The condiment with a kick: Spicy ranch

Sometimes classics need a kick. Enter spicy ranch (and jalapeno ranch, which is also growing on menus.)

Spicy sauces are being driven by consumers who increasingly crave that kick of capsaicin in a range of foods and condiments, but also by the continued growth of chicken sandwiches on menus, which customers often enjoy with creamy hot sauces (and/or Nashville-style hot oil). But chicken isn’t the only natural complement to spicy ranch; it’s equally at home on fried sides like fries and onion rings.

On menus, spicy ranch often includes the name of the particular hot sauce that is used in it, particularly Sriracha.

Market research firm Datassential reports that 73% of the population knows about spicy ranch but only 44% have tried it. Awareness is highest among Millennials and Gen X.

Click on the gallery to learn more about this Flavor of the Week and see how one restaurant is using spicy ranch on its menu.