Making Your Own Healthy & Tasty Salad Dressings Is Easy!

Fresh salads and healthy lifestyles go hand in hand - and spring is the perfect time for both! After all, what could be better for you than a big plate full of leafy greens, fresh vegetables, fiber-rich legumes and lean proteins? Unfortunately, you could end up negating these delicious and healthy choices if you aren’t careful about the type of salad dressing you use.

Taking a quick look at the list of ingredients on your favorite bottle of store-bought dressing can be a real eye opener. In fact, you may be surprised to see a host of ingredients you weren’t expecting, including high-fructose corn syrup and other sweeteners, trans fats, MSG, and an assortment of artificial colors and preservatives - all to make it all seem more fresh and "natural" - when in fact it is anything but.

(Photo credit: SliceOfChic)

Fortunately, making your own homemade salad dressing is faster and easier than you might think. Plus, you get to control how much you make at one time, so you don’t have to worry about throwing out your hard-earned money if you don’t use it all in time.

When it comes to homemade salad dressings, vinaigrettes are fast, easy and delicious choices. One general rule of thumb to keep in mind when creating your own vinaigrettes is to use 1 part vinegar (or other acidic ingredient) to 3 parts oil. In other words, if you use ¼ cup vinegar, you’ll want to use ¾ cups of oil. If you like a little more kick to your dressing (like I do), try a 2:1 ratio instead.

When choosing these key ingredients, don’t be afraid to get creative. Think beyond plain white, red or cider vinegar and give rice vinegars, aged or white balsamic, or fruit-infused varieties a try as well. Citrus juices, such as lemon, lime, orange and grapefruit, also work particularly well.

When it comes to choosing your oil, it’s hard to beat a high-quality extra virgin olive oil. However, you may want to consider other healthy alternatives, such as a more delicate grape seed oil, as well. Olive oils infused with garlic, rosemary or other herbs are also great choices.

A third ingredient you may want to add to your vinaigrette is Dijon mustard. Dijon is a popular choice because it tastes great and acts as an emulsifier, helping to bind all the other ingredients together and keeping the oil and vinegar from separating as quickly.

Beyond these three ingredients, there are countless ways you can customize your vinaigrette recipes to complement your salad ingredients. For example, you can add minced garlic, onion, shallots, fresh or dried herbs, honey, or a variety of fruit juices or zests.

Here is a basic recipe to get you started: 

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing (Photo credit: Chris and Jenni)

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing Recipe

3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1-2 cloves finely minced garlic
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a glass bowl or container with tight-fitting lid. Mix or shake vigorously to combine thoroughly.

Starting with this basic recipe, and tweaking with different vinegars and herbs to suit your taste, I bet you can come up with dozens of yummy options to suit whatever salads are on your menu this spring and summer. Enjoy!

And be sure to check back later this week for some tasty salad recipes with fresh dressings you can make at home!

Video - Salad Dressing Basics

I absolutely love this video! This guy makes an art out of salad dressing, and now I want to try every one that he mentioned - he just made me so hungry!  It is so true - really the basics are all you need, and then you can just tweak them from there. I've been making my own Italian dressing since high school (back then, it was the only way my little kid sister would eat salad) :-)  and I just came up with it myself - using the basics mentioned in the video, and then expanded it to include other spices, seasonings, and even Parmesan cheese - every batch was just a bit different. Sometimes I used red pepper flakes (or threw a tiny dried whole red pepper in the bottle to flavor it over time), sometimes lots of black pepper, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning, etc.  Once you get the basics down, it is so easy to create your own amazing dressings - and so fast! I think some of the ones he showed took a minute to make, at the most!

Check it out, and feel free to share your own creations in the comments below.

Salad Dressing
Mark Bittman makes a variety of salad dressing all based on one formula: a fat, an acid, and flavoring. Related article: bit.ly

Salad Dressing Basics:
    

Recipe - Balsamic Vinaigarette Salad Dressing

Image via WikipediaSalad season is almost upon us, and I am so excited! (Of course, I've had great salads all winter this year, thanks to my local CSA membership!)

I found this great recipe recently, and it has become one of my favorites. Salad dressings are one thing that are often quite unhealthy if purchased from the store - filled with additives and preservatives - and usually they aren't even that tasty. Making your own is so easy, you shouldn't ever have an excuse not to have a bottle in the fridge. And they taste SO much better! After trying this one, you may never go back to the commercial stuff again...

From-Scratch Balsamic Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (Makes about 1 cup)

Step 1: In a salad dressing bottle or small jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine:

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 TB balsamic vinegar
2 TB white wine vinegar (use more or less of either of these as desired; if you like it sweeter, add a bit more balsamic; if you prefer it more vinegary, add a touch more of the white wine vinegar)
1 minced shallot OR 1-2 minced or pressed garlic cloves
1 tsp Dijon or other gourmet prepared mustard
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Image via WikipediaStep 2: Place lid on jar tightly, and shake well to combine. Best if prepared a few hours before serving to allow the flavors to combine. Set on the counter and shake from time to time until ready to serve.

Storage instructions: This should keep fine un-refrigerated for a day or two. If you are storing it longer than that, place in refrigerator. However, you will need to remove an hour or so before use and let sit at room temperature for the olive oil to liquify. Shake well before each use.

 

More From-Scratch Salad Dressing Recipes:

• Intro to Cooking: Buttermilk Dressing (collegecandy.com)
• Salad dressing recipes using tofu (thismamacooks.com)
• Healthy Recipe: Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette (fitsugar.com)
• Some new salad dressings to try! (renees6weekjournal.wordpress.com)
• Make Your Own Salad Dressings and Sauces (everydayhealth.com)