How to Make your Own Salad Dressing – Salad Dressing Recipes
Isn’t it nice to have fresh and delicious homemade salad dressing for dinner? Now you can make your own salad dressings from scratch instead of the expensive bottled versions!
Why Make Your Own Salad Dressing?
Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients in bottled salad dressings? Here at DinnerPlanner, we decided to take a look at several popular commercial salad dressings. We were shocked at what we saw, but more importantly at what we didn’t see. How about natural ingredients? We saw more preservatives, sodium, and other questionable ingredients than we ever imagined!
We then decided to put together some recipes for a variety of homemade salad dressings, without any preservatives, for you to try. Give these a taste and see what you think. They are amazingly simple to prepare.
Do remember, since these do not contain any preservatives, their shelf life is considerably shorter than the bottled varieties, so only make a small amount at a time to avoid spoilage.
Keep cream-based dressings refrigerated no more than 7 to ten days; oil-based dressings slightly longer. Always use dressings sparingly to start- you can always add more to your salad as you go along, but it’s difficult to remove if you added too much to begin with. Enjoy!
The Healthiest Salad Dressings are typically the Oil-Based Dressings!
RANCH DRESSING – Definitely one of our favorite homemade salad dressings!
1 cup mayonnaise – learn how to make your own homemade mayonnaise
1 tsp. onion salt
1/4 tsp. dried chives
1/4 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper*
1 cup buttermilk
Place all ingredients except for the buttermilk in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for about 10 seconds. Increase speed to medium, and beat until smooth, about 30 additional seconds.
Scrape sides of bowl, and increase the speed to high. Gradually add the buttermilk, and continue beating until buttermilk is well mixed into the mayonnaise mix and the dressing is smooth, about another 2 minutes.
Place the dressing in a container with a lid, and refrigerate overnight. Stir well before serving. Makes approximately 2 cups.
*You can always use black pepper if you don’t have white. The world will not end…
Don’t have buttermilk? Make a quick ranch dressing by mixing together:
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. dried parsley
BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSING
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. minced garlic in water
1/2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1/2 c. olive oil
In a blender or food processor, mix together balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, honey, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Using a low speed, slowly add olive oil a little at a time, blending until well-mixed. Refrigerate after opening.
RED WINE VINAIGRETTE
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground pepper
1 tsp. prepared mustard (we used dijon)
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Place the salt, pepper, and mustard in a medium bowl. Add a little bit of oil, and blend with a whisk. Add a few drops of the red wine vinegar and blend well. Add the remaining oil and vinegar gradually, stirring constantly, until all ingredients are blended. Place in a container with a lid and refrigerate. Shake well before using. Makes about 1 1/4 cups.
SESAME SOY SALAD DRESSING
1/3 cup vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
3/4 tsp. sesame seeds
2/3 cup canola oil
In a medium bowl or a container with a lid, combine vinegar, soy sauce, water, sesame oil, and sesame seeds. Whisk or shake until blended, then add the canola oil. Whisk again, or cover and shake until well-blended. Keep refrigerated and shake well before using.
CREAMY HERB SALAD DRESSING
1/2 cup plain yogurt (not light or fat-free)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. dried dillweed
garlic salt (to taste)
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Place in container with a lid, and refrigerate, preferably overnight.
BLUE CHEESE DRESSING
4 oz. crumbled blue (Roquefort) cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. finely-minced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients well. Place in a container with a lid, and chill in refrigerator, preferably overnight so flavors will have a chance to blend. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
DELICIOUS GREEK YOGURT CAESAR DRESSING
4 cloves of garlic, minced fine
3 Tbsp. plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp. of Dijon mustard
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
4 anchovies, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
1/2 cup olive oil
Add everything except the oils to a food processor and blend until pureed. With the food processor still on, slowly add the oils until the dressing is creamy and well blended.
BALSAMIC VINEGAR DRESSING
1/2 cup good balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
Blend everything in a blender or add to a jar with a lid and shake until well blended.
TASTY PEANUT DRESSING
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
Blend everything in a blender or add to a jar with a lid and shake until well blended.
CAESAR SALAD DRESSING
1 egg yolk
1- 1 1/2 T. dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 anchovie (optional)
1/4 tsp. salt
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in a blender or food processor. Pulse a few seconds until blended. Add the olive oil, a little at a time, making sure all ingredients are mixing well. Once blended, store in refrigerator until ready to use. Serve over Romaine lettuce with croutons, and additional shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese.
ITALIAN SALAD DRESSING
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
In a medium bowl or a container with a lid, whisk (shake) all ingredients. Keep refrigerated.
VINEGAR AND OIL SALAD DRESSING
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
juice of one lemon
freshly-ground black pepper
Place all ingredients in a container with a lid and shake well to combine. Keep refrigerated. Remember to shake each time before using.
RUSSIAN DRESSING
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. chili sauce
1-2 tsp. chopped dried chives
2 tsp. diced pimento
In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Place in a container with a lid, and refrigerate overnight. Keep refrigerated.
HONEY MUSTARD SALAD DRESSING
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup good olive oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
black pepper, shake to taste
Blend everything in a blender or add to a jar with a lid and shake until well blended.
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