Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Creamy Salad Dressing


I wasn’t planning on sharing this not-quite-homemade recipe with you, but my mother insisted and even my little brother, who usually hates mayonnaise, backed her up. The thing is, I can’t stand store-bought salad dressings, and I absolutely will not buy them. (They have such a gloppy texture from all those gums!) Prepared mayonnaise, on the other hand, I’m perfectly OK with. Anyway, this is the quick recipe I make when I’m in the mood for a creamy salad dressing but don’t feel like getting out the food processor and eggs. Everyone seems to love it, and it has inspired certain other people to give up bottled salad dressings too.


Quick Creamy Salad Dressing
Printable Recipe

½ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 to 2 cloves garlic, grated
2 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons water
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend together the mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, and water in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes about ¾ cup. My personal preference for a brand of mayonnaise is Best Foods/Hellmann’s. This simple salad dressing is very versatile. Try adding minced fresh herbs such as Italian parsley, chives, or basil. Add a minced anchovy and grated Parmegiano to turn it into a Caesar-style dressing. Keeps for a day or two tightly sealed in the refrigerator.

24 comments:

Sandra said...

Love how you make a salad dressing look so beautiful. Sounds delicious!

Disneypal said...

This may seem basic but is sounds really good - I can't wait to try it.

Anonymous said...

I just had surgery 2 days ago and a friend brought me over dinner, salad but no dressing. I just made the dressing since it seemed so easy. It was awesome. Thanks!

Kim said...

This is really simple and delish! I used garlic powder instead of fresh garlic, and a LOT of freshly ground pepper. Used probably 4T lemon juice, too. Got rave reviews!

Stephanie said...

perfect! i used minced garlic from the jar instead of grated garlic, and added some chopped green onions and dried parsley. amazing on the salad i made. :)

Camilla said...

Off to make this now. If family approve could I put it on my blog for a Tuna Salad and credit/link it to your blog?

Lucy Vaserfirer said...

Camilla,
Yes, if the credit and link are included. Thanks!

Camilla said...

The family loved the salad and your dressing so I can ditch the bottled dressing I usually use. Thanks for letting me use it; in the meantime I am going to add your blog to my blogroll as now I've had more time to delve I'm loving your site!

Ellen said...

I LOVE this dressing, it is so easy and I frequently halve it so it is just enough for 2-3 people. I also want to mention that I make it with Hellman's Canola Oil Mayonnaise, which has less than half the fat and calories of regular mayo with the same taste as regular mayo!

I just wanted to throw out that I was trying to price this dressing to compare it to bottled dressing. I had to use the internet to find prices, so it may be a little off for your area or depending on the quantity and quality of ingredients you buy. This dressing came out to about $0.12/oz and bottled dressing came out to about $0.10/oz. Very close but I would say that the improved taste and pronouncable ingredient list outweigh the slight added cost! I just wanted to put that out there for anyone else who is interested!

KelsCallery said...

I really enjoyed this recipe. I looked up a mayo salad dressing because I am dairy-free and gluten-free and the ones sold in stores are expensive and don't taste very good. This tastes AMAZINGGGGG. I used Vegannaise Mayo with it and it was great!

Al said...

Wow wow wow! This is such a simple recipe, but absolutely divine!!! I always cringe with storebought stuff, and this was just perfect, I may have made mine a bit tangier than your exact specs, but just perfect :) Thanks for sharing!!

Mrs. P said...

Thanks for posting this easy, creamy, salad dressing that uses ingredients I have on hand! So done with the choices I have in the fridge! And the ingredients I don't recognize! This reminds me of the milk and mayonnaise dressing my grandmother used to whip up for me to have on just-picked greens from her garden. Nothing better! Thanks again!

Orlena Lee said...

My husband and I both love this dressing. I make it every week-end and save some on the side for the week. It's the best! Thanks for sharing.

Jessica said...

Thanks for this quick and delicious idea! I used vegan mayo so everyone in the family could eat it, and used garlic powder. It's so fast and tastes great!

London Charm said...

I just made this and it's delicious! Thank you for sharing it

DeFromTx said...

I made this recipe last night when we ran out of my husband's favorite bottled ranch dressing - it's so easy and quick to make with simple ingredients, and it's delicious - I'll never buy that bottled stuff again! Thank you for posting it.

Anonymous said...

This dressing is amazing. The Mrs. has me make some every time we have a salad. I normally crack the pepper coarse, add an extra clove of garlic, and use Hellman's olive oil mayonnaise.

ReluctantYankee said...

I can't believe how easy this dressing was to make -and was totally surprised how few ingredients could produce such an outstanding dressing! I added the teeniest pinch of stevia to round out the tartness of the lemon I used..it came together beautifully. My husband isn't a "salad" fan, and after I tossed his salad with this dressing, he gobbled it up! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

snavellib said...

this dressing recipe is simple yet , ridiculously good. Absolutely fabulous

Gramma Di said...

I made this and it was delicious. And so easy! I didn't have lemon so used line, excellent. Used it with different types of salad including grated zucchini and carrot salad. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely make it over and over.

Tracy said...

Oh. My. Word! This was so quick, easy and delicious that I tried it original and "Caesar style" in the same night! Just divided the prepared original recipe then split it into two containers to add the puréed anchovies and grated Parmesan cheese. Absolutely outstanding! Thank you so much for sharing. With dressing that good, I'm going to check out your other recipes😉

Anonymous said...

Very good! I used vegan spread from Trader Joe's and lime because I didn't have lemon. It taste like ranch very light and nice! It's a keeper!

Thank you, D

SanDomingp said...

Made this for the 5th time and really love it. It’s a great salad dressing but is also a great light sauce for chicken or fish. Really works great. The only thing I change is to use Helman’s reduced fat mayo. No change in flavor but only 21 calories per 2 tbsp. Really love it

Anonymous said...

Taste delicious!

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