8 Blue Cheese Dressing Brands, Ranked

Move out of the way, ranch dressing. The superior creamy dressing is here in all its funky glory. Blue cheese dressing delivers an elite taste, whether you enjoy it as a dressing or its thicker version as a dip. No matter whether you use it to top your favorite salads to give them a funky, cheesy note or you simple use it as a dipping for fresh cut veggies, chicken tenders, chips, or crackers, blue cheese dressing is the condiment that you should absolutely keep stocked in your fridge. It should have complexity of flavor, richness, and creaminess to deliver the ultimate blue cheese experience.

I love homemade blue cheese dressing, but when it comes to store-bought versions, not all brands are created equally. Some focus way more on high-quality ingredients to deliver the very best flavor and texture, while others prioritize lower-cost ingredients that yield a subpar product. That's why I've tested out several different blue cheese dressing brands to give you the scoop on which one you should try and which you should avoid. I evaluated criteria like flavor, funkiness, and creaminess to determine which brand should fall in each spot in this ranking. If you're looking for direction regarding which brand to try the next time you need to re-up on blue cheese dressing, you've come to the right place.

Signature Select's blue cheese dressing and dip was among the cheapest brands I tried, and that's definitely reflected in the flavor of this dressing. It's simply not good. That probably shouldn't be too surprising, considering the very first ingredient in this product is water, followed by vegetable oil. "Watery" is a great descriptor for this dressing. Texturally speaking, there's just not much going on, and it was the thinnest of all the brands I tried. While most of the other brands have at least some chunkiness to them, you won't get any of that texture from Signature Select. In fact, it doesn't even look like it has blue cheese chunks in it.

But it's not just the texture that's a problem here. The flavor is also off. It's slightly sweet, which makes sense considering the inclusion of sugar in the ingredients list. There's absolutely no reason why there should be sugar in the recipe. It doesn't serve the product well. You can also taste some vinegar, but the actual flavor of blue cheese is conspicuously absent. Honestly, you're better off just making your own blue cheese dressing from scratch.

Ken's Steak House's dressings are some of my absolute favorites, so I had high hopes for this blue cheese dressing. But in this case, the brand really missed. Ken's Steak House creamy Wisconsin blue cheese dressing comes close to the bottom spot because, like the Signature Select, you can't really taste blue cheese in it at all. If you just wanted a basic, creamy dressing, you'd probably opt for ranch. The whole reason to select blue cheese dressing instead is because of that signature funk you can't get from other creamy dressings. But you won't find it here — rather, you're left with a vaguely acidic flavor that's not bad, per se, but definitely boring.

However, this brand ranks above the lowest slot on the list because at least the texture isn't too bad. It's quite thick, which makes it great for dipping, but I probably wouldn't use this as a salad dressing. Unfortunately, though, it's missing that chunkiness you may be looking for in a dressing. You can certainly find worse brands on grocery store shelves, but Ken's Steak House's version is one I wouldn't go out of my way to snag.

You may buy Kraft chunky blue cheese dressing, assuming that you are, in fact, actually going to be getting a dressing that could reasonably be called "chunky." But, alas, that will not be your reality. The first strike against this product is the fact that its name does not accurately describe what's in the bottle. This dressing isn't exactly "chunky" — it's quite watery. But that's okay — chunkiness isn't necessarily the most important factor to consider when evaluating a dressing.

Flavor is perhaps a more important metric, but sadly, Kraft's product doesn't exactly hit on that front, either. Mostly, you're going to be getting a salty flavor profile here. Of course, blue cheese does have a saltiness to it, but you don't actually taste much of a blue cheese flavor here at all (though this brand is admittedly better on that front than the two lower-ranking brands). Overall, this dressing is okay, but you might want to seek out some of the alternative products on the market.

If you're looking to take a step up in terms of quality, check out Litehouse's chunky blue cheese dressing and dip. Although this is far from my favorite option out there, this is definitely a quality product. The texture is its main selling point. This blue cheese dressing was exceptionally creamy — actually, it was the creamiest one of the bunch. That rich fattiness yields a really lovely mouthfeel that makes for an enjoyable bite, no matter what you're eating it with.

However, Litehouse's dressing falls short on the flavor front. The blue cheese flavor isn't very pronounced — there's really only a slight cheesy flavor here — and overall, it comes off as being kind of bland. If you're looking for a blue cheese dressing that's there more for texture than for flavor (like, say, in a salad with a lot of other ingredients), then this may not be a bad option. If you want the best-tasting option, though, there are other brands to seek out.

When you want a standard, easy blue cheese sauce, head to Whole Foods to pick up 365's organic chunky blue cheese dressing and dip. Is this the chunkiest blue cheese dressing of the lineup? No, not exactly. However, this one does actually contain some chunks, so at least you're getting something slightly interesting when it comes to texture. Otherwise, this is quite a creamy dressing.

You can definitely taste the blue cheese in this dressing, which isn't the case with some of the other products in this ranking. There's that slightly funkiness you're probably looking for in a blue cheese-based condiment. However, the funk isn't that strong. For those who are looking for a milder dressing that won't turn off the super-blue cheese-averse crowd, this is a good option. Real blue cheese lovers who are looking for more flavor complexity, however, should seek out some of the funkier, more interesting options in this ranking.

Several of the dressings I tried were stored in the refrigerated section, while the others were with the rest of the bottled salad dressing brands. For the most part, the refrigerated options beat out their ostensibly less-fresh, shelf-stable counterparts. The one exception, though, is Wish-Bone's chunky blue cheese dressing. However, this elevated spot in the ranking comes with a caveat. This dressing really shouldn't be labeled "chunky," because it's not. But I can overlook that when it comes to a good dressing.

The selling point of Wish-Bone's blue cheese dressing is that strong, distinctive, funky flavor that was missing from 365's product. This isn't a boring, bland dressing or one that doesn't boast much in the way of flavor. Rather, you're getting a dip and dressing that can play a starring role in whatever recipe you're using it in. If you're looking for a less expensive alternative (or you just don't have access to the other brands on this list), Wish-Bone may just be the way to go for blue cheese lovers.

When I can, I like to make my condiments from scratch. When I do opt for the convenience of a prepared food product, though, I like to make sure that the list of ingredients for the product in question isn't too long. Generally, a shorter list of ingredients means a better, fresher-tasting product, and that's definitely the case when it comes to Toby's blue cheese dressing and dip. This was one of my favorites partially because of the simple ingredients: cultured milk, eggs, onion, garlic — all ingredients I can actually recognize.

But it's about more than what's on the label. Flavor-wise, this is a fantastic dressing. It's definitely herbier than any of the others on this list, and although it may not be exactly what you'd first think of when contemplating a blue cheese dressing, it really works. The dill, especially, adds a lovely, light flavor to the otherwise rich recipe.

Toby's also comes through on the texture front. This dressing is very, very creamy, which makes even a small amount feel like a decadent treat. Basically, this is a great dressing you have to try, as long as you're okay with things that are a little out of the ordinary. 

Now, we come to the best of the best. Honestly, it wasn't even a competition here; Cindy's Kitchen real bleu cheese dressing and dip blew me away immediately. This brand is absolutely not messing around with the cheese chunks. There are actually pieces of blue cheese in this dressing that seem big enough to be on a charcuterie board. And each individual chunk is so creamy, so rich, that you're going to wish you could eat it straight from the jar. Even apart from the chunks, this is an especially thick dressing — you can't really pour it from the jar without somehow coaxing it out.

And you know how I said I like products with short lists of ingredients? Well, that's usually the case, but I'm going to make an exception for Cindy's Kitchen's here. This list of ingredients is long, but almost all of the ingredients are ones I actually recognize. Those ingredients, like Worcestershire sauce, garlic, white pepper, celery salt, and honey, all working together to create a wildly complex dressing. It's probably one of the best ones I've ever tasted — and I consider myself an avid dressing consumer.

If you love blue cheese, this is a must-try product. Just don't blame me if you end up eating the entire jar of dressing before you can grab a celery stick.

I chose these brands based on local availability and used a few different criteria to rank them. First and foremost, I considered the flavor of every dressing. I wanted a product that had the signature funk of blue cheese along with a balanced flavor profile. Then, I paid careful attention to texture. Thick and creamy dressings ranked higher than thinner, more watery varieties. 

I tried every dressing both on its own and with a breaded chicken tender. This gave me a better sense of how each performed its intended purpose as a dip or as a dressing.