Calling all spice lovers! This Ghost Pepper Ranch recipe is the perfect blend of cool, creamy buttermilk and the intense heat of ghost peppers. It’s the ultimate dipping sauce for wings, fries, or pizza. Be warned: it’s got a serious kick!
Are you like me and love spicy EVERYTHING? If so, you are going to want to make this Ghost Pepper Ranch dressing STAT!
It's ranch dressing, only better because it has a spicy flavor as it contains the intensely hot, spicy, and flavorful ghost peppers! These peppers are one of the hottest peppers in the world, and are great for Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce, salsa, and now ranch dressing and sauce!
First, let me tell you a little about the inspiration for this recipe...Wendy's, one of my favorite fast food restaurants!
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Wendy's Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce
Have you tried Wendy's Ghost Pepper Ranch Chicken Sandwich? Per Wendy's website the description of the sandwich is: "Our legendary Spicy Chicken filet but now a whole lot hotter with three layers of ghost pepper heat including ghost pepper seasoned fried onions, ghost pepper American cheese and ghost pepper ranch, lettuce, and tomatoes. Don’t be chicken. Eat it."
I tried this delicious spicy chicken sandwich and very much enjoyed it! However, to a chili head like myself it wasn't as spicy as I hoped it would be.
The ghost pepper ranch is something I thought I could easily recreate at home and customize the spice level (MUCH HOTTER!) to my tastes.
So if you'd like to whip up a homemade delicious ranch dressing and also customize it to your love for spicy foods, then please read on to find out what you'll need!
🥘 Ingredients
So here are the simple ingredients you will need to make this spicy ranch dressing with a lovely herby flavor:
- Ghost peppers! I used dried Ghost peppers that I rehydrated; you can also use 2 fresh Ghost peppers if you are fortunate enough to have them! I love and recommend Sonoran Spice brand of dried Ghost Peppers
- Buttermilk (can sub whole milk)
- Mayonnaise
- Sour cream
- Vinegar
- Dried parsley
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Dried dill
- Dry Mustard
- Salt
- Black pepper
Whew! Looks like a long list of ingredients but it doesn't take long to gather and prep them!
By the way, I'm using dried herbs in this recipe, however feel free to use fresh herbs (parsley and dill) if you prefer!
So let's make this Homemade Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce and Dressing Recipe!
🔪 Instructions
Chop the ghost peppers finely and deseed if you like. If you are using dried Ghost peppers, rehydrate them for use by adding them to warm water for around 15 minutes. You can use spoons to hold the Ghost peppers under the water. Expel any water from the peppers, and then chop them finely (deseeding if you prefer). You may want to use gloves here and be sure not to touch your eyes after!
Add all of the ingredients to a medium mixing bowl and use a whisk to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
If you feel the sauce is too thin, you can add more mayonnaise and/or sour cream until you get the consistency you are after. To thin the sauce, add a bit of buttermilk until it is thinned to your liking.
Taste the sauce and add additional salt if you like and/or a pinch of sugar (optional) for some sweetness.
Suggestions For Serving
Having a jar of homemade ghost pepper ranch dressing gives you endless possibilities for using it!
My favorite way is as a dressing for salads.
Also use it as a sauce or dip for vegetables, chicken wings, chicken tenders, and french fries. I've also drizzled it over my hamburgers which is too too good!
And don't forget to top your chicken sandwiches with this creamy ghost pepper ranch sauce a la Wendy's!
How will you use your spicy ghost pepper ranch dressing? Please let me know by commenting below!
FAQ
The Ghost Pepper, also known as bhut jolokia, was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's hottest chili pepper in 2007. These measure between 600,000 - 1.04 million SHU (Scoville Heat Units) on the Scoville Scale.
Bhut jolokia (Ghost pepper) has an excellent flavor! They are fruity and sweet in addition to being HOT and SPICY!
You can also use ghost pepper powder in this recipe instead of fresh ghost peppers or rehydrated ghost peppers. Simply add the ghost pepper powder to your tastes!
Some Other Spicy Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other spicy recipes that you may enjoy:
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Cheers!
Grace
Homemade Ghost Pepper Ranch Sauce and Dressing Recipe
Equipment
- whisk
- Medium bowl
- glass container to store your dressing
Ingredients
- 2 each ghost peppers finely chopped; I used dried Ghost peppers that I rehydrated; you can also use 2 fresh Ghost chilis if you are fortunate enough to have them! You can deseed the chilis if you prefer less heat
- ⅓ cup buttermilk can sub whole milk (can add additional to thin the dressing if needed)
- ½ cup mayonnaise can add additional to thicken the dressing if needed
- ½ cup sour cream can add additional to thicken the dressing if needed
- 1 teaspoon vinegar can sub apple cider vinegar
- 1 ts dried parsley
- 1 ts onion powder
- 1 ts garlic powder
- ½ ts dried dill
- ½ ts dry mustard
- ¾ ts salt plus additional to taste
- ½ ts black pepper
Optional
- pinch of sugar
Instructions
- Chop the ghost peppers finely and deseed if you like. If you are using dried Ghost peppers, rehydrate them for use by adding them to warm water for around 15 minutes. You can use spoons to hold the Ghost peppers under the water. Expel any water from the peppers, and then chop them finely (deseeding if you prefer). You may want to use gloves here and be sure not to touch your eyes after!
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium bowl and use a whisk to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients.
- If you feel the sauce is too thin, you can add more mayonnaise and/or sour cream until you get the consistency you are after. To thin the sauce, add a bit of buttermilk until it is thinned to your liking.
- Taste the sauce and add additional salt if you like and/or a pinch of sugar (optional) for some sweetness.
- Enjoy!
Grace
This is ranch dressing only better because it's SPICY HOT! Love this over my salads and especially as a dip for my fries. easy and delish!