Salad Dressing

ShelbyGale13

Hey there all,

I am looking for a good healthy recipe for a clear homemade salad dressing? Fewer ingredients would be best, we love simple!

Thanks!

lulucitron

balsamic vinegar and olive oil

flumi_f

1/4 olive oil
1/4 vinegar (eg apple cider or what you like) (or a mix of vinegar and lemon/lime juice)
1/2 bouillon
pepper / herbs / wasabi paste / mustard / chilli or whatever you like to taste.

Replacing some of the oil with bouillon still gives you a tasty salad dressing with only about 20cals per Tblsp.

I make it batchwise and store it in a jar in the fridge.

Kitnthecat

I make this dressing right in the bottom of the salad bowl, especially good for Greek salad. Juice 1/2 lemon, splash of red wine vinegar, 5 Tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil, freshly cracked pepper, sea salt, and about 1.2 tsp dried oregano. Whisk together and it forms an emulsion like magic. Add chopped veggies to the bowl and mix, add greens and mix again.

I make fresh dressing for each salad, since fresh is best.

mkakids

Google "penniless parenting zesty italian dressing"....I'd link it, but I can't on my phone. I omit the oil and sugar. It is by far the BEST salad dressing I have ever tasted - a super low cal.

OldHobo

I'm not to smart about recipes & stuff but here's whut I think. Salad dressing is basically just acid and oil. The acid is typically vinegar or citrus juice. The ratio is usually 1 part acid to 2 or 3 parts oil but you can make it 1 to 1, or 1 to 4, or anything in between. You say you want it clear so don't use balsamic. You could use distilled white vinegar if you don't mind it tasting bad. but maybe try a white wine vinegar or lemon juice. You can use about any oil you want but it's better if it tastes good. I only use extra virgin olive oil but some say there are other options.
So the simplest recipe might be

• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

This tastes good but you can shake, blend or whisk it 'til the cows come home and it will separate faster than a knife fight in a phone booth. To get it to stay together you might use an emulsifier, like mustard. Egg yolk is another common emulsifier for mayonnaisey type stuff.

So, it's still pretty simple

• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
• 4 Tbs. (1/4cup) extra virgin olive oil
• salt to taste

The trick here is blend everything real well, then gradually and, at first slowly, add the oil.
If you first blend some plant stuff like garlic, and shallots or onion and any one of many herbs like basil, oregano or thyme into mustard it will taste and emulsify even better.
So we might have

• 2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 shallot or 1Tbs. onion
• salt to taste (probable less than 1/8 tsp kosher salt)
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

you could use a blender or food processor to blend the garlic and onion with the mustard but its quicker and easier to just use a knife and whisk. Think mince and mash with salt using the side of the knife.

You might like to add a little sweetness to the sour of the acid. Honey works nicely and so do fruit preserves. When I almost empty a jar of apricot or cherry preserves I make salad dressing right in the jam jar.

So, like I said, I'm not so hot at recipes because I never seem to have the exact ingredients or else I have something that needs or wants to be used up first. I just googled "salad dresing recipe" and got about 7,780,000 results. You could use any one of them or just make somethin outta what ya got.

trisH_7183

Rice vinegar & olive oil....I add Italian seasoning & garlic to my salad,drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil,then shake the vinegar over.Stir,add black pepper if you like. Yummy!

bpp23

Olive oil squeeze of lemon & couple shakes of black pepper been using in hubby mason jar salads and he's enjoying it.

cindytw

I use a local company's (Chiavetta's) dressing for inspiration. It's my favorite but I want healthier than Canola oil. So I use their BBQ marinade and mix it with olive oil and water. Basics are Olive oil, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic. I add water if it is too strong. I also am fan of olive oil and Balsamic with sea salt and coarse pepper.

mom4tav

I second the olive oil and lemon.. I usually add some dried thyme and fresh garlic and pepper.. So good! I even take it with me to restaurants instead of using theirs.

thenewkayla

I always take a cucumber, red onion and tomato salad.. my dressing is three ingredients.
1. 1 tbsp. Olive oil
2. The juice out of half a lemon.
3. 1 tsp. Basil paste