Sure, greens are great, but nobody likes a naked salad, except maybe rabbits. And that’s where dressings come in! Obviously, you can buy a salad dressing in the store. But there’s nothing quite like making them at home. And quite frankly, your tastebuds deserve it. The recipes I’ve gathered here are absolutely delicious. If you want a tangy, slightly sour, and super light vinaigrette, it’s on this list. If you want a flavorful, creamy dressing, I have that too. On top of that, you save money by making these at home. Oh, and they’re much healthier than almost anything you’d find at the store. Did I mention that they’re easy to make? So, what are you waiting for?! Here are 23 of my favorite salad dressing recipes.
1. Basic Vinaigrette
First thing’s first, everyone needs a simple and delicious vinaigrette recipe. This recipe is kind of like a vinaigrette foundation. It’s delicious on its own but you can totally customize it. And it whips up in only 5 minutes, with ingredients you probably have at home. You simply need olive oil, vinegar, dijon mustard, pure maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper. You can use whatever vinegar you like, but apple cider and balsamic are great options. If you don’t have pure maple syrup, you can use honey. Don’t forget the seasonings! Fresh herbs, dried herbs, or spices are all great additions. I love to add red pepper flakes for a kick.
2. Greek Salad Dressing
This Greek dressing is so good, that you might just want to smash your plate… OPA! Simply mix olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper. It’s light, tangy, and super flavorful. If you like things a bit more sour, add a splash of lemon! And it’s great for more than just salads! This works as a bright and tasty marinade or to drizzle over your favorite veggies.
3. Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing
This is kind of the ultimate honey mustard vinaigrette. It’s sweet, tangy, and so delicious! You make this like you would make any vinaigrette. You only need olive oil, apple cider vinegar, honey, mustard, and garlic, plus, a little love of course! Mix everything together and you’re ready to serve it. The fruity notes of the apple cider vinegar really make this a tasty dressing.
4. Homemade Buttermilk Herb Dressing
There’s nothing quite so yummy as a fresh, herbaceous, and creamy dressing. And when it’s homemade, that’s even better! You need equal parts mayonnaise, sour cream, and buttermilk. That’s what makes everything so darn creamy. Then, you need the herbs, extras, and seasonings. Whatever you need this dressing for, salads, wraps, marinades, dipping, it’ll be delicious!
5. Homemade Caesar Salad Dressing
If you think you can only get delicious Caesar dressing at a restaurant, think again! It’s actually ridiculously easy to make, with only a few ingredients. Plus, it’s absolutely mouthwatering. This Caesar dressing is creamy, tangy, salty, and loaded with flavorsome umami. Serve a salad with this dressing, and everyone will rave about it for days.
6. Homemade Ranch Salad Dressing
I love ranch dressing, but making it at home is so much fresher and healthier. Plus, it’s super smooth and creamy, so you really can’t go wrong. This dressing is loaded with delicious dried herbs that add so much flavor. It has parsley, dill, and chives, plus garlic and onion powders. Since all of the herbs are dried, you can easily remake this over and over again.
7. Homemade Thousand Island Dressing
Thousand Island is known for its sweet, savory, and bold flavor. It tastes great on almost anything, plus, it’s fantastically creamy. And once again, you only need a few things you probably already have on hand. If you have mayo, ketchup, relish, onions, garlic, vinegar, and salt you’re good to go! You can even give it a little kick with some hot sauce.
8. Sweet Onion Dressing
Sweet onion dressing is one of my favorite dressings. Every drop features light, tangy, and perfectly balanced flavors. It’s great for salads, sandwiches, and even chicken!
9. Chipotle Ranch Dressing
Bring some heat to your salad game with this absolutely scrumptious chipotle ranch dressing. It’s creamy, spicy, and seriously bold. You’ll want to put it on everything! And luckily, this dressing is actually derived from a dip. So you can put it on sandwiches, tacos, burgers, burritos, as well as salads. Honestly, it’s so good that I could eat it by the spoonful.
10. Green Goddess Dressing
Your tastebuds will love you after trying this dressing. If you’ve never had green goddess dressing, it’s like a mix between Caesar and ranch. This dressing is seriously fresh and fabulously delicious. It’s perfect for drizzling, dipping, or spreading. It has so much healthy goodness that you might be surprised it tastes so good. This recipe uses capers, parsley, lemon, seasonings, and chives in Greek yogurt. However, you can change up the flavors a bit with different herbs and/or seasonings.
11. Cilantro Lime Dressing
If you like a summery salad, you must dress it in this! This dressing is like King Midas. Everything it touches turns to flavor gold. This recipe has three variations with three creamy consistencies. Each one is fresh, bright, and utterly divine.
12. Sesame Ginger Dressing
Take your tastebuds on a trip to the East with this Asian-inspired salad dressing. It’s made with sriracha, toasted sesame, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, lime, and ginger. Plus, a few more tasty things. It tastes like all the best parts of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese takeout.
13. Honey Mustard Dressing
The main purpose of honey mustard is obviously for dipping chicken nuggets. But it also makes a pretty fantastic salad dressing! And this homemade version is absolutely delectable. It’s sweet and zippy, and it’s made with honey, apple cider vinegar, and Dijon mustard. Drizzle it on your salad and enjoy! And yes, you can dip your chicken nuggets in this, too.
14. Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Blue cheese is not for the faint of heart. But it is for those who love something delicious. This stuff is incredibly tangy with ingredients like sour cream, blue cheese, lemon, and buttermilk. It’s luxuriously creamy and flavorful. You can use it as a dressing or a dip!
15. Lemon Vinaigrette
This bright and citrusy vinaigrette is perfect for the lemon-lovers in your family. It’s absolutely bursting with lemon flavor. Plus, it’s easy to make, versatile, and super scrumptious! The secret is fresh lemon juice. It’s just so much better! And you can use the zest to add even more lemon goodness.
16. Hot Bacon Dressing
If you’re not from the American South, this dressing might sound a little… interesting. But let me tell you, this stuff is T-A-S-T-Y. It does require a bit of preparation, but only because you need warm bacon drippings. So, basically, you just need an excuse to make bacon. In the drippings, you saute some shallots and then add the vinaigrette ingredients. It’s sweet, salty, and a total umami bomb. It might just become your favorite!
17. Chili Lime Vinaigrette
I love taco salad, and this list has a few great options for dressing one. This one might be my favorite, though. It’s bold, smoky, and just a little spicy. It has all the same flavors as taco seasoning, so it’s really quite yummy. This would also make a delicious marinade for chicken or fish.
18. Homemade Italian Dressing
Italian dressing is always a good idea. It’s light, tangy, and tastes good on everything from salads to roasted veggies to meats. This homemade version is one of the best Italian dressings you’ll have. It’s creamy, salty, and herbaceous, with just a little zip.
19. Creamy Cashew Salad Dressing
You might think this dressing would be crunchy, but you couldn’t be more wrong. It’s super smooth and creamy. And it’s seriously tasty. This vegan dressing has a little bit of everything. It’s sour, nutty, fresh, and salty. You could even add a splash of maple syrup for some sweetness. Whatever you do, you’ll love this!
20. Healthy Coconut Milk Ranch Dressing (Dairy-Free, Vegan, Paleo)
This creamy ranch dressing is perfect for those who can’t have dairy. It’s light, fresh, and absolutely delightful! It doesn’t taste exactly like the ranch you might be used to, but boy is it good!
21. Creamy Avocado Dressing
If you love guacamole, you’ll love this dressing. It’s basically just really smooth guacamole, minus the cilantro and onion. It’s fresh, creamy, and out-of-this-world tasty.
22. Strawberry Lime Vinaigrette
Is it a smoothie or is it a dressing? Clearly, it’s meant to be a dressing, but a quick glance might leave you confused. It’s very fruity, pretty in pink, and even has a touch of sweetness. Honestly, you probably could drink this like a smoothie. However, I can tell you it is much better on a strawberry salad.
23. Maple Vinaigrette
This maple vinaigrette would be utterly delicious on a warm fall salad. Just picture it: spinach, warm roasted root vegetables, walnuts, goat cheese, and succulent chicken. All of that is topped with a sweet and tangy maple-forward vinaigrette. Mmm, it’s absolutely divine. Of course, you can use this on any salad you like, but doesn’t that sound amazing?
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