9 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
on Apr 13, 2016, Updated Aug 21, 2024
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Here are 9 simple homemade salad dressing recipes that you will love to make and eat. Each recipe only makes about a cup of dressing—so you don’t have to commit to eating it for a month—and because there are 9 recipes in one post, you’ll find something for every salad!
Making healthy salad dressing isn’t hard, and they’re made with very basic ingredients. You can have more variety when you make your own, and you’ll quickly learn what flavors you love together.
Here’s to making all kinds of easy salad dressing recipes at home so that you never get sick of eating your veggies. You could try a new one each week, and you’ll have months’ worth of great salad dressings. I can’t wait for you to make them!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Recipes
- Almost all ingredients for these dressings are shelf-stable and probably already located in your kitchen.
- Homemade dressings are as simple to make as combining the ingredients and giving it a good mix.
- Fresh salad dressings are so much tastier than anything available at the grocery store. You’ll never go back to buying pre-made dressing!
Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
These simple salad dressing recipes can all be made at any time by keeping these staples on hand! Seriously, you’ll never add the words “salad dressing” to your grocery list again.
Pro tip: For herbs, garlic, and ginger, dry and fresh are interchangeable; just season to taste. You will need less of the dried versions than if the recipe calls for fresh.
Herbs & Seasonings
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Parsley
- Chives
- Dill weed
- Italian seasoning
Vinegars & Juices
- Red wine vinegar
- White vinegar
- Apple cider vinegar
- Rice vinegar
- Lemon juice
- Lime juice
Oils & Emulsions
- Olive oil
- Sesame oil
- Vegetable oil (or other neutral oil
- Peanut butter
- Dijon mustard
Other Flavorings
- Garlic
- Honey
- Poppy seeds
- Ginger
- Soy sauce
- Hot sauce
How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing
Making homemade dressing is so simple, and it’s a great way to get your kids to help make dinner.
- Add all ingredients to a jar, bowl, or container for a blending device.
- Shake, whisk, or press the button to blend until well combined.
For dressings containing cheese, you can decide how smooth you’d like the final dressing consistency. Blend with the cheese in the mixture until it’s as thin as you’d like. For thicker, chunkier cheese dressings, blend all other ingredients together and then add the cheese; finish blending just a bit until it’s the consistency you like.
Recipe FAQs
Store any extra dressing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Sometimes, the oil will firm up in the fridge. If this happens, just let it rest at room temperature for a few hours before serving (or give it a quick zap in the microwave). Always shake or whisk the dressing again before serving.
The Dijon mustard in these is a must because it acts as an emulsifier between the vinegar and the oils. Whisk up the mustard/vinegar/whatever else and then slowly add the oil while you are whisking. This will help the oil to not separate out of the dressing.
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.
Easy Salad Recipes to Consider
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How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing: 9 Easy Recipes
Ingredients
Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder
Homemade Creamy Italian Salad Dressing
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon each sour cream and olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Roasted Garlic Dressing
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste
Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons each of honey, Dijon mustard, white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
- 2 teaspoon black poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup olive oil
Asian Sesame Dressing
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Peanut-Lime Dressing
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- juice of one lime
- 1 tablespoon each rice or white vinegar, chopped peeled ginger, soy sauce, and honey
Creamy Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
- 1/4 cup each buttermilk and sour cream
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/2 a lemon
- and salt and hot sauce to taste
Instructions
1. Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
- Whisk 1/3 cup buttermilk, 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives, 1 teaspoon dried dill weed, 1/4 teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. (You can sub 1 tablespoon each of dried parsley and chives for the fresh) This is perfect for cob salads, to dip fries in, over chicken salads, and most any other salads with romaine and other leaf lettuces as the base.
2. Homemade Creamy Italian Salad Dressing
- Blend 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoon each sour cream and olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 clove garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt in a blender. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
3. Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- Whisk 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil.
4. Roasted Garlic Dressing
- Slice the top off 1 head garlic; drizzle with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and roast at 400 degree until tender, about 35 minutes. Cool and then squeeze out the cloves. Blend the roasted garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan, 1/3 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste in a blender. Make a double batch and use part of it for a marinade for chicken breast. It’s also amazing on roasted vegetables.
5. Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- Whisk 2 tablespoons each of honey, Dijon mustard, and white vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in 1/4 cup olive oil.
6. Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
- Whisk 2 teaspoon black poppy seeds, 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Gradually whisk in 1/3 cup olive oil. This is great on salads with berries and other sweet fruits in them; it compliments them nicely.
7. Asian Sesame Dressing
- Whisk 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil), 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, pepper to taste, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder. This dressing is also excellent on Asian-inspired noodle recipes and chicken salads.
8. Peanut-Lime Dressing
- Blend 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons water, the juice of one lime, 1 tablespoon each rice or white vinegar, chopped peeled ginger, soy sauce, and honey in a blender. This dressing is awesome on “quinoa” bowls (roasted veggies/protein/quinoa), and it’s also excellent on fish.
9. Creamy Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
- Whisk 1/4 cup each buttermilk and sour cream, 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and salt and hot sauce to taste. Here’s a little secret: If blue cheese is too strong for you, you can make this with crumbled feta for a more mild dressing that is still wonderfully creamy and cheesy. Dip everything in this including hot wings.
Video
Notes
- See recipe instructions for notes on each dressing.
- I can’t calculate nutritional information for all 9 recipes, so use an app like MyFitnessPal to calculate for individual dressings as needed.
- All of these dressings are great to make ahead of time and will keep for at least a couple of weeks in the fridge.
- Add more or less flavorings to get each dressing exactly to your taste preferences.
very excited to try!
Thank you for these amazing recipes! I’ve tried a few & love them but I was wondering if anyone knows if I can can/preserve these? I would love to make them ahead of time & store them in my root cellar for later use. Thank you for any help you can offer. ❤️
Shana
I have better luck with the oil and vinegar based ones lasting a while but the mayo one I wouldn’t try to keep for too long…
How to you not end up with a bitter flavor after agitating the olive oil. Even using a whisk does this to me. Is it not better to use Avocado oil?
Your recipes look delicious though.
I haven’t found that simple shaking the jar is enough to cause the bitter flavor but avocado oil would work just great if you’d like.
These are so simple, quick, and amazing! Thank you <3
The bitter flavor most likely comes from the oil becoming rancid. Also less expensive olive oils can have an off taste.