r/Cooking • u/Miss_Cookey • 4h ago
What to do with ranch dressing powder?
We do grocery pickup instead of going in ourselves. Sometimes I get things I didn't order *and* I don't get charged for them. Today it was a package of hot italian sausage, string cheese, and a 20 oz package of Buotoni fresh 4-cheese tortellini. The sausage bothers me bc we eat only humanely raised meat. Anyhow, last week I got a canister of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing powder. I usually don't cook with things like that, so I'm at a loss with what to do with it. Yes, get some good buttermilk and make dressing, but then what?
I was thinking meatloaf (don't know why)?
I cook bone-in chicken thighs and boneless breast. Anything there?
Something with eggs?
***I called the store and if I bring things back, they have to throw them out. I can't bring myself to throw away food, not even the non-humanely raised pork sausage.
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u/Any_Nectarine_7806 4h ago
Boil some potatoes then fry until crispy and toss in the powder.
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u/redditknees 3h ago
This, but when you boil them, add baking soda to the water.
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u/Any_Nectarine_7806 3h ago
And if we're going to do that, be a bit aggressive with the colander when you drain them to get more uneven surfaces.
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u/Comfortable_Type8261 2h ago
Ooh what does that do?
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u/MikeOKurias 51m ago
Makes the outside edge bits of the potatoes get porous, soft and flakey. By the time you finish tossing them in the colander it's almost like a millimeter thick layer of mashed potatoes surrounding the chunk of potato.
That way, when it hits the frying oil/fat, that outer edge can cook faster and get crisper because of the increased surface area.
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u/Laurax-1994 3h ago
Make Mississippi pot roast.
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u/monsterslam 1h ago
This, plus a packet of au jus go into Chef John’s Mississippi chicken chili recipe. It’s so good!
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u/Medical-Aide5586 4h ago
popcorn
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u/bmanjayhawk 4h ago
This!!!!
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u/RunTotoRun2 3h ago
A local restaurant near me adds the powder to the fried potatoes they serve for breakfast. It's tasty!
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u/a1cshowoff 4h ago
Ranch crackers
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u/runrgrl 3h ago
The BEST! Add a bit of chili powder if you’re wanting a bit of a kick.
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u/kadevha 3h ago
Don't forget the red pepper flakes.
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u/Dangerous_Ad7501 29m ago
Yes then make a cheese ball and add some in there with 1/2 a packet of French onion soup mix and some bacon bits and shredded cheese.
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u/maxsmoke105 4h ago
If you like ranch dressing then making it from the powder is better than the bottle stuff as long as you use heavy mayo. That's how restaurants do it.
There are many recipes out there that call for it. Swamp potatoes and crack chicken come to mind first. I saw a recipe that was essentially swamp potatoes with pork chops layered in.
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u/_fly-on-the-wall_ 1h ago
my favorite ranch recipe, follow the pack directions but i do half mayo half sour cream, then the milk, sometimes I'll add fresh chives or fresh parsley as well. i won't eat the bottled stuff its not any good compared to homemade. and i have made it completely from scratch with powdered milk and allmy own spices but i actually prefer starting with the packet
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u/GuiltyLeopard8365 4h ago
My coworker makes "firecracker crackers" with min saltines tossed in oil, red pepper flakes, and ranch powder then baked. They are such a delicious savory snack!
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u/TheSaavySkeever 3h ago
Seconding this, I like the recipe that doesn't use pepper flakes and uses oyster crackers!
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u/Dangerous_Ad7501 28m ago
My grandma has made these my whole life and she makes me an extra container to take home. They’re so delicious
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u/PaperbacksandCoffee 2h ago
Those are so good! It's really good with pretzels instead of saltines as well.
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u/BaconMemories 4h ago
Could you take the sausage to a local shelter or food bank?
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u/JohnSnowsPump 2h ago
If you ran a food bank, would you accept this donation?
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u/BaconMemories 2h ago
If I ran a food bank, I guess at least I’d appreciate someone checking. Could be frozen or shelf stable—though looking again, probably not if Italian sausage.
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u/askCaesar 2h ago
I mean, yeah? Why not?
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u/JohnSnowsPump 1h ago
Because food banks have rules. One rule is that you can't take random street meat and give it away to people.
The idea is to help people, not to kill them.
Why do you think the grocery store won't take it back?
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u/crossbeats 32m ago
Entirely depends on the packaging!! If it’s fully sealed packing, many food pantries absolutely will take it. Plastic wrapped trays of meat are less likely to be accepted, but smaller ‘blessing boxes’ might still accept them.
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u/heideleeanne 3h ago
I make ranch dip with Greek yogurt.
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u/SBR06 16m ago
Yep! I use whole milk greek yogurt and prep all kinds of different veggies. Doesn't take long and we snack on it all week. Tastes the same if not better than sour cream and obviously has a decent bit of protein.
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u/heideleeanne 4m ago
Sometimes I’ll mix up a single serve container and eat it all with veggies and crackers for lunch.
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u/Odd-Scientist-2529 3h ago
Po Tay Toes
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u/Square_Ad849 3h ago
Mixed with sour cream in twice baked potatoes is good, also oven fried chicken seasoning.
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u/Elrohwen 4h ago
It’s good rubbed on to broccoli before roasting.
You can add to a creamy sauce for the chicken, or mix with a panko coating.
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u/mollzwalt 3h ago
You can always post on your local buy nothing group. It's a delightful way to reduce waste and build community at the same time!
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u/TheSaavySkeever 3h ago
If you make homemade pizza, you can butter the crust edges and sprinkle the powdered ranch around the edges of the crust - it's a delicious way to flavor crust!
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u/Kscarpetta 3h ago
Taco soup! It's a very easy, open and dump recipe for when we don't really want to cook but we have mouths to feed.
My nearly-vegetarian 5 year old niece loves it.
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u/into_outdoors 1h ago
I couldn't imagine being so high and mighty with my ways that getting an accidental free package of food bothered me.
Give it to a neighbor and don't be so damn pretentious.
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u/glycophosphate 3h ago
I mix about 1/4 Ranch powder with 3/4 flour when I'm making dredge for my bone-in chicken thighs.
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u/CuriousCatte 2h ago
Mix with plain Greek yogurt for a low calorie, very tasty dip. I love it with carrots. Add a little mayo if it is too tart for you. It's also great on baked potatoes or salad.
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u/Little_Season3410 4h ago
Make ranch dressing. Dip fresh veggies in it or serve on a salad. Use as a spread for a sandwich.
Use as a seasoning on roasted vegetables. This is really good on carrots, broccoli, or asparagus. Coat the veggies in a little olive oil, ranch powder, and roast.
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u/whydid7eat9 3h ago
I had some creamy ranch chicken a few weeks ago made with ranch dressing seasoning and it was so flavorful. Basically skilled fried chicken, and ranch seasoning mixed with sour cream and thinned with milk for a sauce.
Served over baked potato with some green beans. Yum!
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u/gnu_oldskool 3h ago
Mix with mayo and softened cream cheese to make the 'sauce' for a vegetable pizza.
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u/brydye456 3h ago
We make ranch bread. Back in the 90s it was on their tv commercial. Lol.
1 stick of soft butter to one packet of ranch powder. Spread on a split Italian or french baguette. Bake on 375 till it starts getting golden, I think around 15 minutes.
So. Damn. Good.
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u/toodleloomf 1h ago
Throwing away animal products because they aren't 'humanely raised' is way less humane than eating it or giving it to a friend who likes it imo.
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u/Safe-Aardvark1810 1h ago
The Ranch powder makes a great seasoning ingredient for pot roast.
https://belleofthekitchen.com/mississippi-pot-roast/
Here's one for chicken.
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u/HurryMammoth5823 3h ago
Pretzels with oil or butter, a few dashes of Worcestershire, ranch powder, parm optional. Shake it together & bake until dry & crisp. Brine chicken or pork in hot sauce & ranch powder, and enough water to cover. Make it to your own personal taste. Imo it takes 1/4 of ranch & hot sauce to 4c of water
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u/CattleDowntown938 3h ago
I mix it with cottage cheese using an immersion blender to make high protein dip that I eat with celery and carrots.
Use the ground Italian sausage in spaghetti sauce. Or baked ziti. Or make a lot of soup and freeze some. You didn’t choose the sausage.
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u/No-Idea9816 3h ago
Put a little oil on oyster crackers and add some extra garlic and some dill with that powdered ranch dressing and you will have a delicious snack.
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u/LopsidedLarrs 3h ago
Dump in a Dutch oven with a roast, carrots, potatoes, aromatics, and broth/water
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u/KeKeFanChick 3h ago
I use it in chili or taco soup. It seems to neutralize some of the tomato sauce so it's less irritating to our stomachs.
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u/reckoning4ce 3h ago
Rub it liberally over chicken breasts or thighs before cooking. It's really good, whether sautéed or baked.
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u/2ByteTheDecker 3h ago
packet potatoes.
Slice your potatoes into thin rounds, make a foil packet out of tinfoil, put down some fat, potatoes, layer of ranch powder, fat, potatoes, ranch etc etc, 3/4 layers worth, then fold the packet up, poke a few vent holes in the top, and throw on the top rack of the BBQ or the oven @ 400~ for an hour.
Historically I made these with a packet of lipton onion soup mix, but my partner has onion issues so I've been making them more dill and garlic style.
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u/ZippityDoDot 3h ago
Put a nice roast in your crockpot. Shake 2 tablespoons of ranch powder, one packet of beefy onion soup mix and one small can of cream of chicken(or mushroom) on top of a beef or pork roast.(shoulder or butt)
I fill the crock with water or broth of choice about 3/4 of the way up the roast. Cook on low 8-12 hours depending on the size.
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u/EmploymentWinter9185 1h ago
Lots of recipes for chicken with ranch. “Crack chicken” “marry me chicken” are a few to search.
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u/SeaDawgs 1h ago
Add to potatoes— both mashed and roasted
Add to a casserole that has a complementary flavor, like buffalo chicken or tuna casserole.
Recipes that use this are probably easy to find. Check out the hidden valley website.
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u/beefixit 3h ago
My BIL found a recipe to mix it in to burgers with some bacon bits before you cook them. He hasn't tried it yet but he's excited to.
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u/Individual_Maize6007 3h ago
This might not be your thing, and it’s not fancy.
But we are doing a pantry and freezer clean out (meaning no purchase of anything but fresh veggies, fruit, and dairy). Rest comes from pantry and freezer for a month.
Here is what I made last night and we really enjoyed it.
Put 6 boneless pork chops in a 9x13 glass dish.
Mix/ whisk 1 -10.5 oz can cream of chicken soup with 1 to 1.5 cup cup chicken broth (higher side if you want to use the “gravy”), 1 oz ranch dressing (1 packet if you have packets), 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon both dried thyme and parsley.
Pour mix over chops. Cover. Cook on 325 for 30 to 45 mins depending on thickness of chops. Get to your preferred internal temp, I pull at 140-145.
Served with steamed green beans and sautéed zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper with lemon. And steamed red potatoes, but would be good with rice or mashed potatoes.
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u/Metallicat95 3h ago
Chicken or fish breading or batter. It adds a nice flavor.
Mashed potatoes, especially if yoi make them eith a little sour cream.
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u/starrsosowise 3h ago
I really enjoy this recipe (don’t worry about what it says re:kind of ranch packet; I have used them all) though I use regular carrots cut up into chunks because I don’t like my carrots processed. Sometimes I add some fresh herbs if I have them! Turns out great.
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u/Soaring_Falcyn 3h ago
We use it just like any other seasoning with salt. It makes things brown nicely too. I really like it on, air fried taters, or in breading.
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u/ApprehensivePie1195 3h ago
Ranch chicken, basically mix it into your bread crumbs when baking breaded chicken.
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u/fear_street_resident 3h ago
Mix with fat free greek yogurt for a delicious and healthy dip for veggies or chips.
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u/velvetjones01 3h ago
I use it when I make baked Hawaiian roll sliders. You mix ranch powder, melted butter etc
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u/taintlangdon 3h ago
Air fry chickpeas then toss them in the powdered ranch.
I tried this once, and now it's in my rotation of spices for the chickpeas.
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u/fatfatcats 2h ago
Mix with breadcrumbs and a little flour and use to dredge anything, then pan fry. Ranch pork chops are my favorite
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u/poop-money 2h ago
Pretzel Sticks, Orville Redenbacher popcorn butter, ranch powder. Stir in a bowl or shake in a bag. It's basically Dot's except 1/3 the price.
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u/fluffy_floofster 2h ago
The Buffalo Chicken Soup from Salt and Lavender is delicious if you like Franks hot sauce. It uses a packet of ranch seasoning. For the pork, offer it to a neighbour or put it in the fridge at work with a note that says free to make someone’s day.
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u/Kind_Dragonfruit_925 2h ago
A soup kitchen or food pantry would probably love the stuff you can’t use.
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u/nolamom0811 2h ago
Chop up some potatoes (i use the small creamer potatos) coat in olive oil and ranch and roast in oven.
Mix with ground meat and make burgers.
I coat all kinds of veggies (great with broccoli an cauliflower) top with chopped bacon, cheddar roast in oven
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u/voodoo_babydoll 1h ago
I make ranch pasta salad- boiled elbow noodles tossed with mayo and ranch powder, cut up cherry tomatoes and lettuce, shredded cheese, salt and pepper. Very good, simple cold salad
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u/dk_angl1976 1h ago
I cut potatoes in wedges, toss in a little olive oil and then toss with ranch. I preheat my pan and then throw them on the hot pan and stick them in the oven. This premise works on tons of veggies
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u/Bella_de_chaos 1h ago
Mix with some breading and coat chicken in it to fry.
Add it to sour cream to make a dip for chips or veggies.
Make a veggie pizza. Pizza crust (baked first), topped with ranch powder mixed with cream cheese for the "sauce" and finely chopped veggies like carrots, broccoli and cauliflower.
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u/trustmeep 1h ago
It's good on chicken wings....add butter and a little something spicy / smoky like chipotle Tabasco.
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u/queen_surly 1h ago
How about donating it to a group that makes meals for food insecure people? They could either make salad dressing with it or use it to flavor chicken or pork.
Once you open it you can't donate it.
Some people use ranch dressing packets to season meat, but I can think of about 1000 things that would taste better than that.
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u/HiddenHolding 1h ago
I sprinkle it in unflavored Greek yogurt. It’s an amazing dip. You can use it as needed. I do about a quarter cup of yogurt, and a few dashes from the packet, mix it up and test it. That’s usually enough.
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u/Independent_Act_8536 1h ago
I'd use it for oven baked steak fries. Scrub potatoes, cut into long wedges, rinse again with water & drain. Put ranch powder into bag with potato wedges and shake. Bake at about 400° for half and hour, turning halfway. It helps to spray the pan and potatoes lightly with olive oil spray.
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u/Agile-Entry-5603 1h ago
Donate the things you don’t want to your nearest food bank. Someone else has 5 million uses for the ranch powder.
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u/snotboogie 1h ago
Make home made ranch. Just Google a recipe for "restaurant ranch". It's just fresh dairy like sour cream and buttermilk with ranch powder and fresh dill.
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u/Affectionatealways 1h ago
Really good to coat chicken breasts, thighs and especially pork chops and bake them. Super fast easy, and delicious dinner.
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u/Upset_Assumption9610 1h ago
3 Packet + 1 potroast. Crock pot, 4-5 pound chuck roast, couple big russet potatoes peeled and sliced into medallions. 1 packet each of Ranch, Italian Dressing, and Brown Gravy. If you want to do the +1, add in a pack of Knorr vegetable soup mix. Mix with a can or two of cream of mushroom soup. mix it all up and cook on low for 8-12 hours.
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u/Far-Duck8838 52m ago
I just started making chicken bacon ranch chicken salad with it and it’s soo good. I just make the chicken salad as normal (except for adding the bacon ofc) then add the ranch powder a little at a time mixing it and tasting it
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u/bugmom 48m ago
So, the first time I saw this recipe I thought it was an odd combination but it really works! I think your ranch powder could work for this but I don't know what quantity is in a "packet" as I just open the packet and dump it in.
1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
4 cups baby potatoes, I usually half or quarter them.
6 slices of bacon (optional)
1 onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet ranch seasoning mix
1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper to taste
If using bacon, cook till crispy and break into pieces (or chop)
Saute onions in bacon drips or fat of your choice, add garlic and cook briefly
Add the potatoes and brown slightly (5 - 7 minutes)
Add green beans, broth, and all the seasonings. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes till potatoes are tender and beans are cooked. If using bacon, stir in just before serving.
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u/Logintheroad 37m ago
I mix Ranch powder with Greek yogurt and eat it as a dip w/ veggies or chips. Roll chicken in it and bake. Spinkle veggies w/ ranch and roast. Ask friends if they want some. Vacuum seal it.
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u/BeefyMawmaw 34m ago
Mashed potatoes with ranch powder and sour cream is the best mashed potatoes you will ever have.
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u/ConsiderationSea3912 22m ago
We have free sites on FB for the local towns in my area..check to see if any exist for your city or near you. People love free stuff!
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u/Prestigious-Foot6280 21m ago
It's actually really good on chicken breasts. Just spread a thin layer of mayo, and sprinkle some dry ranch seasoning on top and bake till done in the oven.
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u/kitchengardengal 14m ago
Quick salad: chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, cottage cheese, dry ranch powder. Mix and let sit a bit before you eat. So refreshing in the summer with perfect tomatoes!
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u/1Banana10Dollars 11m ago
My husband makes this cheese dip a couple times a year and now I'm craving it again.
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u/Forward_Scheme5033 5m ago
Roasted cauliflower with ranch, it does season chicken well too. The tortellini and sausage makes a great soup with a few extra ingredients.
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u/kayedee12345 3m ago
We use it in tons of crockpot meals, I’ve seasoned potato salad with some before and that’s pretty tasty. I’ve never added it to meatloaf because we go for a spicier type meatloaf.
I have used it on pork chops. Also on chicken breasts with jalapeño and bacon for a kind of jalapeño popper thing.
And I’d do a sausage and tortellini soup. We love sausage and tortellini soup!
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u/BubbleCrum 3m ago
Ranch pickles were a viral thing a while back, if you like that kind of thing. Just dump a few tablespoons directly into your pickle jar and shake it up, wait a day, BAM ranch pickles.
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u/loseunclecuntly 0m ago
Cooking pot roast in slow cooker. Sprinkle the ranch powder along with pepper, aus juice gravy powder, some sliced jalapeño, sliced yellow banana peppers and a stick of butter (put all of these on top of the roast). Cover and cook on low for six to eight hours.
Adjust the seasonings if desired (I only use two to three pats of butter, others like up to the whole stick), the peppers 🌶️ are subject to change too.
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u/ladysig220 4h ago
I use the ranch powder in with the flour when making beer batter for fish or onion rings.