This Childhood Snack Doubles as the Secret Ingredient for Flavorful Salad Dressing
Ah, childhood — a time when there was nary a flooding of emails to clear, and never a car maintenance appointment to make (how urgent is an oil change, anyway?). Happy hour consisted of watching old episodes of The Flintstones while busting through three to four cups of that perfectly sweet and tart treat: applesauce. But even if you haven’t picked up a pack of the stuff since your last wisdom tooth surgery, this flavorful fruit mash is still a worthy pantry ingredient to keep handy for when you’ve run out of that slightly more adult staple: salad dressing.
Thanks to intrepid TikTok user and Columbia nutrition grad student @oliver, you now have an easy recipe for a simple, three-ingredient salad dressing using none other than the humble applesauce as your star ingredient.
How to Make a Tangy, Three-Ingredient Dressing Using Applesauce
Oliver recommends starting by combining salad dressing go-tos olive oil and balsamic vinegar — “we’re not reinventing the wheel here,” he notes. “But my secret ingredient is applesauce,” says Oliver, “which is perfect for when you want a little bit of sweetness.” If you’re wondering how best to measure out your ingredients, you’re welcome to tailor the ratio of flavors to your liking — although we find a good rule to follow is to use 1:1 equal parts oil to vinegar, and a few tablespoons of sweetener for a balanced, flavorful dressing.
After you add your primary ingredients, all that’s required is a dash of water and a good stir for a low-lift, tart-sweet vinaigrette that would work on everything from pasta salad to bunches of kale. Here’s to keeping a little taste of childhood in our daily routine!
Keep Reliving Your Applesauce Nostalgia with These Recipes
- 12 Recipes That Use Up That Jar of Applesauce
- Applesauce Cake with Hot Rum Sauce
- Dorie Greenspan’s Applesauce Spice Bars