Whenever I post a photo of my lunch salad on Instagram, I always get asked what salad dressing I used. When I say it’s homemade, I get asked for the recipe and honestly, I usually just make it up! But this week, I paid more attention to detail and actually measured so you can also make your salad dressing at home in just a few minutes.
My salad dressing recipe provides a recipe template that you can use to make your own variations of so I encourage you to take this recipe, try it and then experiment to find another version you love!
All you need for a simple vinaigrette salad dressing is:
So you just start with an oil and an acid (my favorites are olive oil and lemon juice), then add in some seasonings you love, along with something to emulsify it. You can add in dijon mustard or tahini, really whatever flavors you already love and make it your own.
Why you should make your salad dressing at home
One of my favorite things about making salad dressing from home versus buying it from the store is that I can tailor it to whatever my salad has in it that day! And, of course, I love knowing exactly what’s in my salad dressing. Go take a look at the label on your store-bought salad dressings. Do you recognize all the ingredients?
If you’re looking to make more of a creamy dressing versus a vinaigrette, you can do it without adding sour cream or dairy, common ingredients in cream-based dressing. Just blend it VERY well. Mixing the ingredients with an immersion blender works best for making creamy dressings, but you can shake it in a mason jar in a pinch. You really don’t need to add sour cream or dairy to get a creamy dressing unless you want those flavors!
Homemade salad dressing will store in the fridge for 7-10 days. While making dressing from scratch doesn’t keep as long as store-bought dressing, it’s so much fresher and tastes much better!
Another bonus of this recipe is you probably already have these ingredients to make it. You just need some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, and salt and pepper to taste. It’s that simple and it’s incredibly delicious. You just put all the ingredients in an immersion blender and blend until creamy.
If you were intimidated by making homemade salad dressing before, I hope this recipe and post reframed those thoughts. This recipe outlined goes extremely well with my easy kale salad.
If you want a traditional balsamic salad dressing, sub the apple cider vinegar for regular balsamic vinegar. Want something a little sweeter? Look for a flavored vinegar. Trader Joe’s has a great orange vinegar that I love using! You can also cut the recipe in half or in fourth to make a small batch and more easily experiment to see if you like your new creation!
If you need some salad recipe inspiration, check out my salad recipe e-cookbook. 
Place all ingredients in a blender (I use my immersion blender) and mix until well combined and creamy.
This will make enough to fill a small mason jar and will last in the fridge 7-10 days.
Get cooking!
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