How To Store Homemade Salad Dressing
I recommend storing your homemade dressing in a glass container in the refrigerator. I like to use mason jars! One thing to note: homemade dressings made with olive oil tend to harden and separate when stored in the fridge. This is completely normal! Take the dressing out of the fridge about 20 minutes before using so it can come to room temperature and then give it a quick shake to recombine the ingredients.
Basic Vinaigrette Ratio & Ingredients
The traditional French vinaigrette formula calls for 1 tablespoon vinegar for every 3 tablespoons olive oil. Modern vinaigrettes often call for a bit more vinegar than that, but its always up to you. Kale salads can tolerate more zingy dressings, while youll want to use less vinegar for mild greens like spring greens.
Heres what youll need to make vinaigrette:
- Olive oil for your base
- Vinegar of choice
- Dijon mustard for some flavor complexity and creaminess
- Maple syrup or honey for a little sweetness that balances the vinegar
- Garlic for oomph
- Salt and pepper
Watch How To Make Vinaigrette
Please let me know how you like this vinaigrette in the comments! I love hearing from you and Im dying to hear about the salads you make with it .
If youre looking for more salad dressings that keep well, dont miss my sunshine salad dressing , green goddess dressing, carrot ginger dressing or jalapeño-cilantro dressing .
4.9 from 195 reviews
Heres my go-to vinaigrette recipe! Its so easy to make and tastes way better than store-bought dressings. You can change up the flavors by choosing the vinegar that suits your salad best. Recipe yields ¾ cup dressing, enough for about 6 medium salads .
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons vinegar of choice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Also Check: What Dressing Is Used For Greek Salad
How Long Do These Dressing Last In The Refrigerator
Each recipe for the summer salad dressings below makes ~1 cup the perfect amount to last a few days or throughout the week!
Since these dressing arent made with preservatives like the store bought dressings, you can keep the Ranch and Caesar for 1 week and the other vinaigrette based dressing for up to 2 weeks.
A Salad Dressing For Everyone:
One perk of making your salad dressings at home is being in total control over the ingredients.
Nowadays I come in contact with a variety of people who are gluten free, vegan, trying to reduce added sugars, etc. and Im a supporter of whatever lifestyle you choose and want to provide recipes for you!
Eventhe pickiest of eaters will find a salad dressing below that they love. Let metell you a story
Before I met my husband he told me he never ate salads. He grew up on meat and potatoes and just never liked salads they were boring and bland to him.
Enter:Me.
I was able to open his eyes to the magic of salads and how they arent just for Dietitians or just for really healthy people. He now REQUESTS salads and loves a variety of saladsand dressings!
Don’t Miss: Best Pasta Salad Recipe Ever
The Best Way To Store A Vinaigrette
Store vinaigrettes in a jar or other container with a tight lid so that its easy to shake it up again when you need it. If you made a basic vinaigrette with just olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper, you can stash it on the counter or in the cupboard for several weeks. If any of the ingredients in your vinaigrette were previously refrigerated or are fresh, like lemon juice or minced shallots, then store it in the refrigerator up to five days.
What Is The Best Vinegar For Vinaigrette
Ahhh, so many lovely varieties of vinegar. Most wine vinegars will yield a lighter vinaigrette. Rice vinegar is also a nice, light choice. Apple cider vinegar lends a nice little bite . Balsamic vinegar is a bolder choice, but lends a wonderful sweet/tart flavor to the mix. Sherry vinegar is also nice, but can be bold, so tread lightly.
Lemon juice is often substituted for vinegar, but I prefer to supplement the vinegar with acidy citrus juices rather than replace the vinegar entirely. Generally Ill swap out half the vinegar for citrus juice if Im going that route.
Recommended Reading: What Does Eating Salad Do To Your Body
Punchy Yoghurt Dressing With Mayo
Combine an equal quantity of mayo and yoghurt to lemon juice, chilli flakes and finely chopped red onion to make a bold mayo dressing that pairs wonderfully with tuna salad. As half the mayo is switched for yoghurt, this creamy emulsion is also a useful healthier dressing for potato salad and homemade coleslaw.
Sweet & Savory Dressing Recipes
Unlike their store-bought counterparts, these sweet & savory dressings arent laden with excessive added sugar. Instead, I sweeten them naturally with a little bit of honey.
Honey Mustard DressingReaders love this healthy salad dressing recipe, and its not hard to see why. Its sweet, tangy, lightly creamy, and made with 7 basic ingredients. Try it on this Green Bean Salad or as a dipping sauce for French fries.
This sweet and smoky vinaigrette works great as a dressing for a taco salad. I also love it on grilled and roasted sweet potatoes.
Also Check: Seasonal Vegetable Salad North Italia
Soy And Sesame Dressing
Need a dressing for a cold noodle salad thats ready in seconds? Blend a generous dollop of peanut butter into a mixture of soy sauce, Chinese rice vinegar, brown sugar and sesame oil for an umami punch. Stir in freshly minced garlic and ginger for extra fragrance and fire if you like. Then loosen with a splash of water for a thinner consistency. Alternatively, switch the soy for salty fish sauce and the vinegar for lime juice and chilli flakes for a Thai flavour. Both options are amazing on crunchy slaw-like salads made of a jumble of shredded carrot, Chinese cabbage and peppers or mange tout, red cabbage and beansprouts.
Everyday Salad Dressing Ingredients:
Before we get to the full recipe below, here are a few quick notes about the salad dressing ingredients you will need for this recipe:
- Olive oil: Its important to use good-quality olive oil for salad dressings because its flavor is quite prominent in the dressing. I always recommend shopping for olive oil that is certified extra-virgin and really love this brand for salad dressings.
- Garlic: I prefer to press or mince a small clove of fresh garlic for this salad dressing. But if youre in a hurry, a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder will work too!
- Lemon juice : Most of the time, we make this recipe in our house with freshly-squeezed lemon juice, which I find is super versatile and works with nearly any kind of salad. But if you prefer to turn this recipe into a vinaigrette, you can opt instead to use any type of vinegar that you choose.
- Dijon mustard: I also almost always add a teaspoon of creamy Dijon mustard to my salad dressings. But that said, if you would like a more mustard-y dressing, feel free to double or triple the amount of Dijon. Or if you prefer a grainy mustard, whole-grain Dijon will work great too.
- Fine sea salt: To bring out all of those delicious flavors.
- Black pepper: And however much freshly-cracked black pepper you prefer!
Don’t Miss: Wendy’s Caesar Salad Dressing
What Is The Best Oil For Homemade Vinaigrette
You cant go wrong with extra virgin olive oil, which I use 95% of the time.
Or choose a light, flavorless oil like grapeseed oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil. Avocado oil can be delicious, too. For some extra flavor, you can even swap in a touch of nut oil like walnut oil or hazelnut oil or a bit of sesame oil adds a nutty vibe that complements Asian foods nicely. Just use a light touch with the more potent oils.
It goes without saying that higher quality oil is going to taste the best. But personally, as you can see by the photo, Im not opposed to a little Costco generic brand love. Tastes pretty great to me!
How To Make Homemade Salad Dressing
Each of these recipes are made with minimal ingredients. There are a few ways to mix up homemade salad dressings:
- Put all of the ingredients in a mason jar and shake it up! I like using this method for oil-based dressings like vinaigrettes.
- Put all of the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend! I like using this method for creamier dressings that use ingredients like avocado but it also works great for vinaigrettes!
You May Like: How To Eat Tuna Salad
Ways To Whisk A Vinaigrette
You can make a vinaigrette by whisking it together in a bowl, shaking it together in a jar, or blending it with a blender. Heres more information about all three:
Whisk with a fork or whisk
- Best for: Making a single salad for lunch or dinner.
- What to do: Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a small bowl or right in the salad bowl. Tilt the bowl and whisk the vinaigrette quickly for a few seconds. First youll see bubbles of the oil and vinegar break into each other, and then the vinaigrette will become uniform. The vinaigrette will quickly separate back into oil and water, so use it right away.
Shake in a jam jar
- Best for: Making a large batch of vinaigrette to use throughout the week.
- What to do: Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar or other container with a lid. Screw on the lid and shake the jar vigorously for a few seconds until the vinaigrette comes together. Use what you need for your salad, then store the rest in the fridge. The oil and vinegar will separate as it sits, so youll need to re-shake the vinaigrette every time you use it.
Blend in a blender or with an immersion blender
How To Make Simple Salad Dressings
Salads can be a great and delicious way to include more vegetables in your diet. With the summer months upon us, many of our clients are asking for more salad ideas. And we always suggest the easiest way to spice up a salad is to try new salad dressings. Salad dressings can take a drab salad and make it fabulous.
That said, we would like to share with you a how-to guide on preparing your own simple salad dressings. The simplest salad dressing to prepare is the classic vinaigrette. Vinaigrettes require few ingredients and can be easily seasoned to add variety to your meals. Preparing this simple salad dressing is a quick two-step process.
You May Like: Ken’s Greek Salad Dressing
Greek Salad Dressing Recipe Ingredients
You only need 7 ingredients to make this Greek salad dressing recipe! Chances are, you have them all in your pantry already:
- Red wine vinegarand Dijon mustard They work together to give the dressing a bright, tangy flavor.
- Fresh garlic For sharp depth of flavor.
- Dried oregano It gives the dressing fresh, aromatic notes.
- Extra-virgin olive oil It adds richness and mellows the sharp vinegar and mustard.
- And salt and pepper To make all the flavors pop!
Whisk everything together in a small bowl, and season to taste. Thats it!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How To Mix Vinaigrette: My Two Favorite Methods
Yes, oil and vinegar likes to stay separated. But for vinaigrette, we want it together at least long enough to get it onto our salad.
One effective way of mixing it together is to use a blender. But I feel like that over-complicates the process and, lets be honest, I dont like the extra clean-up. And this is all about simple!
So I almost always mix my vinaigrette one of two ways:
Also Check: Buffalo Barclay Chicken Salad Chick
What Do You Store Homemade Salad Dressing In
The dressings store so well in wide-mouth half-pint mason jars. These lids are also really nice to have on hand! Each recipes only makes about a cup which is great if you ask me.
Here’s to make all kind of easy salad dressing recipes at home so that you never get sick of eating your veggies. You could try a new one a week and you’ll have months worth of great salad dressings to try. I can’t wait for you to make them!
Healthy Salad Dressings With Tahini
Tahini is one of my favorite ingredients to use in healthy salad dressing recipes. It gives them a lightly creamy texture and a rich, nutty flavor. Plus, its easy to stir together with other ingredients. No blender required!
I could eat this dressing by the spoonful! Nutty and refreshing, its an irresistible topping for salads and bowls.
Don’t Miss: Mid Century Modern Salad Bowl
Try Using These Vinegar Or Acid Options
Try using any of the following for the acid in your salad dressing: Balsamic vinegar, white balsamic vinegar, rice wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or red wine vinegar. Apple cider vinegar can be used, but you will most likely want to add a bit of sugar, honey, or another sweetener to the mix. Lemon juice, lime juice, or any citrus juice can also work.
If you have IBS or food sensitivities, be sure to check your vinegar or juice before using it! Some of the vinegars recommended above are not low FODMAP.
Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings
Healthy homemade salad dressing recipes that are super easy to make from a basic balsamic vinaigrette to peanut, honey mustard and cilantro lime. All dressings are gluten-free, vegan-friendly and paleo-friendly.
Regular readers know that I could practically live on salads because I love them so much. Theyre such an easy option for healthy eating because you can literally toss a protein and healthy fat over a bed of greens with a ton of veggies or a whole grain and youve got yourself a delicious meal.
And honestly salads are all about the toppings! Yes, the greens are important, but if you have a ton of flavorful toppings you might not even need a dressing. A drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, a scoop of hummus or even hot sauce will do the trick. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I put hot sauce on everything even salad.
That said, there are definitely times when Im in the mood for a salad with actual dressing. For times like this I like to whip out one of my homemade salad dressing recipes. The six Im sharing are my go-tos. I make them all the time, but theyve never really been featured on the blog because theyre all hidden within different salad recipes. Now theyre all are in one spot for easy reference.
You May Like: What Do You Need To Make Taco Salad
How To Make Salad Dressing:
Easy! All you really need to do to make this salad dressing recipe is stir or shake all of the ingredients together until combined. You can either accomplish this
- In a bowl or measuring cup: Combine all of the ingredients and whisk until combined.
- In a mason jar: Combine all ingredients, cover with a lid, and shake vigorously until combined.
- In a blender: Combine all ingredients and pulse until combined.
Creamy Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
Creamy Blue Cheese: Whisk ¼ cup each butter milk and sour cream, ½ cup crumbled blue cheese, the juice of ½ a lemon, and salt and hot sauce to taste. Here’s a little secret, if blue cheese is too strong for you, you can actually make this with crumbled feta for a more mild dressing that is still wonderfully creamy and cheesy. Dip everything in this including hot wings.
Bonus recipes #10: my famous cilantro lime dressing
You won’t believe just how easy to whip up homemade dressing is. ENJOY!
You May Like: Salad And Go Franchise Opportunities
How To Make A Basic Vinaigrette
True BrewsBrew Better Beerher website
The time has come for you to embrace homemade salad dressing starting with this vinaigrette. You dont need a recipe, and you dont even really need measuring spoons all you need is a basic understanding of how oil and vinegar work together. Here is everything you need to know.
The most basic formula for making a salad vinaigrette is:
- one part vinegar or other acid
- mixed with three to four parts oil.
For instance, you could use one tablespoon of cider vinegar and three tablespoons of olive oil. Or you could make a big batch of dressing and use 1/4 cup of vinegar mixed with 3/4 cups olive oil. Or use ounces, or milliliters, or the side of a jam jar this a ratio, so you can use the means of measuring the ingredients that you prefer.
Howto Make Healthy Ranch Dressing:
In a medium sized bowl, whisk all ingredients together until well combined. Store in jar or container for up to 1 week.
Or you can combine all ingredients in a mason jar and give it a nice shake until combined so you dont have to dirty a bowl! Store in a mason jar or airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Makes 1 cup.
Jalapeño Honey Mustard dressing is for my spicy loving fans out there. It is a perfect blend of sweet and spicy and pairs perfectly with a chicken salad.
What youll need to make jalapeño honey mustard:
Recommended Reading: Can I Eat Tuna Salad While Pregnant
Is That What You Want
Yes, there are a lot of ingredients and additives in these two salad dressings. As a registered dietitian nutritionist, I encourage you to read the ingredient label on your dressing. Especially if you have food intolerances, food sensitivities, or IBS or want to manage your blood sugars, weight, or eat healthier.
Now, not all bottled salad dressings have an extensive list like the ones above, but for your grocery bill and your health, consider skipping the bottled salad dressings and making your own.