The Best Store-Bought Ranch Delivers Balanced Flavor And Ideal Texture

Ranch dressing is rarely ever terrible, but some key metrics separate the good from the great. It's an artform, knowing which foods are meant to be covered or dipped in this top-tier condiment. While the tastiest ranch can be found freshly made in restaurants or at home, some store-bought brands have impressed us with their recipes.

In our ranking of the best and worst store-bought ranch, we compared 11 different brands in terms of flavor, texture, and price. Marie's ranch dressing provided a tangy, savory flavor. It had a more garlic-forward profile and acidity tailored to pouring on salads. The consistency was a real delight, being smooth and creamy enough to pour without being runny. Quality often comes at a cost, but a 12-ounce jar of Marie's sells for around $4. This is still less expensive than our lowest-ranked bottle by Primal Kitchen, which sells for a higher price of $6 for an 8-ounce bottle. Marie's is certainly the ranch to beat.

Marie's ranch strikes a balance between being a dressing and a dipping sauce. Salad dressings need to be acidic and herbal to pair with all the vegetables, and dipping sauces need to provide a cool, sour contrast to spicy and salty foods like chicken wings. Marie's ranch has a medium consistency and fresh flavor that can go with celery as much as it does with fries. This tangy dressing works as an unexpected upgrade for boxed mac and cheese or store-bought frozen pizza.

As far as store-bought ranches go, Marie's has a rather solid ingredient list. It's made with actual buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, distilled white vinegar, and aromatic elements like onions, garlic, and seasonings. There aren't any unnecessary sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup; instead, the mild sweetness comes from sugar and the dairy itself. Because it lacks the preservatives that other ranches contain, you'll find a bottle in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, ready to take home and improve all the food you want.