Spring means more fresh vegetables and more dinner salads. It means chopped veggies and dip in the afternoon and whisking up olive oil and vinegar in the evening. But so many salad dressing recipes make just enough for one meal, so what's a salad-loving DIY dressing fan to do? Here are some ideas for make-ahead salad dressings.
The simplest answer is, of course, double your recipe. Most salad dressing recipes yield one cup, although they all vary slightly. If you want a nice, generous Ball jar of salad dressing in your refrigerator for a few weeks, double or triple the recipe. The dressing will last at least a few weeks, and you'll be thrilled to have it all ready when you want a quick salad for lunch without having to whip up a fresh batch of dressing.
Because I love to have a creamy blue cheese and a more neutral lemony vinaigrette on hand at all times, every other weekend or so I whip up a few small jars of each. The trick is to choose dressings that you love and that are everyday enough that you'll use them often. For instance, the Black Pepper Pomegranate Dressing your great aunt recommended may not be the everyday dressing you want to spend your time and energy whipping up.
5 Classic Salad Dressing Recipes We Love:
• Rose's Vinaigrette - Martha Stewart
• Homemade Ranch Dressing: The Pioneer Woman
• Kiwi and Citrus Dressing - Whole Foods Market
• Lemon Yogurt Dressing - Epicurious
• Blue Cheese Dressing - Average Betty
Related: Easy Jam Jar Salad Dressings
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I have a question about the comment that most dressings will last 'a few weeks'. Most of the salad dressing recipes that I have say they are safe to use for a week, tops. Any ideas why? My only guess is the garlic...
@Daniellem - it depends on your base. A sour cream or mayonnaise or yogurt base is not going to last in the fridge much past the expiration date of the original.
If you're using fresh herbs in the dressing, those can get soggy or slimy if not used within a few days.
Otherwise? If your dressing is oil and vinegar based? I see no reason why it won't keep indefinitely in the fridge. Or even at room temp for dressings that don't contain dairy. After all, we don't refrigerate plain oil or vinegars.
I appreciate the comments and I agree definitely on the dairy. But I've read on more than one occasion about botulism concerns with garlic in oil. I think the vinegar *might* help, but either way, I don't keep any prepared food as long as a week. You might think I'm crazy, but a Serve-Safe class in culinary school made me realize that no food is worth the risk!
Encore. Thanks for this information, between the awful supermarket packaging, monoculture crops and bad ingredients, I've been wanting to do DIY dressing for a while.
My question: What is the salad pictured? It looks tasty.
@DanielleM you may want to contact a doctor about this, but from what I understand, botulism is rare (110 cases in the US per year) and the overwhelming majority of victims are infants who eat raw honey or corn syrup.
I recently started making my own vinaigrettes (after I was trying to pick out dressing at the store and the one I wanted had high fructose corn syrup as it's primary ingredient), and the difference between homemade and bottled is so shocking I don't understand why everyone doesn't make their own. I guess it's out of laziness, but really it's so easy and quick that laziness can't even be a valid excuse. A splash of vinegar, a few glugs of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and whatever herbs (dried or fresh) you want. As for the concerns about botulism, my opinion is that making a basic vinaigrette is so easy, I just do it fresh everytime.
I make thee two and use them for green salads, veg sals, grain salads, veggies, you name it.
1) Heidi of 101 Cookbooks has an amazing buttermilk dressing for her buttermilk farro salad, which we use for everything. http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/buttermilk-farro-salad-recipe.html
2) and the Kitchn previously posted balsamic vinaigrette http://www.thekitchn.com/my-favorite-balsamic-vinaigrette-recipe-review-164586
If you only have dried herbs here is a nice mix of mock "Hidden Valley" that can also be used as a marinade or rub: http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/hidden-valley-ranch-seasoning
I don't even bother making a salad dressing. I just drizzle some olive oil over the salad, then drizzle some vinegar, sprinkle a couple shakes of salt, and toss.