What Makes Simple Salad Dressing So Good
This simple salad dressing is light, simple, and perfect for everyday use! But what makes it so good? High-quality ingredients.
Salads are a healthy and delicious way to eat your greens and get essential nutrients. However, finding the perfect salad dressing can be a challenge, especially if you're looking for something healthy and tasty.
Store-bought bottle dressings can be high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats. Plus homemade just tastes so much better and is an easy way to elevate your salads without sacrificing nutrition or flavor.
In this recipe we teach you how to make a simple salad dressing at home, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. The health benefits and we cover common questions and provide tips and tricks for creating the perfect dressing every time.
The Benefits of Making Your Own Salad Dressing
When you make your own salad dressing, you have complete control over the ingredients, allowing you to adjust the flavors to your own palette and health needs. Here are some benefits of making it at home include:
Healthier Ingredients
Store-bought bottled products can contain ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, canola oil, artificial colors, and preservatives. By making your own dressing, you can use healthy, whole-food ingredients like olive oil, anchovies, vinegar, and herbs.
Customizable Flavors
When you make your own salad dressing, you can customize the flavors to suit your tastes. You can experiment with different herbs, spices, and oils to create a dressing that's perfect for your salads.
Save Money
Making your own salad dressing can save you money in the long run because store-bought bottled products can be expensive. Since this recipe only uses commonly stocked pantry items you can easily save money by making this from scratch at home.
What You Need to Make Simple and Delicious Salad Dressing at Home
Use high-quality ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will impact the taste of your dressing, so choose the best quality oil, vinegar, and mustard you can afford.
Experiment with flavors: Don't be afraid to experiment with different flavors and ingredients to find the perfect dressing for your salads.
Start with a base: A basic salad dressing is made up of high-quality extra virgin oil, vinegar, or mustard. From there, you can add other ingredients like honey, garlic, or herbs to create different flavors.
Use a blender: For a creamier dressing, blend all the ingredients together in a blender until smooth.
How to Make a Simple Salad Dressing
The key to a simple salad dressing is using a few high quality ingredients. In this recipe we use extra virgin olive oil, fresh smashed garlic, anchovies, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.
In a bowl or mason jar add the garlic and cover it with a very generous amount of olive oil. Let this sit for several hours so the garlic can gently scent the oil.
Add the anchovy, dijon mustard, honey, salt, and freshly cracked pepper and mix well. If you're using a mason jar stick the lid on and shake it very well. You can also make this ahead of time and let it sit our at room temperature to allow the flavors to combine.
Just before serving pour the dressing over your salad and toss to coat.
Should You Blend the Salad Dressing
If you prefer gentle notes of garlic remove the clove, and do not blend. Pour the salad dressing on top of your favorite salad mixture.
If you prefer a super garlicky salad dressing do not remove the garlic clove. Pour the mixture into a small blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth. Then proceed as you normally would.
Can I Use a Different Type of Oil
No, it's not recommended to use different type of oil. A high-quality extra virgin olive oil is the best for this recipe because it provides depth, flavor, and a huge punch of polyphenols.
Can I Use Different Types of Mustard
Yes, you can use different types of mustard. However, we don't recommend regular yellow mustard. If you choose to use honey mustard don't add any additional honey.
Can I Use Vinegar
Yes, you can definitely add vinegar. We don't in this recipe because we prefer a richer, fatty flavor.
What Type of Lettuce to Use
Romaine and little gem have beautiful, subtle flavors and we don’t want to distract from those flavors by creating an overpowering dressing.
Should I Add Cheese
We always add a sprinkle of parmigiano romano. It makes everything better.
How Much Dressing Should I Use
1/4 cup for each big bowl of salad.
How long can I store homemade dressing
It's best to make it fresh because olive oil doesn't store well in the fridge. Homemade this recipe can be made and ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Other Toppings
Croutons are always a good option. We make them homemade from leftover sourdough bread with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. They turn out great every time!
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Pssst, we wrote a book called The Olive Oil Enthusiast, have you ordered it yet?
If you make this recipe please let a comment and let us know! We love to hear from you. If you’re on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok don’t forget to tag us and use #EXAUoliveoil so we can repost!
