Is Trader Joe's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing ultra-processed?

Salad dressings Sold in the United States

Yes, it's ultra-processed

1 Unprocessed
2 Kitchen staple
3 Processed
4 Ultra-processed

Signs of ultra-processing in its ingredients:

E415 Xanthan gum

28 ingredients
1 additive
Nutri-Score D

Less processed salad dressings

Less processed isn't automatically healthier, so compare the labels for what matters to you, such as sugar or salt.

Ingredients

Ultra-processing Processing signs are highlighted

sour cream (cultured cream), buttermilk (lowfat milk, nonfat milk, salt (processing marker), vitamin a palmitate), mayonnaise (processing marker) (canola oil salted egg yolks, egg yolk, salti, lemon juice from concentrate water, lemon juice concentrate, white wine vinegar, water, mustard), water, red wine vinegar, garlic, parsley, sea salt (processing marker), shallot, chive, dill, onion, garlic, black pepper, xanthan gum (ultra-processing marker)

Additives: E415 Xanthan gum

As written on the pack

SOUR CREAM (CULTURED CREAM), CULTURED LOWFAT BUTTERMILK (CULTURED LOWFAT MILK, NONFAT MILK, SALT, VITAMIN A PALMITATE), MAYONNAISE (CANOLA OIL SALTED EGG YOLKS [EGG YOLK, SALTI, LEMON JUICE FROM CONCENTRATE WATER, LEMON JUICE CONCENTRATE, WHITE WINE VINEGAR, WATER, MUSTARD FLOUR), WATER, RED WINE VINEGAR, GARLIC, PARSLEY, SEA SALT, SHALLOT, CHIVE, DILL, GRANULATED ONION, GRANULATED GARLIC, BLACK PEPPER, XANTHAN GUM

What makes it ultra-processed

Cosmetic additives

Added to change how the food looks, feels or tastes, not to keep it safe. A hallmark of ultra-processed food.

E415 Xanthan gum Xanthan gum is a thickener made by fermenting sugar with the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris.

2 ingredients that would only make it processed

Kitchen staples like sugar, salt and oil. On their own they make a food processed, not ultra-processed.

Salt Salt, added for taste and preservation.
Sauce A prepared sauce used as an ingredient.

How the NOVA groups work

Among 252 salad dressings

From least to most processed, this one ranks 68th. 85% of the salad dressings here are ultra-processed.

Ranked by NOVA group, then by the number of ultra-processing signs, additives and ingredients. Our ordering, not part of NOVA.

All 252 salad dressings, least processed first

About this information

Data from this product on Open Food Facts (barcode 00744621, last edited 23 March 2026), available under the Open Database License. If something is wrong or the recipe has changed, you can correct it there.
Photo: Open Food Facts contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0.
The NOVA group is an automated estimate from crowdsourced data: a missing or mistyped ingredient can change it.
NOVA measures processing, not nutrition. For nutrition, Open Food Facts gives this product a Nutri-Score of D (from A, best, to E).
General information, not medical or dietary advice. Check the pack if you have an allergy.