Homemade salad dressing trumps bottled dressings in flavor and it's easy to make. Not only that, but unlike bottled dressings, they're free of preservatives and low in sodium. With a little know how and good whisking skills, you'll be able to make healthy salad dressing that adds zest to your greens or pasta salads and can double as marinades for fish and poultry.
Essential Ingredients
Almost all salad dressings contain three base ingredients: a fat, an acid and seasoning. Fats used are usually in the form of oils, eggs or dairy products (dairy-based dressings are easily adapted for low-fat diets). Acids can be vinegars (plain or infused with herbs) or citrus juice. Seasonings are generally to taste and while they most often come from dried or fresh herbs, you can also use other spices, pickles and even chili peppers.
You can make your homemade salad dressings as simple or complex as you'd like. Many salad dressing recipes are comprised of only three ingredients that can be increased or decreased to make as much or as little dressing as you need-whether that's for one person or a whole party's worth of salads.
Helpful Hints
The best tools for making salad dressing are immersion or stick blenders or a good wire whisk. Most dressings separate within minutes of mixing and will require last-minute whisking or shaking before dressing the salad or serving on the side. If you're hosting a dinner party, you might opt to prepare your dressing tableside. The aroma of freshly mixed dressing combined with the visual preparation can heighten guests' enjoyment of the meal.
Make only as much salad dressing as you know you'll use within a day or two. Almost all homemade salad dressings are highly perishable and there's no reliable way to can or preserve them for future use. Likewise, don't plan to make dressings to bottle for gifts unless you instruct-and can guarantee-the gift recipient will use it within three days of the date it was made.
Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
Fat Free Salad Dressing: Honey Chipotle Red Wine Vinegar Salad Dressing
Ingredients You Will Need:
½ cup honey
1 pickled chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (canned)
1½ cup red wine vinegar
Take one chipotle pepper from the can and dice it, leaving the adobo sauce that naturally coats the pepper to remain on it. Place the diced pepper into your mixing bowl. Add the honey and red wine vinegar. Whisk. Place dressing in refrigerator to let flavors meld for 30 to 60 minutes. Whisk again just before serving. Drizzle over salad. Enjoy this fat free salad dressing that's packed with flavor.
Low Fat Salad Dressing: Ranch Salad Dressing
Ingredients You Will Need:
½ cup mayonnaise (homemade is best, but to cut fat, use store bought low-fat mayo)
¼ cup buttermilk
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
1 green onion, minced
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground fresh pepper
Combine all the ingredients listed above, whisking until well incorporated. Keep dressing refrigerated when not using. Use within three days.
Oil and Vinegar Salad Dressing: Traditional Greek Salad Dressing
Ingredients You Will Need:
2 lemons
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Squeeze the juice from two lemons into a mixing dish. Add the olive oil and seasoning. Whisk or shake vigorously. Dress salad immediately. This is a simple salad dressing that is impressively delicious.
Egg-based Salad Dressing: Classic Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe
If you made your own croutons in garlic and olive oil, take olive oil from the skillet for the dressing. If you did not make your own croutons (or cannot get two tablespoons of garlic olive oil from the skillet), infuse two tablespoons of olive oil with one clove of minced garlic for at least 30 minutes before making the recipe.
Ingredients You Will Need:
1 pasteurized egg, boiled for one minute
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
1 fresh lemon
Worcestershire sauce
Parmesan cheese, grated
Crack the eggs and separate the yolk from the white. Discard the egg white.
In your mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and garlic-infused olive oil. Add the juice from one lemon, whisking as you squeeze the juice.
Add in between four to six drops of Worcestershire sauce and a pinch of salt. Mix thoroughly. Using a pepper grinder, add between six to eight grinds of pepper.
Add a quarter cup of grated parmesan cheese. Whis. Toss salad greens with dressing immediately.
 | When you decide to make homemade vinegar, you first need to either purchase or make mother, a stringy, gelatin-like substance that is nothing more than bacteria and yeast cells. Mother can be created with any liquid that has sugar or starch in it. |
 | Looking for quintessential summer salads? One of the most popular healthy salads served in the summer is the Waldorf salad, made from apples, celery, walnuts and a creamy dressing. This fresh salad is quick, easy and inexpensive to make. |
Herbal vinegars are a culinary delight. They can be used to cook or drizzled straight out of the bottle as a healthy alternative to salad dressing, and they make wonderful homespun gifts. |
Vinegar was a great accident. It's been around for as long as there has been fermented beverages, such as wine, beer, champagne and sake. The French named it, as "vin" means "wine" and "aigre" means "sour." |
Many cooks love to use flavored vinegar and oils in a variety of recipes. Skip the high-dollar gourmet shops and make your own flavored vinegars or oil right at home. It's easy and inexpensive! |
