Trader Joe’s fans, ranch dressing enthusiasts, and Reddit users — it turns out most members of those communities hold strong opinions, and they aren’t afraid to share them. While fans are eager to declare their love for Trader Joe’s products, shoppers are equally ready to share what leaves them dissatisfied as well. Amongst the best and worst things to buy at Trader Joe’s, the Reddit community has a resounding answer for their least favorite: The shelf-stable, organic ranch dressing.
In a post in the Trader Joe’s subreddit, one Reddit user laments not doing their due diligence of researching Trader Joe’s organic ranch dressing before heading to the checkout with the bottle, remarking how awful they found it. The Redditor disliked the dressing so much that they thought it had gone bad, as it was horribly sour, in addition to the consistency being too watery. As with most things food-related, personal taste opinions are highly subjective and can vary from eater to eater, but coincidentally, we also found that Trader Joe’s shoppers are not fans of the ranch seasoning blend either.
Trader Joe’s shelf-stable ranch dressing leaves much to be desired
In a separate post where one user crowd sources answers for the best and worst salad dressings from Trader Joe’s, multiple users replied that the ranch dressing was easily the worst, with one referring to the creamy dressing as “straight garbage”. The second commenter called it horrible and even asked how to dispose of the dressing. Even more users called Trader Joe’s ranch dressing “trash” and “disgusting.” However not all hope is lost for those seeking a decent ranch product from Trader Joe’s. Two commenters suggested the refrigerated version of the store’s ranch, as opposed to the shelf-stable bottle of ranch, saying that the refrigerated product even tastes homemade.
When looking at the ingredients list for Trader Joe’s organic ranch dressing, it isn’t too surprising that the salad dressing would leave something to be desired for eaters. The first three ingredients are water, organic soybean oil, and organic cane sugar, none of which are usually at the top of the list of ingredients for making ranch dressing from scratch. Normally, you’d start with mayonnaise or sour cream and buttermilk to create a thick, tangy base before adding dried or fresh herbs, and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice or a splash of vinegar for more tanginess. However not all hope is lost if you’ve brought home a dud dressing from the supermarket. You can always doctor up a purchased ranch dressing if it’s not to your liking, particularly with our chef-approved ways to add flavor to store-bought ranch.
