Making Copycat Texas Roadhouse Ranch Is Easier Than You Think

The Lone Star State-inspired steakhouse chain Texas Roadhouse has several claims to fame. Already well known for the delicious rolls, strongly ranked appetizers, and variety of steak cuts, the Texas-themed eatery hardly needed to double down with its own version of the beloved American condiment ranch dressing. But double down it did. Whether you're ordering fried pickles or Rattlesnake Bites, you can opt for the Cajun Horseradish Sauce or its very own in-house variety of buttermilk ranch.

Tangy, acidic, and herbaceous, Roadhouse enthusiasts have found that the TXR Ranch isn't quite like any other. In fact, its flavor profile is unique enough that dozens of fans have taken to the internet to find out if the brand is bottling one of its best-kept secrets or, barring that, if there's a copycat recipe that can hold a candle to the original. Luckily for us, a Roadhouse employee answered our pleas for information on Reddit, and the actual combination is easier to make than you'd think. All you need is the right spice mix blended with a precise proportion of dairy. While the Redditor recommends a certain ratio to recreate the dressing on a massive scale, the trial-and-error consensus is that on a smaller scale, the ratio you need is closer to 1:1:2, or one seasoning packet, one cup of buttermilk, and two cups of mayonnaise.

The biggest issue for those of us looking to replicate the recipe at home is finding the right mix of spices. Popular spice blends like Hidden Valley Ranch don't quite deliver the right flavor. Instead, the hopefully reliable Redditor explains that Texas Roadhouse uses bulk supplier Sauer's for its ranch mix. The good news is there's also a consumer-size version of the dip mix available on Amazon. Made with onion, sea salt, garlic, cane sugar, parsley, black pepper, and citric acid, these ingredients give a helpful indicator of how you could make the dressing mix at home even without a seasoning packet. Onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and dried (or fresh) parsley would be essential, with a little kick from lemon juice to replicate the sharpness from citric acid.

The next most important factor is mayonnaise, the biggest ingredient proportionally. Interestingly, the mayonnaise used might vary by region, though online recipe tasters recommend Blue Plate, Best Foods, or Hellmann's. Our recommendation might be to stick with the chef-favorite Duke's mayonnaise, which has a strong zing from vinegar. The buttermilk in the recipe ratio adds its own acidic tang, but if you don't have any on hand you can try subbing sour cream and a little more lemon juice for that welcome sour note. Other copycat recipe recommendations also swear by a little bit of dried dill and a pinch of cayenne. Ultimately, you'll have to try a few iterations out yourself to see if any dupes can compete with the Roadhouse original.