Salad dressing recipes are tricky right? Wrong! You can save yourself a fortune at the supermarket by making your own salad dressings at home. From a creamy pesto dressing to a spicy chipotle mayo and all the Asian-inspired deliciousness in between, we’ve got all of them here!
Making your own salad dressings is easy!
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again – I’m a condiments kind of girl. Salad dressings, mayonnaise, and sauces are my literal JAM. My saving grace is I know a handful of salad dressing recipes that are easy to make at home which saves me money PLUS it prevents food wastage. When you make your own, it’s generally enough for one big salad so you don’t have a fridge door cluttered with half-filled bottles.
Tips for making salad dressing recipes
- Your base oil matters. My favourite oil to use is Moro Delicado Light Taste Olive Oil. It’s a great allrounder for salad dressing recipes but you could also use another neutral oil such as avocado oil.
- A golden rule with making your own salad dressing recipes is to tweak the taste to your liking. If it needs more sweetness or is too tangy, add some maple syrup, honey or even a touch of sugar (castor sugar dissolves quicker than regular sugar). If it needs some tang, add some vinegar, lemon or lime juice.
- For the most part, you don’t need any fancy equipment. A clean jar is perfect for mixing salad dressings. Just spoon the ingredients in, screw the lid on tight and shake, shake, shake. Saves on dishes too!
So, with salad season approaching, why not check out these salad dressing recipes below and give them a go?!
5 easy salad dressing recipes that will make all salads tasty
1. Easy everyday salad dressing recipe
This is a great base recipe for salad dressing as it is but you can also add some pizazz if you please. Add some crushed garlic, lime or even fresh herbs to shake it up a bit!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
- 3 tbsp light-tasting olive oil
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Method
- Place all ingredients in a clean jar and shake them together! IT’S THAT EASY.
2. Chang’s Asian salad dressing
Possibly an Aussie favourite, and one best known as Chang’s Asian dressing, this salad dressing is brilliant on everything from crunchy noodle salads to garden salads.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup castor sugar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- ½ cup olive oil
Method
- Place all ingredients in a clean jar and shake until the castor sugar has dissolved.
- Shake it before adding it to your salads!
3. Sweet chilli salad dressing
This is a great recipe for just dressing simple greens or even using it as a dipping sauce for cold rolls. It’s more sweet than spicy, depending on how hot your sweet chilli sauce is!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- Zest of two limes
- 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Method
- Mix together in a small bowl or shake in a jar until thoroughly combined.
3. Creamy pesto salad dressing
If it’s a creamy pesto salad dressing recipe you have a hankering for, then this is it. Perfect for topping leafy greens or stirring through a potato salad or cold penne pasta, the basil delivers a poetic and flavoursome punch.
TIP: Freeze pesto in ice cube trays so you can make this whenever you want!
Ingredients
- 1½ tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2tsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp basil pesto
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper each
Method
- Whisk all ingredients in a bowl until they’re creamy, and emulsified and the caster sugar has dissolved.
- Return to the fridge to thicken up. YUM.
4. Super simple chipotle mayonnaise recipe
OK, this isn’t technically a recipe – more of a mix of two things and get THIS… kind of deal, but if you love a spicy chipotle mayo on everything from salads to tacos and hot chips, this recipe is awesome. And if you just want to make a small amount, blitz the chipotles and freeze them in ice cube trays so you can make a much smaller ratio.
@mumcentral 🌮🌶 SAVE MONEY on buying small bottles of chipotle mayo and make your own! Chrissie Swan showed me the way and I haven’t looked back… just TWO ingredients and one minute is all you need! 🌮🌶 #cookingtiktok #recipe #tacotuesday #kitchenhacks #easyrecipe ♬ original sound – Mum Central
Ingredients
- 1 part chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1 part mayonnaise
Method
- In a small blender, blend the chipotles until smooth.
- Add the mayonnaise and blend together. To make the mayonnaise less spicy, add more mayonnaise.
- Keep in the fridge until ready to eat!
5. Condensed milk mayonnaise recipe
Let’s not forget this family favourite, an easy 4-ingredient condensed milk mayonnaise is perfect for dolloping on any salad or using as a potato salad dressing. The easiest mayo recipe you’ll ever find, it contains no eggs or anything potentially tricky – easy to lick and no split! You can find the recipe here.
If you have some easy salad dressing recipes you’d like to share, pop them in the comments below. Guys, the whole ‘no one likes salad’ theory is done and dusted. You CAN make friends with salad, in fact, most people will always remember your salad if you make a real crowd-pleaser. Check out these salad posts below for delicious inspo!
