Your Ranch Dipping Cup Needs A Flavorful Top Layer

When you're talking about flavor combinations, pizza and ranch dip are like peanut butter and chocolate — they just work. But even when things pair well naturally, there's always room for additional improvement. Reese's proved this point when the company started creating peanut butter shapes to match the holidays: smiling pumpkins and spooky ghosts for Halloween, cute eggs for Easter, and adorable hearts for Valentine's Day. (We're still waiting on a turkey for Thanksgiving).

On the savory side, the same argument could be made, as pizza and ranch dip taste amazing together. But what if there was a way to elevate your ranch dipping cup and, therefore, your pizza? Perhaps a topping that is bursting with flavor — something slightly sweet that brings the heat but still melds perfectly with the tangy ranch and your favorite slice of pizza? Or maybe you'd prefer something bright and herbaceous with a hint of salt.

Bottomline: Your ranch dipping cup needs its own unique topping layer. 

Although ranch dressing with pizza packs a punch of flavor on its own, adding a rich, savory topping is a great way to give it that extra oomph. Maker Pizza, based in Ontario, Canada, offers a creamy garlic parmesan dipping cup topped with chili crisp. The spicy chiles add heat and a nice crunch, complementing the cool, nutty, garlicky ranch. Pizza fans can drizzle it right onto their pizza or dunk a slice in the cup. The combo marries the sweet heat from the crisp chili topping with the pie's salty, chewy, tomato-y goodness.

But why stop there? Maker Pizza has inspired us to build our own ranch dipping cup topping combinations. A premium, grass-fed butter melted with freshly chopped herbs like parsley, dill, or basil would add decadent, aromatic notes to a ranch dipping cup. A smoky-sweet, vinegar-based barbecue sauce with caramelized onions gives the ranch cup a deeper, complex profile with lingering, tangy acidity. Ranch with chunky red salsa and freshly squeezed lime would lighten up the ranch and add texture, while a generous layer of grated parmesan cheese would be a real game-changer for cheese lovers.