Never Buy Salad Dressing Again

One of my kids really loved vinegar. He trained me to make it equal parts oil and vinegar and we love it that way. So, fiddle around with that part of the recipe until you see what your family likes!!

Jennie McKenna

Adding a little fresh lemon juice does wonders :) also try using flavored vinegars and/or olive oils! Sometimes I add some pureed fruit (raspberry, strawberry, even tangerines) for a fruit vinegrette dressing. It so much fun (and cheaper) to play around with the various favors! Enjoy!!!

JoyAnn

How long will this last in the fridge?

Tracy

Ina Garten Makes Salad Dressing Link does not work in the above email?

Bonnie Griffin

Ever try grapeseed oil - yum - so light - just started cooking with it (unfortunately $$ more) but results in cooking and baking are great - I'm going to try it in my salad dressing which I'm collecting recipes to use..

Julie Gardner

I am making my own dressings in the bullet blender. Use a fresh, organic tomato (otherwise it will be a GMO tomato for sure), few Tablespoons of sesame seeds (which have some naturally occuring oil...no need to use olive oil), water, salt and pepper, and whatever flavor you want add either the veggie (garlic, scallions) or seasonings. I sometimes make it spicy with chili powder and cayenne, or Indian seasonings, or a whole fresh lemon including zest. This is creamy and totally healthy!

The healthy oils are coconut and cold pressed extra virgin olive. Any others increase inflammation in the body includung Canola (it's also got GMO's), soy oil, safflowe, and even sunflower oil. They sound so pretty, but are best avoided.

Zennifer

Julie, yes to grape seed oil! I forgot that one. I have some, but it spoils so fast, even in the frig and it's pricey, as you said. It's not to be cooked and MUST be kept in frig.

Zennifer

I absolutely detest olives and olive oil. I've tried all price ranges. My fav dressing is nonfat buttermilk, tiny bit of mayo, lemon juice, and parmesan cheese.

Margaret

I've been using some spritzes of EVOO from my Misto, some fresh garlic (using a garlic press) and either some apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar or lemon juice. Then shake or toss in the salad. Maybe some added black pepper. (I'm interested in any homemade dressing with EVOO that lasts, and can maybe even be stored/used in a Misto.)

Bonnie

I'm seconding grapeseed oil. Comes highly recommended from Chef Robert Irvine from Dinner Impossible fame. Very light, almost no taste really and for cooking has a much higher burning/smoking point.

Ilene

Regarding homemade salad dressings...I find Good Seasonings is excellent..it's the only store bought dressing I would buy for myself...

Liz

I don't like using a garlic press because they are hard to clean and my dishwasher does not like it much. I use a screw-down pill crusher and it works great and is easy to clean!

Patti

We've made exactly the same dressing for years and everyone seems to like it (very similar to yours):

Rice bran or light olive oil (it's just less viscous - more fluid, not lower in fat)

some lemon juice
apple cider vinegar
salt
pepper if you like

sprinkle of sugar (like the secret ingredient)

Silvia

Here is the vinaigrette I have made for years. I based it on a recipe from Sara Moulton of Food Network and made additions/changes.

1/4 C apple cider vinegar
3/4 C oil of your choice
1 t dijon mustard
1/4 t kosher salt (I cut the salt down)
1 clove garlic (I use a garlic press)
1 pinch sugar
1 T Parmesan Cheese
fresh Rosemary chopped, amount to taste
dried oregano (a few shakes)
dried basil (a couple of shakes)

Use your food processor for a few seconds.

I keep it in my old Good Seasonings cruet for a couple of weeks. It is so much better than the packets which have too much salt among other things. Use on salad or marinate chicken or shrimp. Or wash button mushrooms and marinate them for a day in this dressing. Delish!

Marcy K.

Oh yes - I almost always make my own dressing! I confess - there are a few commercial dressings that I like so I do use them sometimes.I know that a good olive oil is important and I've tried a few over the years. My current favorite is Colavita. I do a really nice basic dressing with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, miso paste, garlic (store bought already chopped, cause I'm lazy too!)and agave syrup. It's really good and good for you too!

Sandra

I totally agree on the good olive oil as a must. I just recently tried California olive oil and it is great. I make my dressing even simpler: drizzle good olive oil over baby greens, pinch of salt, grinding of pepper. The greens speak for themselves!

Barb C

I use organic hemp seed oil and braggs apple cider vinegar, and a touch of liquid aminos and frozen crushed garlic .. Delicious !!!

Mary

I, too, use the ratio of half oil/half acid with a bit of dijon to help emulsify. My favorite acid is lemon juice...gives the dressing such a fresh taste! Have made ranch using greek yogurt and low-fat buttermilk. You don't even miss the mayo!

Debbie

I have returned to my root - my Italian grandmother used to put olive oil and vinegar on her salad, and that is all I use now.

Patti T.

I was tired of my lettuce going bad so i started replacing lettuce with homemade sprouts (broccoli sprouts, alfalfa, clover, etc...) They really add crunch to salads and are wonderful with homemade dressings. Add a tablespoon of dressing on a plate and build your salad from there. I can't wait to try the recipes with my sprout salads.

Maya

Patti, my garlic press is the easiest in the world to clean (not sure of the brand--maybe Good Cook? I got it at Kohl's Department Store). It has a self cleaner side that you just flip the other way and it pushes ALL the gunk backwards out of the holes--just rinse under hot water. No need to put in the dishwasher.

Bonnie

I recently made a salad based on one I found online, but with modifications. I used spinach and added dried cranberries (full of extra sugar, I'm sure), pecans, a bit of red olive separated into 1/4 rings, and oranges. I cut the oranges in 1/2 and sectioned them. After dumping in the sections, I squeezed the remaining orange skins (still containing a good bit of juice) over the salad. Finally I added a bit of olive oil. It was delicious!

shanna

Yup. What you've got there is a traditional French Dressing! Not the French Dressing as we know it, but the one they actually use in France. You aren't offered any options when you order a salad, you get what the chef knows is best. ;-)

I like to use a good quality, expeller pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Italy. It should be greenish in color, not golden or brown. I agree, the quality of dressing makes a difference! I have olive oil I cook with and olive oil I use for "finishing".

Carrie @ Season It Already!

A quick dressing that is delicious if you like vinegar is to make any Good Seasons flavor using the carafe but reverse the amounts of the olive oil and the vinegar. Tangy good!

Shelly

I've been making my own dressing for all my married life-over 40 years-My grandma's French dressing, Marian Burros' Thousand Island, and my new favorite from a Minnesota restaurant, the Angry Trout-Maple Mustard with oil, maple syrup, and dijon mustard-the BEST!

Mary L

I know we are talking about dressing here but I am SO thrilled you love Ina Garten! I have all her cookbooks, love her TV show. She is so calm and practical and a little pudgy which makes everything just seem wonderful.

Walden Farms makes good calorie free dressings - esp. the "asian" one and I hate most low or no calorie dressings.

Victoria

Looks tasy, but I do love my Champagne vinagerette

Tabatha

SG, thank you for this post! Now that it is spring, I am back on my week day salad kick for lunch. I am always so tempted to buy dressing at the store, but thanks to you I look at the ingredients and put it back on the shelf and run. I have been changing up my dressing daily. I usually mix approximately 1 TB olive oil with 1 TB of the following: red/white/balsamic vinegar and a dash of S&P and a dash of dried herbs or fresh herbs from my garden (basil, thyme, oregano). It doesn't matter as long as there is a 1 to 1 ratio.

Last year I made a mason jar full of homemade honey mustard dressing. Overall, pretty healthy compared to store bought. Check out the recipe:

http://partykitchen.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/homemade-honey… I made this for a backyard barbeque with my neighbors and they wanted the recipe!

Colleen

agree w/patti, bonnie, re: dress your salad fresh every time! we use this dressing from my croatian ex: cold-pressed evoo, the best you can afford balsamic vinegar, prob. 3:1 ratio, pinch good salt, few grinds fresh ground black pepper, toss, eat.

joan jet

I like using balsamic vinegar from TJ's that is reduced down to a thick consistency. Nothing else needed.

Sue

Joan, your recipe is similar to what I do--I think Patti & I were talking about garlic presses for fresh garlic & cleaning them. I mentioned a Misto, which is great for keeping EVOO fresh (nice and dark) while giving great, easy control over the amount/calories used. Freshly made is always great, but when there's nothing to go bad in the dressing, it's also nice to have some ready to go when crunched for time, and it would still beat store-bought processed dressing. :)

Bonnie

My dad used to make a salad dressing... vinegar and oil (whichever brand or type you prefer) add salt and pepper to taste, a little dry mustard, and crumbled Blue Cheese!! He called it, Panther Perspiration!! It tasted wonderful, though, and I still use his old dressing cruet to serve it -- brings back the memories!

Jan Weems

My husband makes the best dressing... Olive oil, vinegar, black pepper, salt, garlic, and honey. It is awesome! Everyone loves it and is often requested from family and friends! It keeps about a week and then whatever is leftover (which is usually none) we use as a marinade for whatever meat we are grilling.

Katie

I make mine with 1 tbsp. olive oil and 3 tbsp of rice vinegar (very mild taste), salt, pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar or half a packet of Stevia. Add a couple tbsp water to this also. We like it more vinegary than oily and it doesn't have many calories. This is just enough for one time for two people

Bridget

I've become a purist as well. No bottled dressing in my house. Every day I eat a salad for lunch. All I put on it is a teaspoon of EVOO and my favorite vinegar: Cuisine Perel's Late Harvest Riesling Vinegar. It's sweet and expensive, but I only need a tablespoon for each salad.

Robin T.

Lisa, I make my own vinaigrette,and it's my fav! First, infuse orange flavor in abt a cup or two of EVOO, as Rachel Ray says, by thinly paring peel of an orange and letting "soak" in EVOO for 3-4 days; remove said orange peel. I then measure out 1part of the EVOO, mix w/2 parts balsamic vinegar, a minced garlic clove or 2, and add any spices you may like, fresh or dried, like basil, thyme, oregano. (I too am lazy half the time & use "canned" minced garlic)! Mix altogether and use right away if using fresh herbs, otherwise no need to refrigerate. This is particularly good w/spinach, dried or fresh fruit, some feta, and an ounce of chopped nuts or sliced almonds! Can always add some chicken breast or shrimp!

De-lishhhhh!

Laurie Weekly