The recipe comes from TikTok user @bakedbymelissa who also made the “Green Goddess Salad” — a mixture of finely-chopped veggies and a green goddess dressing that existed somewhere between a salad and dip — go viral. My co-worker Jen tried it, and it turned her into a salad girl…
…However, a lot of people did not care for the OG green goddess salad recipe, so it’s no surprise there were a lot of mixed thoughts about this new “ranch” dressing.
Some thought it looks absolutely delectable.
A lot of people questioned the price.
And most people questioned it being called “ranch” (including my midwest-born, ranch-loving self), but @bakedbymelissa did confirm it IS indeed ranch:
Nevertheless, I drove my butt to Walmart and spent a whopping $42.79 on ingredients in honor of Mother Earth.
Live footage of me walking out of the store…OKAY, LET’S GET TO THE RECIPE!
As someone who hates measuring and a lot of ingredients, I wasn’t thrilled about this, but the fact that it involved minimal chopping and is all thrown in a blender made it a lot easier. The recipe is as follows: three cloves garlic, one small shallot, the juice from three lemons, 1/2 cup olive oil, one cup fresh spinach, one cup dill, one cup chives, one green onion, 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, one cup raw cashews, and one tsp salt.
Here is what it looked like in my blender:
The consistency was…pretty thick. I wondered if maybe it needed more oil or some water, but I followed the directions exactly, so I left it as is.
I added it to my iceberg like @bakedbymelissa recommended and was ready to try it.
My initial reaction was mixed. I didn’t know what to think. It definitely wasn’t a flavor I have ever tasted before. As you think about it while chewing, you can definitely feel notes of every ingredient: the dill, the lemon, the garlic, the cashews, etc…
Then, after the third bite, I kind of got addicted — and excited. I was really enjoying the new flavor combo, and I also was happy that it was healthy for me. I really, really liked it.
Even though we didn’t get a pic of my husband trying the salad, his face holding the leftover dressing afterward (it makes A BIG BATCH) kind of says it all. He couldn’t get past the consistency and said it felt like pesto sauce on salad. He also didn’t care for the flavor. “It tastes nothing like ranch. It isn’t the worst thing I’ve ever eaten, but I definitely won’t eat it again.”
So, what do you think of this viral recipe?! Let me know what side of the fence you stand on in the comments!
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/kristatorres/mother-earths-ranch