Make Your Own Salad Dressing

Buying premade salad dressings is convenient, but you can make your own easily if you have basic ingredients on hand. Mix up your own salad dressing by using the information below as a guide. Add ingredients to a jar, sprinkle in black pepper and salt (optional), cover, and shake. Serve immediately or refrigerate until you’re ready to use.

• 1 Part Flavor
• 1 Part Acid or Liquid
• 3 Parts Oil or Creamy Ingredients

What is a “part”?
Recipes that use the term “part” to describe the amount of the food item are called ratio recipes. Ratios are fixed amounts of ingredients in relation to another ingredient. The “part” is the measurement type (teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, etc.) and is the same for all of the ingredients.

For instance, in the vinaigrette salad dressing, using the ratios, you could make salad dressing for one person with 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 1 tablespoon of mustard and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Using the same ratios, you could make a larger quantity by changing the “part” measurement to 1/4 cup. In this instance, the recipe would be 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/4 cup mustard and 3/4 cup olive oil.

Vinaigrette Salad Dressings
Select 1 Part Flavor

• Herbs
• Spices
• Mustard
• Garlic
• Honey
• Maple syrup
• Soy sauce
• Jam
• Hot sauce
• Avocado

Select 1 Part Acid

• Vinegar
• Lemon juice
• Lime juice
• Orange juice
• Tomato juice

Select 3 Parts Oil

• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Canola oil

Creamy Salad Dressings
Select 1 Part Liquid

• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Buttermilk
• Water
• Flavored vinegar
• Fruit juice
• Vegetable Juice

Select 1 Part Flavor

• Herbs
• Garlic
• Soy sauce
• Blue cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Anchovies

Select 3 Parts Creamy Ingredients

• Yogurt
• Mayonnaise
• Avocado
• Sour cream