3 Easy Homemade Salad Dressings

Throwing together a last minute salad? Never worry about having to run to the store for pre-bottled dressing again, because Chef Ollie has three super simple homemade salad dressing recipes that you can make with ingredients you’ve probably already got in the fridge!

Recipe # 1: ASPO, Acid, Salt, Pepper, Oil Dressing

by Ollie Honderd

• vinegar, lemon, or other citrus juice
• salt
• pepper
• oil (try Georgia Olive Oil!)

1. Sprinkle a few well-controlled drips of vinegar or citrus juice onto the salad, mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste—if you taste the flavor of the lettuce/green/salad and a little pinch of acid you are done.
2. Sprinkle a small pinch of salt and a few grounds of black pepper evenly onto the salad, mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste. If you can taste the salt’s impact on the salad (like the volume has been raised), you are done.
3. Add a few well controlled drips of oil to the salad. Mix thoroughly with a delicate claw-shaped hand, and taste—if you taste the flavor of the lettuce/salad/green, the acid, the salt and now the delicate richness and mouthfeel of the oil—all working together in a balanced way but NOT overwhelming the original taste of the lettuce, you are done mak.ing this homemade salad dressing

1. My favorite vinegars to use are sherry and red wine; lemon and lime juice work great… orange juice might need an additional bump of white vinegar because it’s not acidic enough and will add too much liquid to your salad
2. Olive oil is a great go-to, but nut oils like walnut or hazelnut add a lot of flavor to your salad.
3. Be very diligent with the amount of oil you use at it (and not vinegar) is the main culprit for wilting greens

Recipe # 2: Everyday Vinaigrette

Makes a scant cup

1. 1T dijon mustard
2. ¼ C vinegar
3. 2 T minced shallot or onion (optional)
4. 1 clove garlic minced (optional)
5. ½ C olive oil
6. Salt
7. Pepper
8. sugar

1. Whisk together mustard, vinegar and shallots/onion/garlic if using
2. Slowly pour oil into mixture while whisking constantly to emulsify.
3. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper, sugar or more vinegar or oil.

1. Another easy method to mix/emulsify is putting all the ingredients in a lidded jar and shaking
2. If you’re using the whisking method, you may want a wet towel curled into a circle under your bowl to hold it in place as you whisk and pour
3. This is a 2:1 vinaigrette (oil:vinegar)… 3:1 ratio is often lauded as the best ratio, but I find the salad gets too soggy and isn’t acidic enough… either way, use a light touch when dressing your salad; a little goes a long way, mix the salad well with your homemade salad dressing and serve immediately.
4. Vinegars—sherry vinegar is my favorite to use in a vinaigrette, followed by red wine vinegar.

Recipe # 3: Homemade Buttermilk Ranch

Makes a pint

1. 1 C mayo (preferably Duke’s)
2. ⅔ C greek yogurt
3. ⅓ C buttermilk
4. 1 clove garlic minced or grated
5. ¼ C chives or dill, minced (1 small bunch)
6. Black pepper
7. salt
8. lemon juice

1. Whisk together mayo, yogurt, buttermilk, garlic, herbs in a bowl
2. Add a generous amount of black pepper, salt, and lemon juice to taste
3. Keeps well in fridge for at least 1 week

1. For a thinner dressing as opposed to a thicker dip, use more buttermilk and/or lemon juice
2. Get creative with this recipe—swapping out herbs, adjusting ratios, adding shallots, lemon zest, chipotle purée or smoked paprika for example