From the unique flavour to the fact it goes so well with everything, ranch is adored by people all across the world, with all sorts of tastes. If youāre a huge fan, you may be tempted to freeze some ranch in your home. But, is this doable?
Can You Freeze Ranch Dressing?
Yes, you can freeze ranch dressing for up to 3 months. The best way to do this is to place it into an airtight freezer container or bag, pressing out excess air, before labeling it, sealing it, and transferring it to the freezer.
Do Does Ranch Dressing freeze well? Sometimes
Can you refreeze Ranch Dressing? No
How to Freeze Ranch Dressing
Before you get to freezing ranch dressing, you need to make it. Grab your favourite recipe and knock a large batch together. It needs to be as fresh as possible for freezing. You can now freeze it:
- Transfer to Bags: Transfer the dressing to a freezer bag. Once the sauce is added to the bag, you need to make sure you leave around 20% of the bag empty to allow the sauce to expand.
- Remove Air: The simplest way to do this is to sit the bag that youāre using in front of you, before lifting your hands up to near the top of the bag, and pressing out the final inch or so of air. Once that air has been removed, seal the bag.
- Freeze: Transfer the ranch dressing into the freezer, where it will freeze solid in a few hours time. It can then be kept in the freezer for a maximum of 3 months.
3 Tips for Freezing Ranch Dressing
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing ranch dressing to have the best results:
Expect Separation
When freezing, ranch dressing will separate into several separate layers. This is because it is an emulsion. When you remove the ranch dressing from the freezer and it looks a little odd, donāt be worried, a vigorous whisk or a pulse in a blender can rectify this.
Freeze Upright
Freezing ranch dressing in a bag vertically is the best way to ensure that you prevent spillage as much as possible. Freezers are notoriously hard to clean, and since it contains dairy, ranch can make a right mess. That’s why you should store bags of ranch vertically, with the opening pointing up.
Leave Room for Expansion
Since ranch contains quite a lot of water, it will undoubtedly expand as it sits in your freezer – this is because water expands as it freezes, and ranch is mostly water. To be sure that your ranch doesnāt burst the container it’s in, we recommend leaving a few inches of headspace.
How Long Can You Freeze Ranch Dressing?
You can freeze ranch dressing for up to three months.
We wouldnāt advise freezing it any longer than that, though, as the dairy elements of the sauce will likely spoil over time, making the dressing rather less appetizing.
Providing that it is stored in a bottle with a tight-fitting cap and it has been continuously kept in the fridge, ranch dressing will last for around 6 months.
How Do You Defrost Ranch Dressing?
The best way to defrost ranch dressing is to allow it to thaw to a liquid in your fridge overnight before transferring that to a blender and pulsing until the sauce re-emulsifies, and you can use it in your food.
You cannot speed up the thawing process as you risk completely ruining the texture of the dressing.
Can You Refreeze Ranch Dressing?
Yes, you can refreeze ranch dressing.
However, considering the dairy and buttermilk elements of the dish, we recommend against thawing and freezing the sauce too many times – the ice crystals will likely start to damage the protein structure of the dairy in the sauce.
Does Ranch Dressing Freeze Well?
No, not really. The reason is that ranch dressing separates into different layers as it freezes, leaving you with the task of whipping it back into an emulsion. This is, of course, both frustrating and inconvenient.
You also have to question what the point of freezing it is. It will keep for around 6 months in the fridge but will only last for 3 months in the freezer. You might as well just keep it in the fridge.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing ranch dressing or dressing in general, then these may help:
Although Ken’s ranch dressing will freeze, the brand advises against freezing it. This will be because the quality deteriorates rapidly in the freezer.
Like other ranch dressings, Hidden Valley ranch dressing can be frozen but you shouldn’t bother as you’ll be left with a grainy, clumpy mess!
