Pesto Ranch
Did pesto and ranch just become best friends? Yup! Stir these two ingredients together and add instant flavor to salads, sandwiches, meats and veggies with this Pesto Ranch Dressing.
Pesto Ranch: The 30-Second Sauce You’ll Keep Coming Back To
Meet the condiment that’s had an unreasonable amount of influence over my life for 20+ years. Ever since I was in college and had a salad with Pesto Ranch on it at the Grizzly Peak in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I’ve been a loyal fan.
And yes, it’s just ranch dressing and basil pesto stirred together. It shouldn’t be this life-changing, but it is. Because it turns out that pesto and ranch should have always been married, really.
Whether you’re leveling up side salad greens for spaghetti night, making a turkey sandwich for lunch, or need a last minute veggie dip for a party, this pesto ranch earns its keep as your new always-in-the-fridge MVP.
Why You’ll Love Pesto Ranch Dressing
- Ridiculously fast. Two ingredients, a bowl and a spoon. And you can obviously eyeball the amounts – don’t bother getting measuring cups and spoons dirty.
- Lots of flavor, almost zero effort. Store-bought ranch and pesto do the heavy lifting for you.
- Easily doubled or tripled. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll wish you had made more, so maybe just double it right off the bat.
Pesto Ranch Salad Dressing Ingredients
A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.
- ranch dressing – this can be the ever-classic Hidden Valley Ranch or a store brand, but we prefer a refrigerated bottled ranch like Litehouse or especially Toby’s. It just has a fresher, better flavor than the shelf-stable dressings.
- basil pesto – look, you can make Homemade Pesto if you have a lot of fresh basil on hand and you’re into that sort of thing. Or, you can just buy a high-quality refrigerated version. We most often buy the Gotham Greens brand, which is made with basil, olive oil, garlic, Parmesan cheese and pine nuts. Rana and Buitoni are also good brands of refrigerated pesto.
How To Make Pesto Ranch Dip
- STIR. Grab the pesto and the ranch, put them in a bowl, and stir. A whisk is fastest to get everything well combined, but a spoon works, too. That’s it, you’re done!
Home Chef Tips
- Use good pesto and ranch. Since the recipe is so simple, the flavor heavily depends on the quality of the ingredients. We recommend refrigerated versions of both, rather than shelf stable.
- Chill before serving if you have time. Even a quick 15 minutes in the fridge will help the flavors meld.
- Need it to be a bit thinner? Stir in a splash of milk for a thinner, more pourable consistency.
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Easy Variations on Pesto Ranch
These actually aren’t so much variations as additions that will take the pesto ranch up another level.
- Lemon Zest – brightens the flavor even more. Try about 1 teaspoon.
- Red Pepper Flakes – add a gentle heat. A pinch should be plenty.
- Parmesan Cheese – bumps up the umami flavor! Try a tablespoon or two.
What To Serve With This Pesto Ranch Dressing Recipe
- SALADS – A no brainer! We especially love it on easy meals like Italian Chop Salad, Chicken And Spinach Salad and Turkey Burger Salad.
- SANDWICHES – Pesto ranch works as a sandwich spread on just about any type of sandwich, including our Best Turkey Burgers and Salmon Sandwich.
- PIZZA DIPPER – Here in the Midwest, well, we dip our pizza crusts in ranch. Next time you make Chicken Pizza or Grandma Pizza, make it pesto ranch. Or better yet, try this with our Pizza Pinwheels (pictured above).
- BREADED THINGS – A natural combination! Air Fryer Popcorn Shrimp and Buttermilk Chicken Tenders are both so good with pesto ranch dip.
Storage
Store this pesto ranch salad dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Mason jars work really well for this. Before each use, give it a good shake or stir to re-emulsify, as natural separation may occur.
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Pesto Ranch Dressing
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Ingredients
- ½ cup prepared ranch dressing
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Basil Pesto or refrigerated store-bought pesto
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together ranch and pesto until well combined.
- For best flavor, refrigerate at least 15 minutes or up to 5 days.
Notes
- For ranch, we like Litehouse and Toby’s brands.
- For pesto, we like Gotham Greens, Rana and Buitoni.
I don’t buy salad dressings anymore either. They’re so easy to whip up and so much yummier than the bottled stuff. This pesto ranch dipping sauce sounds amazing, Lori! This would be delicious in sammiches.
Such a clever twist on ranch dressing. I’m going to surprise my ranch dressing loving daughter with this!
Thanks, Marjory! I really hope your daughter loves this dip as much as I do 🙂
Dude this sounds awesome. I’m going to jazz up my next sandwich with this geniusness.
Thanks, Karen! It is soooo good on a turkey sandwich 🙂
Pesto and ranch dressing?? You’re a genius Lori! My salads totally needs this stuff ;–)
Thanks Consuelo! However, I can’t take credit for being the genius – one of my favorite restaurants has a pesto ranch. It’s addictive, but then I realized how easy it was to just make my own!