Life
11 Salad Dressing Recipes That Will Change the Way You Think About Eating Your Veggies
Let’s be honest. The thing we love most about salad is that it usually means steak afterward. You have to swallow a few leafy forkfuls before you get to the good stuff — because it was either that or a juice cleanse. And, well, you picked the lesser of two evils.
But what if we told you we’ve been doing this whole salad thing wrong? That salads are meant to be more than penance for delicious things? It’s true — and it all starts with your dressing. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with a haphazard drizzle of vinegar and oil over a bowl of greens. You’ve probably been eating salad this way for years, ever since your mother made you finish your veggies before serving up the mac and cheese. On the other hand, if you treat your salad right, if you toss it with ginger miso or a goat cheese vinaigrette, it’ll show you what it can really do. So tonight, ditch the bottle for one of these nine homemade dressings. Your salad will never be the same.
Image: Heather Christo
Herb Vinaigrette
Meet your new go-to vinaigrette. Our friends at Tucker add a dollop of mustard, along with some fresh herbs, to keep things interesting.
Image: Tucker
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Now that you’ve mastered the classic vinaigrette, it’s time to shake things up. Fresh raspberries brighten this dressing from Roasted Root, while white vinegar takes the fruitiness down a notch.
Image: Roasted Root
Goat Cheese Vinaigrette
When it comes to dressing, chèvre is the new blue cheese. Take a cue from Heather Christo and pair it with bacon.
Image: Heather Christo
Honey Mustard
Ah, good old honey mustard. Whip up a batch from Half Baked Harvest and then pair it with everything, from salads to pretzels.
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Caesar
Is Caesar the healthiest of salads? Heck no. Is it delicious? Duh. A Better Happier St. Sebastian lightens up the classic with a little Greek yogurt.
Image: A Better Happier St. Sebastian
Apricot Poppyseed
Lemon poppyseed? Please. That’s so last salad bar. Heather Christo uses fresh apricots in her summer salad.
Image: Heather Christo
Green Goddess
Have you ever seen a dressing this pretty? Roasted Root ditches the traditional mayo for a light, herb-filled recipe.
Image: The Roasted Root
Spicy Tahini
Tahini is having a moment. You fell in love with it first in hummus, but now, it wants to give your salad dressings some depth, too. Half Baked Harvest shows us how.
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Ginger Miso
Got an Asian-inspired salad? You need this ginger miso dressing from My Name Is Yeh.
Image: My Name Is Yeh
Buttermilk Ranch
When you were a kid, ranch dressing was the only thing that made vegetables acceptable — and not much has changed since. Messy Baker has the recipe.
Image: The Messy Baker
Chipotle Southwest Ranch
Take your ranch to the next level with a little southwestern inspiration, à la Pass the Sushi.
Image: Pass the Sushi
