Our Five Favorite Salad Dressings

For years, I didn’t really enjoy salads, probably because I was using nasty store-bought processed dressings. I am letting you in on our favorite dressings that will get almost anyone eating salads. I promise you, you will love them! I tend to make ours beforehand so that weeknights are less stressful.

Defined Dish Whole 30 Herby Ranch Dressing

Linked here: https://thedefineddish.com/bbq-chicken-skewer-salad/
The Defined Dish is hands-down my absolute favorite for recipes. If you need a cookbook to buy, you will want to get hers! Here is our favorite Ranch Dressing recipe of hers, and we keep it on repeat as a salad dressing or dip. We especially love it on her BBQ chicken salad (linked above) and simple last-minute salad with rotisserie chicken. Once the recipe is made, I store it in our fridge in a sealed mason jar for four to five days.

Ingredients

Defined Dish Whole30 Caesar Salad Dressing

Linked here: https://thedefineddish.com/whole-30-caesar-salad-dressing/
Another of our go-to Defined Dish favorites is her Whole30 Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe. We love to serve this over a bed of lettuce with fresh protein (beef tenderloin, grilled shrimp, blackened salmon, etc.). I also like to add clean horseradish to this, to give it a little kick from time to time.

Ingredients

1 cup homemade or clean store-bought mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. anchovy paste
3 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar (sub lemon juice or ACV if very sensitive to glutamate)
salt
black pepper

Whisk to combine

Herb Vinaigrette

This is a good basic that pairs well with savory salads. I like to massage this dressing into the greens instead of drizzling it over the greens to balance the flavors with every bite. My favorite thing to pair it with is mixed greens, grilled protein, and garden vegetables (tomato, cucumber, onion, carrots, and radish). By adding herbs to this, you can sneak in a lot of antimicrobial properties that can help aid in digestion and help manage microbes in the gut.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 clove garlic (minced)
2 tbsp chopped fresh or 2 tsp dried herbs
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (we like to infuse ours with herbs)
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper

Whisk to combine

Defined Dish Lemon Dressing

This Lemon Dressing is from The Defined Dish in her second cookbook, “Comfortable Kitchen.” I cannot stress how much I love her cookbooks and her recipes. She is my absolute favorite! She pairs this dressing with little gem lettuce, avocado, and parmesan in her cookbook. However, I like to toss it with mixed greens, when I need to add a few extra vegetables to our plate without a big fuss.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon (about two lemons)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Whisk to combine

Classic Blue Cheese Dressing (NOT LOW GLUTAMATE)

Linked here: https://www.thespruceeats.com/creamy-blue-cheese-dressing-recipe-101885
While this recipe isn’t dairy-free or low-glutamate, it is a favorite of mine and worth sharing. It is fantastic drizzled over a homemade Cobb salad, wedge salad, or steak salad.

Ingredients

1 cup sour cream
1 cup homemade or clean mayonnaise
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp gluten-free Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
4 ounces blue cheese, finely crumbled

Whisk to combine