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The hardest working condiment out there is ranch. Ranch salad dressing and ranch dip are staples in most of our refrigerators. We put them on green salads, dip veggies in them, use them to top pizza, sprinkle the seasonings that go into ranch on popcorn, and add packaged ranch dressing mix to mashed potatoes. The flavors of ranch—its tangy, herby, creaminess—are always a crowd pleaser.
When you’re having a crowd for a cookout or a barbecue, these five dishes will add some of that ranch flavor that everyone loves in unexpected ways.
Kristen’s Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
Allrecipes
We’re not sure where it’s written, but we’re pretty sure it’s a law that every cookout must have at least one kind of potato salad. Bacon is always a welcome ingredient in the dish, but add ranch, and this version—made with sour cream rather than mayo to mimic the tanginess of ranch—and you have a salad that’s “absolutely delicious” and one that our members will “definitely make again.”
Ranch, Bacon, and Parmesan Pasta Salad
Allrecipes
On the off chance there’s no potato salad at the gathering, there’s usually a pasta salad. This version is full of ranch dressing, bacon, and Parmesan cheese, and has great crunch from diced carrots, celery, and onion. Give it two hours in the fridge after you’ve put it together so all the flavors mingle. Some of our community members sub green onion for the regular onion, and we think that’s a brilliant move for this dish that’s “tasty and easy to make.”
Ranch Burgers
SoupLovingNicole
Remember the old trick of adding a package of onion soup mix to ground beef before forming burger patties? These burgers use a package of ranch dressing mix to infuse the flavor of ranch right into the burger. Want to make it the ranchiest ranch burger ever? Top the cooked burger with ranch dressing! And if you prefer turkey burgers, try these garlic and ranch turkey burgers.
Bacon Ranch Pea Salad
It’s clear that bacon and ranch are a match made in heaven, and all three of the salads on this roundup include the combo in their ingredient lists. This salad switches things up by making peas the base of the salad rather than potatoes or pasta. Members say it’s “simple, easy, and yummy” and “absolutely fantastic.”
Gabe’s Buffalo Ranch Snack Mix
Every cookout needs snacks, and this riff on Chex Party Mix has a nice balance of flavors thanks to ranch and not-too-spicy Buffalo. Add hot and spicy cheese crackers, Buffalo pretzels, and hot sauce and you’re set. The recipe yields 12 cups of hard-to-resist snack mix, but you may want to double it because it will go fast.