Five easy salad dressings
Something I never, ever buy anymore is salad dressing. It is way too easy to make a million (better) varieties on the fly at home. All you need is a few pantry ingredients on hand, and little mason jars for optimal ease and convenience, and these dressings are simple to whip up ahead of time for weekday lunches or dinners.
I have a few favorites on repeat, so I thought I'd share their recipes and my favorite ways to use them.
To make all of these dressings, combine ingredients in a bowl or mason jar and whisk or shake vigorously until fully incorporated. Cover and store in the fridge for a couple of days, and taste for seasoning when you're ready to use.
PARMESAN GARLIC OIL
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½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup grated Parmesan
1 T lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Tiny pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
¼ tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
This is great for simple side salads such as romaine with toasted bread hunks and extra Parmesan.
SWEET POPPY SEED
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2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp mayonnaise
½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 T white vinegar
1½ T white sugar
1 tsp or so of finely grated sweet or white onion
1 tsp poppy seeds
Pinch salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
This is great on wraps with grilled chicken and spinach, and especially fruit because of its sweetness. It's a perfect dressing for a spinach salad with fruit, nuts, and goat cheese or blue cheese.
BUTTERMILK BLUE
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¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup buttermilk (here’s how you can make it yourself as opposed to buying)
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
Small squeeze of lemon
2 T crumbled gorgonzola cheese
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
My favorite way to use this is on a big wedge salad with sweet tomatoes, radish, bacon, and pepperoncini.
Sesame-ginger
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3 T mayonnaise
1 tsp pure sesame oil
1 T rice wine vinegar
¼ tsp Sriracha
1 tsp honey
Squeeze of lime
½ tsp ginger powder or a pinch of freshly grated ginger
¼ tsp salt
Freshly cracked black pepper
Because of its Asian flair, I like to take my salads in that direction as well. I like it in a big chopped salad with mushrooms, peppers, carrots, green onions, snap peas, and sprouts. It's delicious with chicken, so it makes a good chicken salad dressing that could be used here.
ALL-PURPOSE OIL
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¼ cup extra virgin oil
1 whole egg
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1½ T lemon juice
¼ tsp salt
1 clove garlic
Freshly cracked black pepper
This is my go-to dressing for leafy green salads, and my very favorite is baby arugula, goat cheese, red onion, cucumber, radish, and chicken breast or hard boiled egg; a lunch staple for me. The goat cheese combines with the dressing to be creamy and sweet and I never, ever get sick of it. I also often use it on quinoa salads (like this) or anything that needs a light, flavorful dressing.
PS
My green goddess dip/dressing, curry vinaigrette, and sweet sesame dressing