordering an actual Wingstop meal to obtain. Bolthouse, the low-calorie yogurt-based option, came in second, making it the clear choice if the calorie density of ranch ever crosses your mind. It was also the highest-rated off-the-shelf option maybe making it the go-to anyway.
The remaining brands effectively tied for either last place or third place, depending on how charitable you want to be. Interestingly, Wingstop ranch is reportedly made in-store from Hidden Valley seasoning packets, yet there was no risk of confusing the two in this tasting. That likely speaks to the importance of the base (mayonnaise, buttermilk, and so on). My suspicion is that Hidden Valley has been resting on its laurels and brand recognition for some time, possibly with declining ingredient quality, while Wingstop can use fresh, perishable dairy. How else to describe their product simultaneously coming in last and first place? Both the original Hidden Valley and its Nashville Hot variant produced the most controversial scoring, each receiving a mix of very low and very high ratings that ultimately averaged to the middle of the pack. Ken’s and Trader Joe’s, by contrast, showed more consistent ratings. Not loved, but also not hated.
