29 Salad Dressings Worth Making at Home
We love a good balsamic vinaigrette as much as the next steakhouse salad obsessive, but sometimes you want a dressing with a bit more oomph. Below, we’ve collected the creamy, tart, sharp, and nutty ways we love to dress our salads, no matter the season.
Here, you’ll find the vinaigrette we keep in the fridge basically every day of the year—not just for lettuce but also for dressing grains, pasta salads, and roasted vegetables. The ranch we use for a retro iceberg wedge, but also for dipping saucy baked chicken wings and…well, anything else that requires dipping. And so many more salad dressings that’ll turn any bowl of greens into the next big thing.
Ready to level up? We thought so. Here are our best salad dressings.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni1/29Three-Minute Red Wine Vinaigrette
All you need to make this homemade salad dressing is a handful of simple ingredients—extra-virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and maple syrup—and a mason jar. Use it on our Maple-and-Bacon Fall Chopped Salad.
Laura Murray2/29Homemade Caesar Dressing
There’s a trick for achieving a Caesar salad dressing that’s thick and lush—but you’ll have to click to find out what it is. For those trying to avoid eggs and dairy, here’s a version made with raw cashews.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Sean Dooley3/29Raisin Vinaigrette Any Lettuce Will Love
Featuring tangy raisins and lightly pickled shallots, this vinaigrette takes notes from the classic sweet-and-sour Italian dressing agrodolce. As the recipe title confidently proclaims, it’s good on any kind of lettuce.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser4/29Lemon Vinaigrette
How do you make the best lemon vinaigrette? First you remove the seeds, then you purée the whole lemon, skin and all, with olive oil, honey, salt, and pepper, plus some almonds if you like. (Or, for an extra creamy dressing, add in some toasted cashews.)
Alex Lau5/29Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
If you must, Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Ranch is the best store-bought dressing in its category. But we encourage you to try this DIY ranch, which works with everything from raw veggies to pizza.
Marcus Nilsson6/29Iceberg Salad With Italian Dressing
This old-school salad has all the cooling crunch you could want, plus the bracing hit of flavor from a dressing of white wine vinegar, oregano, garlic, and olive oil. The tiniest bit of mayo helps keep the dressing emulsified. Wondering what to do with that pepperoncini brine? This 2-ingredient sour cream dressing is calling to you.
Laura Murray7/29Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Spoon this homemade salad dressing over poached chicken or salmon, or toss it with a salad of simple greens, cucumbers, and fresh herbs for a Japanese-takeout-inspired dinner.
Laura Murray8/29Balsamic Dressing
We gave the ’90s favorite an upgrade, adding in a bit of fresh chile and yogurt to balsamic vinegar, oil, and honey for body and heat. PS: We finally figured out how to keep leftover salad from getting soggy.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Caroline Hwang, prop styling by Elizabeth Jaime.9/29Tomato Salad With Jalapeño Ranch
For a savory dressing that truly packs a punch, sometimes you have to go straight to the source: MSG. A sprinkle in any salad dressing will give it immeasurable flavor. Let this bright, bold ranch variation be the proof.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Emilie Fosnocht, Prop Styling by Paola Andrea11/29Creamy Preserved Lemon Dressing
Photograph by Jenny Huang, Food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Martha Bernabe12/29Asian Pear Salad With Peanut-Lime Dressing
13/29Mojo
Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Kay Boytsova15/29Sesame Caesar Salad
Swapping tahini for the mayonnaise typical of classic Caesar salads keeps things creamy but adds nutty earthiness to the tangy mustard and funk from Parmesan cheese. Be generous with the black pepper; it offsets all the rich flavors.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Emilie Fosnocht, prop styling by Emma Ringness17/29Suspiciously Cheesy Salad Dressing
No, that’s not Parmesan you detect in this salad dressing. It’s nutritional yeast, which lends a nutty richness, silky texture, and dose of protein to boot.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen18/29Tahini-Ranch Dressing
Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott19/29Mixed Greens With Yogurt Dressing and Dill
A couple tablespoons of plain whole-milk Greek yogurt transform a basic vinaigrette recipe into an easy creamy dressing. For more yogurt-based salad dressings, try our appetizer-friendly Hand Salad With Yogurt-Lemon Dressing and our Every Night Salad With Yogurt Ranch.
Alex Lau20/29Classic French Dressing
Tomato paste? In a salad dressing? Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. The ingredient adds a tart sweetness and will also help the sauce emulsify.
Photo and Food Styling by Molly Baz21/29Anything-Goes Green Goddess Salad
You can use any combination of tender herbs, cultured dairy (buttermilk is not the only way!), and acid you’d like in this flexible recipe—which means you’re never more than a whiz away from a batch of green goddess dressing.
Hirsheimer & Hamilton23/29Lemon-Anchovy Vinaigrette
If you like Caesar dressing, then you’ll flip for this lighter take on the classic. When it comes to the anchovies, buy the fillets packed in oil—and go on, splurge a little bit.
Ted Cavanaugh25/29Gribiche (Hard-Boiled Egg) Dressing
This is a more rustic version of sauce gribiche, a cold mayonnaise-based dressing similar to tartar sauce. Use it on virtually any roasted, grilled, or sautéed spring vegetables.
Photo by TED+CHELSEA CAVANAUGH, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou26/29Sesame-Scallion Sauce
This fresh green sauce can do pretty much whatever you want it to. Drizzle it over eggs, toss it with salad greens, use it as a marinade for shrimp, or spoon it over these Chicken and Cucumber Rice Bowls.
Danny Kim27/29Simone’s Shallot Vinaigrette
We kind of struggle to call this a salad dressing recipe, because you really just combine five ingredients and shake them in a jar. It’s a great excuse to treat yourself to some seriously delicious vinegar, though.
Julian Broad28/29Fava Bean and Pea Salad With Poppy Seed Dressing
This poppy seed dressing is made with sour cream, goat cheese, buttermilk, and lemon juice, but if you’re looking for something less creamy, try our poppy seed vinaigrette.
