Simple and Delicious Salad Dressings for Everyday Cooks

The salad! – What a wonderful addition to every meal. And what makes a salad that much better but a cool, creamy dressing or light vinaigrette drizzled over it!

Here are a few very simple salad dressings that have stood the test of time. They will never fail to evoke rave reviews from those you serve.

Their titles reflect the type of salad you may want to serve them with, but they can also be perfect for every salad. The ingredients are easy to find in any regular stocked pantry, but also included are some substitutions for your convenience.

(Each recipe should fill up a 200ml (approximately 1 cup) jar or beaker.)

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• ½ cup sesame seed oil
• ¼ cup rice vinegar or regular white vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander
• ½ tsp of crushed and finely chopped fresh garlic
• 2 tsps sesame seeds

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the oil blends into the mixture.

Serve immediately.

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise or sour cream
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp virgin olive oil
• Pinch of basil spice
• Pinch of dill spice
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the mayonnaise/sour cream and oil blend into the mixture.

Serve immediately.

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup berry juice (I use either blueberry or strawberry, depending on what I have in stock)
• 1/8 cup orange juice
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp honey

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the mustard and honey blend into the mixture.

Substitutions:

• If you don’t have honey, you can substitute 1 tbsp of fruit jam instead.
• If you don’t have Dijon mustard, you can substitute 1 ½ tbsp of regular American mustard instead.

Serve immediately.

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• ½ cup virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp salt
• Pinch of oregano spice
• Pinch of basil spice
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the oil blends into the mixture.

Substitutions:

• If you don’t have sun-dried tomatoes, you can substitute 2 freshly chopped cherry tomatoes instead.

Serve immediately.

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• ½ whole avocado
• 1 tbsp salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• Pinch of oregano spice
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander
• 1 tsp of freshly chopped red chili peppers

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Blend the avocado until creamy, and add to the bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the oil and avocado blend into the mixture.

Note:

• You will probably want to decrease/increase the amount of chili you add, according to the amount your guests’ palates can take.

Serve immediately.

And my absolute favorite:

The All-Purpose Dressing

What you’ll need:

• 1 lemon
• ¼ cup virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• ½ whole avocado
• 1 tbsp salt
• Pinch of dill spice
• Pinch of basil spice
• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped coriander

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into your mixing bowl.

Blend the avocado until creamy, and add to the bowl.

Add all your other ingredients to the bowl and whisk with a fork until the oil and avocado blend into the mixture.

Serve immediately.