15 Salad Dressing Recipes for Flavor-Packed Salads

Skip the bottled dressing with these recipes in your arsenal.

By
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves
Robin Shreeves is a food and beverage writer.
Learn about Simply Recipes' Editorial Process
Published June 18, 2023
Robin Shreeves
Jar of Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette Poured onto a Salad (Various Lettuce Types, Sliced Tomatoes, and Sliced Avocado)

Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

You may have a fridge full of bottled salad dressings (and many of them are probably passed their use-by dates), but none of them are as fresh and vibrant as a homemade dressing. DIY salad dressings are simple to make, usually take less than 10 minutes to whip up, and often use ingredients you already have on hand.

Next time you throw together a green salad or pasta salad, air-fry cauliflower buffalo wings, or make anything you need a dipping sauce for, there's bound to be a homemade dressing on this list that you can use instead of reaching for expensive store-bought salad dressing.

  • Green Goddess Dressing

    Green Goddess Dressing Dripping from a Spoon into a Jar with More Dressing. Jar is on a Wooden Plate with Herbs and Halved Lemons

    Simply Recipes / Mihaela Kozaric Sebrek

    Travel back to the 1970s and 80s with this green goddess dressing that holds up pretty well in the new millennium. Purée fresh herbs—parsley, tarragon, and thyme—with anchovy paste, lemon juice, garlic, sour cream, and mayo. Drizzle over salads or serve as a dip for crudités or crackers.

    Get Recipe

  • Homemade Italian Dressing

    Homemade Italian dressing with spoon in jar.

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, and a few other pantry staples, shake them together, and you have a simple homemade Italian salad dressing with endless uses. Drizzle it on a green salad, use it on sandwiches, toss with cold pasta, drizzle on grilled vegetables, and more.

    Get Recipe

  • Greek Salad Dressing

    Greek Salad Dressing

    Lori Rice / Simply Recipes

    Make this zippy and bright Greek salad dressing with pantry ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, lemon. juice, oregano, plus a few other common ingredients go into a jar that you shake to mix. Use it on any green salad or our quinoa Greek salad.

    Get Recipe

  • Easy Sesame Dressing

    Sesame Dressing

    Alison Bickel / Simply Recipes

    Light and slightly creamy with an irresistible nutty sesame flavor, sesame dressing is incredibly versatile. It's a salad dressing, but it also works on coleslaw, rice and noodle bowls, sashimi, and even as a meat marinade.

    Get Recipe
    Continue to 5 of 15 below.

  • Thousand Island Dressing

    thousand island salad dressing in a bowl with a lettuce wedge on the side
    Elise Bauer

    This dressing that's perfect on a Reuben sandwich or as a spread for a burger is also a great dipping sauce for veggies and French fries. Plus, it's a tasty salad dressing that gets even tastier if you let it sit in the fridge for about 24 hours.

    Get Recipe

  • 2-Minute Salad Dressing

    salad dressing in a jar next to microwave

    Simply Recipes / Ciara Kehoe

    This Parisian-inspired dressing could be a lot of work to make, but if you use your microwave, it comes together in 2 minutes. Instead of sautéing shallots for the dressing, microwave them in olive oil to soften them, tame their pungency, and create amazing flavor. Add the microwaved shallots and oil to Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. You'll want to use it on every salad you make.

    Get Recipe

  • Avocado Lime Dressing

    Avocado Lime Dressing on Wooden Tray Next to a Spoon, Limes, and Avocados

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    Zest up summer salads, grilled vegetables, and more with this vibrant, tangy avocado lime dressing made with fresh avocado and avocado oil. It's vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free, and it comes together easily when you toss all the ingredients in a blender or food processor.

    Get Recipe

  • Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

    homemade blue cheese dressing in a jar
    Sally Vargas

    Sometimes bottled blue cheese dressing tastes nothing like blue cheese. But this homemade version is creamier and zingier than store-bought brands, plus it has the wonderful flavor of divine blue cheese. Use it on a classic wedge salad, dip your Buffalo wings in it, or use it on BLT instead of mayo.

    Get Recipe
    Continue to 9 of 15 below.

  • Charred Citrus Dressing

    Creamy lemon and lime dressing in a glass jar set on a plate with a lemon and lime next to it.

    Simply Recipes / Lori Rice

    This dressing is a little more work than most others, but it's so worth the effort. Lightly char a whole thinly sliced lemon and lime on the stovetop then blend with more lemon and lime juice and oil to create a punchy dressing. It's a salad dressing, a marinade for chicken, and a warm sauce to drizzle on cooked veggies or grains.

    Get Recipe

  • Honey Mustard Dressing

    Homemade Honey Mustard Dressing - ball jar with honey mustard dressing wtih silver spoon
    Sally Vargas

    This honey mustard dressing with two types of mustard—Dijon and grainy—may just become your go-to everyday dressing. It's great on salads, of course, but it's also what you'll reach for when you need a marinade for chicken breasts.

    Get Recipe

  • Egg-Free Caesar Dressing

    Vegan caesar dressing

    Lori Rice / Simply Recipes

    Enjoy the flavors of Caesar dressing without raw eggs, dairy, or anchovies—this one is vegan. Tahini replaces the eggs, nutritional yeast does the work of Parmesan cheese, and soy sauce or vegan Worcestershire emulates anchovies.

    Get Recipe

  • Anchovy-Mustard Vinaigrette

    Vinaigrette with Anchovies and Dijon Mustard
    Alison Bickel

    An “anchovies for beginners” vinaigrette, this dressing doesn't hit you over the head with a fishy taste. The anchovies bring umami to this tangy, punchy salad dressing that doubles as a marinade for chicken or seafood.

    Get Recipe
    Continue to 13 of 15 below.

  • Go-To Vinaigrette

    Three Jars of Vinaigrette (From Left to Right: Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette, Tarragon-Mustard Vinaigrette, and Gribiche Vinaigrette) on a Wooden Tray

    Simply Recipes / Annika Panikker

    If you can remember the ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, you have the keys to untold vinaigrette variations. We offer three solid recipes here (including an unbeatably simple sherry vinegar one) that you can riff on to your heart's content.

    Get Recipe

  • Homemade Ranch Dressing

    Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
    Elise Bauer

    Ranch dressing is the ultimate crowd-pleaser for green salads, pasta salads, veggie dips, and pizza dips. This version adds fresh and dried herbs to a base of mayo and buttermilk, and it's fresher and tastier than any shelf-stable bottle version you'll ever buy.

    Get Recipe

  • Basil Vinaigrette

    Basil Vinaigrette
    Elise Bauer

    This quick and easy basil vinaigrette dressing comes together in the blender in just 10 minutes. It brightens up salads, fish, chicken, potatoes, tomatoes, or white beans.

    Get Recipe