Ree Drummond Unveils New Line of Pioneer Woman Ranch Dressing, Pasta Sauce and BBQ Sauce
In the United States, ranch is the undisputed king of dressings, with forty percent of Americans naming it as their favorite in a survey by the Association for Dressings and Sauces. With her latest line of products, Ree Drummond is hoping to tap into that market.
The Food Network’s Pioneer Woman tells PEOPLE that she’s “never really been a fan of bottled ranch”—instead opting for her homemade version—so she partnered with Kraft Heinz to come up with a storebought option that lives up to her standards. “It had to knock my socks off,” she says. “When I analyzed what I didn’t love about other bottled ranch dressings there seemed to be a little bit of sweetness and a texture that didn’t seem like the ranch I would make at home.”
What they landed on was a version that has a slightly thinner consistency than your average bottle of ranch, with a brightness that comes from lemon, buttermilk, and white vinegar. There is also an orange-tinted “spicy southwest” version, which has some heat from chipotle puree.
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In addition to ranch dressing, Drummond is also coming out with barbecue sauces and pasta sauces. The barbecue sauces come in four flavors (Frontier, Apple Brown Sugar, Peach Whiskey and Honey Habanero), and the pasta sauces come in five flavors (Italian Sausage & Peppers, Rustic Bolognese, Marinara, Four Cheese and Garden Vegetable).
While the Oklahoma-born cook acknowledges she’s “not presenting these as authentic Italian pasta sauces,” she is no stranger to using red sauce in her own kitchen. “I think a good quality pasta sauce is really a great time saver. It is one of my favorite convenience pantry items that I’ve always used, and putting my own spin on them was kind of a natural step for me.”
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This is just the latest addition to the ever-growing Pioneer Woman empire, which started with a blog in 2006 and now includes five best-selling cookbooks, a hit TV show, a lifestyle magazine, a housewares line, multiple restaurants and a hotel in her hometown of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, and, most recently, a line of dog treats.
The ranch dressing and barbecue sauces retail for $3.69 and $2.99, respectively, and are hitting grocery stores nationwide now, while the pasta sauces retail for $3.99 and will start appearing on shelves in May.
