How To Make Your Own Salad Dressing

Heres Why You Should Make Dressing At Home

8 Healthy Salad Dressings (REALLY QUICK)

There are a few major reasons to skip the store-bought stuff, according to Fennimore:

If you make your dressing, youll know exactly what youre pouring on the salad.

While Fennimore used to buy dressings in supermarkets, she never quite felt good about it. I would read the label and think, I dont know half these ingredients, she told HuffPost. I was getting more flavor and more security in what I was making for myself and others when I was making my own. For example, EDTA is an ingredient found in many salad dressings. While the Food and Drug Administration says its safe to consume, some have concerns that it can cause allergic reactions, asthma attacks, skin rash and possible kidney damage.

Dressing takes almost no time at all to prepare.

Great news: You dont have to be a James Beard Award-winning chef to whip up dressing. Some of the most basic ones take four minutes, Fennimore said. You literally pour oil, vinegar, salt and pepper all into a Mason jar and shake it for a minute. Its so easy. Even the more slightly complicated Caesar and blue cheese dressings can be done in five to 10 minutes if you have a blender or food processor handy.

It tastes better.

Its less expensive in the long run.

What Tools Do I Need To Make This Sesame Ginger Dressing

Theres only one thing you need to make this dressing, and thats a mason jar. It couldnt be simpler: just add your ingredients to the jar, tighten the lid, and shake it until its well combined. If you prefer something else to do the blending, you can use a blender or a food processor to mix the dressing.

Its Fun To Do Even More If You Want Here Are Some Ideas For Oil And Vinegar Salad Dressing Add

Balsamic vinaigrette

Use balsamic vinegar. A touch of sweetener granulated sugar, honey, pure maple syrup, or even brown sugar helps mellow out the acidity, while a bit of Dijon mustard helps round it out. I like to use white balsamic vinegar for a lighter balsamic dressing in both flavor and looks.

Herb vinaigrette

Add fresh chopped herbs like dill, basil, parsley, cilantro, mint, or thyme

Ginger vinaigrette

Add finely minced fresh garlic or even some garlic powder in a pinch.

Raspberry vinaigrette

Add fresh or frozen raspberries along with the other salad dressing ingredients to a blender and puree. Also works with strawberries or blueberries! Go with about 1/2 cup berries per 1 cup of dressing. A bit of shallot and a drizzle of honey go nicely too.

Champagne vinaigrette

Use champagne vinegar for a light, elegant touch.

Citrus vinaigrette

Swap out half of the vinegar for lemon, lime, or orange juice. Blood orange is especially pretty! Throw in a little zest for an extra punch.

Spicy vinaigrette

Crushed red pepper flakes, a dab of horseradish, or even a bit of Sriracha add a touch of heat.

Shallot vinaigrette

Add a bit of finely minced shallots to the equation. Shallots add so much flavor! You can also add onion or scallions.

Dijon vinaigrette

Dijon mustard adds flavor and acts as an emulsifier its kind of vinaigrettes best pal. More about emulsifying in a minute. I like to add about a half teaspoon to a teaspoon of Dijon mustard per 1 cup of dressing.

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Here Are 11 Salad Dressings You Can Easily Make At Home

Fennimore breaks up her book into a few categories, and this list of 11 dressings pulls from a few of those categories, including vinaigrettes, creamy dressings, dressings with bold flavors and sauces. From blue cheese to ranch to a ton of easy vinaigrette recipes, here are 11 dressings you can make in 10 minutes or less.

Ways To Make A ‘special Salad Dressing’ According To Lifehacker Readers

50+ Homemade Salad Dressings and Vinaigrette Recipes

I rarely dive into the discourse, but last week I had to, because the discourse was centered around salad dressing. Specifically the special salad dressing that Olivia Wilde allegedly made for Harry Styles. The dressing turned out to be the fairly standard vinaigrette from Nora Ephrons Heartburn, but it resulted in many of you sharing a treasure trove of their own special dressing recipes in the comments, so Im not mad about it. Not even a little.

From pizzapartymadness:

Basic homemade is EVOO, red wine vinegar, italian herbs, salt and pepper. Quick and easy.

Something a little more fancy is EVOO, balsamic vinegar, minced/pressed garlic, herbs de provence, dijon, salt and pepper.

Ingredients You’ll Want To Keep On Hand To Whip Up A Variety Of Dressings:

Oil: Although you can use any light tasting oil, olive oil is a classic salad dressing ingredient. Olive oil contains heart healthy monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. Avocado oil would also be a good choice for a salad dressing, as its mild in taste and also contains heart healthy fats.

Vinegar: The type of vinegar you use in your dressing will determine flavor. Apple cider vinegar will provide more tanginess, while balsamic vinegar will lend a sweeter note. Red wine vinegar is a classic for creatingItalianand Greekvinaigrettes.

Mustard: Dijon mustard appears in many salad dressing recipes because it acts as an emulsifier. Oil and vinegar do not mix, so the addition of mustard helps them blend together and stay that way.

Sweeteners: Sweeteners often appear in salad dressing recipes because they help balance out strong flavors of acidic ingredients and rich oils or creamy bases. You can use honey, maple syrup, or even granulated sugar. Honeyalso serves as an emulsifier to help oil and vinegar dressings blend together.

Fresh and dried herbs: When it comes to herbs, there really are no rules except to use whatever you have on hand. If you opt for dried herbs, youll want to make your salad dressing ahead of time to give the flavors a chance to develop.

Salt & pepper: If you use no other seasoning, a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper will make a world of difference in your homemade salad dressings. Start with just a pinch, taste, and adjust as needed.

Healthy & Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing

This dressing is nothing short of dreamy! My Healthy & Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing features all the flavors of guacamole but in a healthy salad dressing package. If you love avocado, lime, and cilantro… this is for you.

Serve this dressing with any salad or even as a drizzle on top of tacos. It’s also great with my Vegetarian Taco Salad.

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Ways To Enjoy Greek Dressing

This recipe is perfect on a salad to accompany just about any type of meal.

Or you can top your salad with some protein to make it a meal in and of itself!

It’s a wonderful dressing to stir into a pasta salad…particularly Greek Pasta Salad.

This Greek dressing also makes a mean for chicken or flank steak or shrimp.

So are you a fan of Mediterranean cuisine?

Do you adore a good Greek salad?

Either way, I’ve got your back with this tangy, tasty Greek Salad Dressing recipe!

I hope you’ll add it to your homemade dressing regular rotation as I’ve added it to mine.

Honey Poppy Seed Dressing

How To Make Your Own Salad Dressing!

Honey Poppy Seed: Whisk 2 teaspoon black poppy seeds, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Gradually whisk in cup olive oil. This one I have around most of the time because it always hits the spot. This is great on salads with berries and other sweet fruits in them, it compliments them nicely. If you are vegan, you can swap the honey for maple syrup, it’s delicious still!

What’s The Healthiest Salad Dressing

Often a light vinaigrette or olive oil and vinegar-based salad dressing is the healthiest. I have several light vinaigrettes below to chose from if that’s what you are looking for.

But because even my creamy salad dressings are based on greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, they are all pretty darn healthy!

You can drizzle all of these healthy homemade salad dressings knowing they taste amazing and are good for you!

Doctored Hidden Valley Ranch

From TheNerdyMel:

My secret dressing recipe is inherited from my mom. Its basically doctored Hidden Valley Ranch for potato salad .

The real secret is grating a medium to large onion into a 16 oz container of sour cream . And you have to do it by hand. I dont know why, but it doesnt taste right if you mix this in a food processor. Maybe it needs the blood from when you inevitably scrape a knuckle on the grater.

I like to add some finely minced fresh parsley and a thorough grind of good black pepper at this stage, but my mom didnt do that.

To that you add a quarter cup of wine or cider vinegar. , a couple of spoonfuls of mayonnaise and a packet of Hidden Valley Ranch mix.

For lettuce salad dressing, I cut back on the mayo and sometimes up the vinegar. For dip, I only add a couple of teaspoons of vinegar and omit the mayo entirely.

With vinaigrettes, Ive found that the secret is to have a seasoning blend you really like as the base. Im partial to Penzeys Fox Point, which is pricey with its freeze dried garlic and scallions , but also basically instant and like any good vinaigrette base, infinitely adjustable. I dont think Ive ever made Fox Point vinaigrette the same way twice, but I also dont think Ive ever made it come out wildly different except by using a very strongly flavored oil like sesame.

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Healthy Homemade Greek Salad Dressing

This classic Greek Salad Dressing is inspired by the salad at my favorite Greek restaurant. It’s made with zesty lemons and familiar greek style herbs like oregano. It has a slightly higher vinegar to olive oil ratio making it a bit lighter in taste and calories. It goes great on everything from a classic greek salad to a summer pasta salad. You can also use it as a marinade for fish, vegetables, or meat.

You can also serve this dressing with so many things including my Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad.

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

My go-to apple cider vinegar salad dressing recipe. If EBF has a house dressing, this would be it! Get all the health benefits of apple cider vinegar with this delicious dressing! Use it for this Brussels Sprout Chopped Salad or as a .

Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 163 calories, 18g fat, 1g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 434mg sodium

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Creamy & Healthy Thai Peanut Dressing

Do you love that peanut sauce at Thai restaurants? This salad dressing tastes JUST like that but in a salad dressing form. My Creamy and Healthy Thai Peanut Dressing is so good you’ll want to drink it out of the bottle! It’s great on any Asian inspired salad, as a dip, and even as a pasta sauce.

Serve it with my Thai Peanut Noodle Salad.

Serve it with my Shrimp Avocado and Lime Salad.

Why Make Homemade Dressings

I love making my own from-scratch salad dressings at home because I can use high-quality ingredients and I know exactly what’s going in there. There are no preservatives or weird, icky additives to worry about!

In addition, recipes like this homemade Greek Salad Dressing taste fresher and can always be tweaked and customized to your liking.

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How To Make Anchovy Vinaigrette

There are a number of ways that you are welcome to make this dressing! We usually blitz ours with a hand blender, which I find to be the quickest and easiest option. But you can also whisk yours by hand or use a traditional blender or food processor.

: I recommend finely chopping or mashing the anchovies for this option. Then follow the instructions in the recipe below to drizzle the olive oil into the other ingredients while vigorously whisking in order to emulsify the dressing.
Hand blender: I typically add the ingredients to a wide-mouth jar then use a hand blender to purée the dressing until emulsfied.
Traditional blender or food processor: Either of these options will work, but they can be a bit challenging with a single batch of this dressing. So if using a standard-sized traditional blender or food processor, I recommend making either a double or triple batch and saving the leftovers for another round.

Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

Recipe: How to make your own salad dressing | Meg Unprocessed

My simplest tip for anyone who wants to eat more vegetables and enjoy them! is to start making a healthy salad dressing at home. Made with a base of extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or Greek yogurt, itll be more nutritious than any bottled dressing you can find at the store. But thats not all itll taste better, too.

Unlike most store-bought dressings, a homemade healthy salad dressing isnt designed to keep for months on end. That means that it can be made with fresh ingredients like herbs, garlic, and avocado. They may not last for weeks on a supermarket shelf, but they will add bold flavor to a homemade dressing. Try making one I think youll find that salad has never tasted so good!

Healthy Red Wine Vinegar Dressing

Here’s another classic salad dressing you need to have in your recipe book. My Healthy Red Wine Vinegar Dressing is a bit heavier on the vinegar to keep the calorie count lower. It gets lots of flavor from lemon and more herbs.

Serve in almost any salad where you’d use a vinegarette. It’s also the perfect addition to my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.

Why Should I Make My Own Sesame Ginger Dressing

Food without flavoring is a little bland, and dressings can elevate your salads to the next level. Making your own sesame ginger dressing is an easy way to have fresh, delicious dressing at your fingertips.

When you make the dressing yourself, you have complete control over which ingredients to include. As an added bonus, it costs you less than youd pay at the store. It also allows you to create dressings that might be difficult to findlike this sesame ginger dressing.

For more delicious dressing ideas, check out my Salad Dressing 101 post. Youll find helpful tips and easy recipes for salad dressings thatll fit any flavoring need!

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Great Reasons To Make Your Own Salad Dressing

Because homemade salad dressing tastes so good!Making your own salad dressing is truly fresh, no preservatives needed, because you just made it! Nothing tastes better than freshly made food.

Because homemade salad dressing is so much cheaper!A bottle of good quality salad dressing, like the kind youd like to eat, costs a few dollars at the store, right? Well you can buy the olive oil and vinegar in larger bottles and combine them for so much less! Gene calculates that it costs us less than half the price to make an 8 oz. jar of Organic Goddess Dressing, a family favorite. Way cheaper!

Because homemade salad dressing is actually really fast!Im not kidding. I know that grabbing a premade bottle off the shelf at the store is pretty fast, but how much time did it take you to drive to the store, walk inside and over to the aisle, grab it, and pay? You could make your own salad dressing at home faster than that! It only takes 1-2 minutes! Plus aren’t we all looking for ways to avoid excess trips to the grocery store?? I like to keep several bottles of olive oil and various types of vinegars around at my house to make homemade salad dressings easy to make and easy to mix up to keep it interesting.

Because a fresh delicious tasting homemade salad dressing makes you eat more veggies!Do you ever wish you could eat more salad? I swear having the right–dare I say perfect–salad dressing will do that for you! Try it! And, PS, it also works to dress up a stir-fry so well!

Tasting And Adjusting Your Vinaigrette

MasonJars.com: Homemade Dijon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing in a Mason Jar

Before you actually use your vinaigrette to dress your salad, be sure to give it a taste. This is your moment to change the ratio of vinegar and oil, add more salt and pepper, or make any other last-minute adjustments.

Since tasting a vinaigrette on its own can give you a skewed idea of its flavor, taste it by dipping the edge of one of the greens into the vinaigrette. This will give you a much better idea of how your vinaigrette will taste with the finished salad.

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Why Should I Make Homemade Dressing

Because its super simple, itll save you money, and it allows you to have total control over the ingredients in your dressing! With just a few minutes of your time and a handful of ingredients, you have what it takes to take your salads up a notch.

Trust me youll be able to taste the difference. For more salad dressing recipes, check out my Salad Dressing 101 post. Its loaded with helpful tips and delicious dressings thatll fit any flavoring need!

Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing

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My family loves this rich and creamy Caesar salad dressing. Its not overly garlicky or fishy its just right.

Though most people buy Caesar salad dressing in a bottle, homemade is incredibly easy to make and tastes so much better than store-bought. There are many variations, but this rich and creamy version is the one my whole family loves. Its not too garlicky and not too fishy its just right.

Unlike authentic Caesar dressings which are made with olive oil and thickened with raw eggs, this one has a mayonnaise base, which means no raw eggs so you dont have to worry about giving it to your kids. And, speaking of kids, mine love this dressing so much that theyve learned to make it themselves. They dont even wait for me to make a salad while I cook dinner, they sit at the kitchen table with a big head of romaine and dip the leaves in.

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