Hidden Valley Has 7 New Ranch Dressings—Our Favorite Was a Flavor We Never Knew We Needed

Hidden Valley ranch bottle

Hidden Valley Ranch has a place in many people’s hearts. It's usually the first dressing we all enjoy before we grow up and pretend we like vinaigrettes more (admit it, secretly you want ranch). Or maybe a side of ranch was the only way you would eat vegetables as a child (maybe as an adult too). It could also be your go-to sauce for pizza or nuggets.

However you enjoy ranch, Hidden Valley understands you choose it for the flavor we’ve all come to love. But this spring they're expanding the ranch with seven brand new flavors—and we got to try them all at a recent Hidden Valley Ranch Innovation event. (Tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.)

Each dressing was paired with a food that complimented that ranch flavor. My husband (who was my official spicy tester) and I sampled 11 types of ranch dressings and seasonings. After lots of dipping and dunking, we headed home with a bag full of samples and some serious insight into our ranch dressing preferences. Here's how the 7 new flavors stacked up for us.

Related: 14 Recipes for the Ranch Obsessed

All 7 New Hidden Valley Ranch Dressings Ranked

Green Goddess Ranch 5/10

I’m not the biggest fan of herb-forward flavors, so this wasn't my top pick. It was served on a salad, which is exactly what I would expect. If you're a fan of herby dressings, I can see this flavor being a fun swap out for mayo in egg salad or tuna salad. It could also be a fun sauce for tiny cucumber sandwiches for an at-home tea party.

Parmesan Ranch 7/10

This one was good but not as life-changing as some of the other flavors. The Parmesan flavor was mild, but did add a little extra cheesy flavor and made the dressing extra creamy. This one was paired with a grain bowl, but I'd probably serve it with something carby and/or fried (to be fair, that's my general mo). I think it would be great with breadsticks or drizzled over garlic bread. It would also be a nice non-spicy dipping option for chicken wings.

Creamy Jalape?o Ranch 8/10

This mildly spicy flavor had just the right amount of heat. It would be great as a dipping sauce for jalape?o poppers or drizzled it on nachos fresh from the oven. This was the perfect sauce for me and my husband: it had enough kick for him but it wasn't overwhelmingly spicy for me. It's the Goldilocks of ranch dressings!

Spicy Hot Honey Ranch 8/10

My husband really liked this sweet and creamy combo with a little heat. There's a lot going on here, but it doesn't get overwhelming. It was paired with a slice of pizza topped with prosciutto, which was a great combination.

Sizzlin' Nashville Hot Ranch 9/10

This dressing had the most kick, with 3 red peppers on the label. It was served on a fried chicken slider and my husband was deeply impressed. This one definitely seems most at home as a sauce or dip and would be great with chicken wings or spread on a turkey sandwich.

Garlic Ranch 10/10

I’m one of those people who believes adding a truckload of garlic to something will make it incredible. And this flavor proved my theory once again. At the event, this flavor was served with a pizza roll, which was an elite comfort food combo. My husband said this dressing reminded him of a pizza dipping sauce from his hometown that he’s been missing since childhood. It’s a great combo of flavors with garlic definitely taking the lead with the creaminess and herbs of the ranch following behind nicely. It has more of a garlic salt vs. fresh garlic flavor, which works especially well with pizza and nuggets and would be great for a salad paired with pasta.

Cheez-It Ranch 11/10

I was most intrigued by this iconic collab. Not just because of the celeb status of Cheez-It but because it seemed like kind of an odd pairing. But all of those concerns disappeared the moment I tried a French fry dipped in the dressing. The combination of the creamy herby ranch and the sharp cheesiness was delightful. If you're someone who has an affinity for nacho cheese but doesn’t like how heavy it is (or how it's sometimes weirdly spicy), you need to try this dressing. It’s like getting a bite of ranch and shredded cheese in every bite. I loved it on French fries and chicken nuggets but it would be great on a salad as well.

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