Dressed for Success - 3 Easy Salad Dressings

As you can tell I love salads. I’ve been posting about them all summer. Salads are four of my favorite things when it comes to cooking: fast, easy, healthy and delicious.

We all know that what you put on your salad is just as important as what you put in it. Let’s be honest, a salad dressing can make or break your salad. You really need a great dressing to have an awesome salad.

If you peruse the salad dressing aisle at your local grocery store and read some of the labels, most of them are beyond terrible. Saturated fat, calories and sodium galore. And the low-fat or fat-free versions have added sugar and unrecognizable ingredients to cover the fact that they’ve removed the fat.

The majority of store-bought dressings turn your salad from something healthy to not-so-much real fast. That’s why I started experimenting with making my own dressings. For some reason I always shied away from it but once I got into it, I couldn’t stop. So of course I had to share some of my favs with you so you can dress your salad for success too. I hope you enjoy!

Italian dressing

Who doesn’t love a great Italian dressing? This one has all of the flavor and none of the junk! It’s a great savory dressing.

• 1/3 cup of avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice (or red wine vinegar)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dired basil
• 2 tsp honey or real maple syrup
• Pinch of red pepper flakes
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Put all the ingredients in a small mason jar. Place lid on and shake vigorously.

Poppyseed Dressing

Sweet and tangy! This dressing is great on any salad with fruit like the EPP classic, Strawberry Spinach Salad.

• 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 2 – 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or more to taste (I always add more)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp poppy seeds
• Pinch of ground dry mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a small mason jar. Place lid on and shake vigorously.

Honey Dijon Dressing

This is definitely a new favorite of mine. It’s an updated version of honey dijon dressing with the right balance of mustard and honey. It’s surprisingly creamy texture has me obsessed!

• 1/4 avocado oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/4 small red onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Put all the ingredients in a small mason jar. Place lid on and shake vigorously.

Do you make your own salad dressing? If so, what’s your go-to recipe?