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.
