I Tried That Ranch-Flavored Ice Cream So You Don't Have To
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I consider myself a dipping-sauce connoisseur. Ketchup, honey mustard, garlic aioli, chipotle mayo — you name it, and I'm down to double-dip my fries in it. So when Van Leeuwen, my favorite scoop shop, launched a Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream flavor, I was intrigued enough to reach out for a sample pint. Heck, I survived taste-testing Brach's turkey-dinner candy corn, so eating a mashup of my favorite frozen dessert and a beloved salad dressing would be a walk in the park, right?
Van Leeuwen and Hidden Valley teamed up to concoct the limited-edition flavor in celebration of National Ranch Day on March 10, an alleged holiday I was unaware of until writing this story. The former is also releasing six other totally normal flavors for the spring, including carrot cake, honey graham cracker, and strawberry shortcake. For obvious reasons, the ranch-inspired offering has garnered the most buzz, with some foodies pining for a pint and others utterly disgusted at the thought of it. I fell somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, part of the try-it-for-the-story camp because none of my coworkers were down.
My honest thoughts? It wasn't nearly as bad as I expected after watching several gag-filled reviews on TikTok. I thought it'd be a one-bite-and-done taste test, but I actually went back for several scoops, not because it was good, but because I wanted to let my taste buds fully absorb what they were experiencing. Is it my new favorite ice cream flavor? Far from it. Will I be keeping the unfinished pint in my freezer? Eh, no. But am I glad I tried it for the sake of saying my stomach is strong enough to handle ranch-flavored ice cream? Sure, why not. Maybe I'll somehow mention it in my Hinge profile so the men of New York City know I'm an adventurous eater.
Read ahead for my detailed take on the ingredients, color, and taste and to learn how you can get your hands on a pint of the viral ranch-flavored ice cream if you so please.
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The Ingredients and Nutrition Facts
This ice cream has the same base ingredients as any regular ol' ice cream, with a few additions to provide that savory ranch flavor. It combines cream, milk, cane sugar, and egg yolks with buttermilk powder, onion powder, garlic powder, spices, sea salt, lactic acid, and natural flavors. With 260 calories and 21 total grams of sugar per each 2/3-cup serving, the nutrition facts are comparable to Van Leeuwen's vanilla-bean flavor, which contains 290 calories and 23 total grams of sugar for the same serving size.
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The Color
When you peel back the seal, it almost looks like a vanilla-bean ice cream, with tiny dark flecks and a very subtle yellow-green color.
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The Smell and Taste
I won't lie to you: the initial smell made me gag and briefly regret my decision. Despite the unpleasant scent of onions, I forged on and took my first bite. It was very onion- and garlic-forward at first but became surprisingly sweet as it melted in my mouth. The more bites I took, the sweeter it tasted, but afterward, I was left with a distinct artificial onion-and-garlic aftertaste that stuck around even after rinsing my mouth with a few sips of water.
Van Leeuwen suggests topping the ice cream with crushed-up potato chips or pretzels for "a perfect salty crunch," which I opted out of. Perhaps that would've balanced out the sweetness and made it more enjoyable, but I'm not exactly itching to try it again and find out.
It's worth noting that my roommates didn't fare as well during the taste test. They both instantly gagged and spit out their first bite, which also goes for many other people who've shared review footage on social media. The consensus? It doesn't hit the mark, even if you're a bonafide ranch-lover.
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Where to Buy Van Leeuwen's Hidden Valley Ranch Ice Cream
If you're too curious to resist having your own taste test, Van Leeuwen's Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream will be available at 3,500 Walmart stores nationwide for $5 a pint, but only from March 20 through May 28. The brand's six other new flavors (sweet maple cornbread, blood orange chocolate chip, carrot cake, strawberry shortcake, honey graham cracker, and limoncello cake) will share the same limited release.