Here's recipes for 9 simple salad dressings that you are going to 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 recipe in one post, you'll find something for every salad!
9 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Making healthy salad dressing isn't hard and there's no need to have a mile long list of ingredients in them (like their store-bought dressing counter parts). You can have more variety when you make your own, and you'll quickly learn what flavors you love together.
When it came time to narrow down the 9 homemade salad dressing recipes I had a tough time deciding what should go in the mix. Here's what I decided on and I know you are going to love them all. I went for a little bit of everything on the list and you are going to find the perfect dressing for just about any green salad or dish you are making.
9 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
Homemade Creamy Italian Salad Dressing
Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Roasted Garlic Dressing
Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
Asian Sesame Dressing
Peanut Lime Dressing
Creamy Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
In the world of salad dressing recipes, this is going to be a list you come back to again and again.
What does the Dijon mustard do in salad dressings?
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.
How long does homemade salad dressing last?
Store any extra dressing in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Sometimes the oil will firm up in the fridge. Just let it rest at room temperature for a few hours before serving if this happens (or give it a quick zap in the microwave). Always shake or whisk your dressing again before serving.
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!
More recipes you'll love:
- Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix
- Mediterranean Cucumber Salad (goes great with the classic vinegrette)
- Cornbread Salad (great with the ranch)
- Thai Chopped Salad with the Best Peanut Dressing (great with the peanut lime dressing)
How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing: 9 Easy Recipes
- Total Time: 14 minute
- Yield: 1 cup dressing 1x
Description
9 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes that you'll make over and over again. Recipes include ranch, creamy Italian, honey poppy seed dressing and more!
Ingredients
Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
- ⅓ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives
- 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder
Homemade Creamy Italian Salad Dressing
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon each sour cream and olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon kosher
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup olive oi
Roasted Garlic Dressing
- 1 head garlic
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste
Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons each of honey, Dijon mustard, white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil
Honey Poppy Seed Dressing
- 2 teaspoon black poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher sal
- ⅓ cup olive oil
Asian Sesame Dressing
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 ½ teaspoons grated peeled ginger
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Peanut-Lime Dressing
- ¼ 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
- ¼ cup each butter milk and sour cream
- ½ cup crumbled blue cheese
- ½ a lemon
- and salt and hot sauce to taste
Instructions
1. Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
Classic Ranch: whisk ⅓ cup buttermilk, ⅓ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives, 1 teaspoon dried dill weed, ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. (You can sub 1 tablespoon each of dried parsley and chives for the fresh) Once you start making homemade ranch, you’ll never go back to the store-bought stuff again. SO GOOD! 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
Creamy Italian: Blend ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoon each sour cream and olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 clove garlic, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a blender. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
3. Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Classic Vinaigrette: Whisk 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in ⅓ cup olive oil.
4. Roasted Garlic Dressing
Roasted Garlic: 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, ⅓ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste in a blender. I’m obsessed with this one. SO good! Make a double batch and use part of it for a marinade for chicken breast. It’s also amazing on roasted vegetables. I made my freezer to slow cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs and served it with a simple side salad and this dressing last night and I couldn’t get enough. Super easy, healthy, delicious, whole food meal the whole family loves.
5. Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
Honey Mustard: Whisk 2 tablespoons each of honey, Dijon mustard, and white vinegar and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup olive oil. So easy, super classic, I love honey mustard dressing on all the things.
6. Honey Poppy Seed 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 ⅓ 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.
7. Asian Sesame Dressing
Asian Sesame: Whisk 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 ½ teaspoons grated peeled ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil), ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. This dressing is also excellent on Asian inspired noodle recipes and chicken salads.
8. Peanut-Lime Dressing
Peanut-Lime: Blend ¼ 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
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.
Notes
- See recipes instructions for notes on each dressing
- I can't calculate nutritional information for all 9 recipes, just use an app like MyFitnessPal to calculate the individual dressings as needed
- Prep Time: 10 min each
- Category: side
- Method: no bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 0
- Sodium: 15
- Fat: 7
- Saturated Fat: 7
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 5
- Fiber: 0
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 0
Keywords: salad dressing, homemade salad dressing, homemade ranch, homemade blue cheese, easy salad dressing, salad dressing recipe, vinaigrette
1. Classic Ranch Salad Dressing
Classic Ranch: whisk ⅓ cup buttermilk, ⅓ cup mayonnaise (can sub mayo with Greek yogurt), 2 tablespoons each chopped parsley and chives, 1 teaspoon dried dill weed, ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. (You can sub 1 tablespoon each of dried parsley and chives for the fresh. You can also use fresh herbs in this recipe if you have them) Once you start making homemade ranch, you'll never go back to the store-bought dressing again. SO GOOD! 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
Creamy Italian: Blend ¼ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (can use balsamic vinegar here), 2 tablespoon each sour cream and olive oil, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1 clove garlic, and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt in a blender. Stir in 1 tablespoon chopped parsley.
3. Classic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Classic Vinaigrette: Whisk 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in ⅓ cup olive oil. Vinaigrettes are a stable and I have a whole post dedicated, so if you'd like more information you can fine my balsamic vinaigrette and lemon vinaigrette recipes here.
4. Roasted Garlic Dressing
Roasted Garlic: 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, ⅓ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste in a blender. I'm obsessed with this one. SO good! Make a double batch and use part of it for a marinade for chicken breast and it's great over Greek salads. It's also amazing on roasted vegetables. I made my freezer to slow cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs and served it with a simple side salad and this dressing last night and I couldn't get enough. Super easy, healthy, delicious, whole food meal the whole family loves.
5. Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
Honey Mustard: Whisk 2 tablespoons each of honey, Dijon mustard, and white vinegar and ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper to taste. Gradually whisk in ¼ cup olive oil. So easy, super classic, I love honey mustard dressing on all the things.
6. Honey Poppy Seed 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 ⅓ 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!
7. Asian Sesame Dressing
Asian Sesame: Whisk 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 ½ teaspoons grated peeled ginger, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, ⅓ cup vegetable oil (or other neutral oil), ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and pepper to taste, and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. This dressing is also excellent on Asian inspired noodle recipes and chicken salads.
8. Peanut-Lime Dressing
Peanut-Lime: Blend ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons water, the juice of one lime (can sub lemon juice in a pinch), 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
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 (great on everything Tex-Mex)
You won't believe just how easy to whip up homemade dressing is. ENJOY!
Gl.Walby
I love this
★★★★★
Wes
Loved the smaller amounts, little to no wasted dressing.
★★★★★
angel vea banasihan
hi that was so great thank you Melissa for giving us knowledge to learn these amazing recipes
Melissa Knue
What kinds of fruit can you use to make sweet Dressings ?
Melissa
I have great luck adding things like orange juice or apple juice to sweeten homemade dressings.
Virginia
Can you substitute avocado mayo in the ranch dressing recipe? Is there much of a taste difference?
Thank you...
Melissa
Yep, you can use avocado mayo, it'll work just great.
PHYLLIS E. SKILLMAN
I NEEDED SOME RECIPES FOR SALAD DRESSINGS. THEY COST SO MUCH IN THE STORE AND THEY HAVE ALL KINDS OF STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T PUT INTO YOUR BODY. I DON'T SEE A PRIVACY POLICY TO PUSH?
Juliana
Hello, love some of you're recipes. I do have food some intolerances. Wheat, red and yellow colorants ie: msg .
JOY WALL
DON'T KNOW WHAT WENT WRONG, BUT I WASN'T ABLE TO PRINT RECIPES FOR SALAD DRESSINGS. LOOKING FORWARD TO YOU WENDING THEM. MANY THANKS
JOY
Wendy Hansen
Thank you for the ideas and the recipes - I make all of my own salad dressings and it is very nice to not have all of those pesky dressing bottles in the fridge. Sometimes I just make up my own. - but it is always fun to try new things and get inspired by new ideas. You're an inspiration!
Melissa
I'm so glad you are enjoying them! I make some up too and then sometimes I just like to stick with the tried and true or give myself new ideas by looking at recipes. I'd love to hear your favorites to make!
Diane
I very seldom buy store bought salad dressing these days. I made your creamy Italian salad dressing and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve made blue cheese dressing and that is by far my favorite to make but your tip in using feta instead of blue cheese has peaked my taste buds. I just have to try it. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
Gary Dunne
Im trying your baked spuds tonight cant wait with slow cooked 5hr leg of lamb im used to cooking my spud in hot coles in the bush then just wipe any dust off before eating best ive ever had im looking forward too trying your salad dressing recipes im famous for my own aoli cant make it without all the neighbors turning up as soon as they hear the blender im just a novice cook but have the advantage of working in some the best restaurants in NOOSA i used to drive the chefs nuts with all my querys but i learnt alot
Jan
Melissa this post is awesome. Thanks so much for sharing. Love these dressings! So tasty and easy to make ?
Melissa
Enjoy all the dressings! In my minds, it'll help you eat allllllll the veggies!
Tea
Wow...can't wait to try these dressings.
Msgd
Could you prepare the dressings ahead without the oil, keep then in the fridg, then add the oil tha day you want to serve the dressing? How long would they last before the oil was added?
Melissa
That's a great idea! I think it would last a good long time, like more than a week. They are just really simple ingredients! It'd try it!
Lynda Pfeiffer
I have tried to print the salad dressing recipes thru the link twice. Both times I have to put in my e-mail address and name which I did. All I get is a blank page with a link to an advertisement. No recipes. What is up with that?
Melissa
I'll send you an email.
Barb
Is it best to use powder or ready made mustard please?
Melissa
Use the ready made, it helps to emulsify the oil and vinegar!
Suzanne
Your amazing thank you ! I can't wait to try each one of these dressings! ??
Kay Bowen
I love these salad dressings and I like that you don't have to make a huge recipe! Thanks
Stephanee
How long can these be stored?
Melissa
I keep mine in the fridge for about a week if they are creamy and 2 if they are just oil and vinegar... they store well, but because they only make about a cup I haven't kept them around super long to tell you when they might spoil. So not as long as a store bought dressing, but long enough to get used. Does that help at all?
Lucille Patton
Thank you so much
Kirn
These look amazing! Can they be frozen?