Best Go-to Everyday Salad Dressing Recipe

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Let’s talk salads, Salads are best when they have high-quality and delicious — yet simple! — dressings. if you have a great dressing, it will complete your salad Bowl usually the green one.

Most bottled dressings not only contain refined oils, but also sugar or high-fructose corn syrup, preservatives, stabilizers, and lots of other mysterious things I can’t even pronounce — never a good sign.

My go-to Everyday salad dressing recipe that’s quick and easy to make. It’s simple and delicious. Use good quality ingredients in this dressing and your salad. 

GO-TO EVERYDAY SALAD DRESSING RECIPE INGREDIENTS:

Directions for all three dressings are below:

1. Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Add water to thin it out if needed.
2. You may also combine the ingredients without blending: Simply add everything to a mason jar and shake it until all of the ingredients are well combined.

EQUIPMENT YOU NEED:

Coconut Dressing 

Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons unsweetened coconut milk 
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free tamari 
• 1 garlic clove 
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 

Cilantro Lime 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• Juice of 2 limes 
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped 
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic 
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup 
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Zesty Tahini 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup tahini 
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce or coconut aminos 
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast 
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Tips for making an everyday salad dressing recipe:

• Start with a base of oil and vinegar or citrus juice, and adjust the proportions to your taste.
• Use high-quality ingredients for the best flavor, such as extra-virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.
• Add seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic, and herbs to enhance the flavor of the dressing.
• Consider adding a sweetener like honey or maple syrup to balance out the acidity of the vinegar or citrus.
• Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake them in a jar to emulsify the mixture.
• Taste the dressing and adjust the seasonings as needed before adding it to your salad.
• Store leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
• For a creamy dressing, mix in yogurt, sour cream, or mayo.
• Experiment with different oils and vinegar to create new flavor combinations.
• For a lower-fat option, use a lighter oil like grapeseed or canola oil.
• Consider adding mustard or soy sauce to the dressing for an extra kick of flavor.
• Use the dressing sparingly to avoid overpowering the flavor of the salad.

NOTES:

1. Acid options: This salad dressing recipe also works wonderfully with just about any kind of vinegar — red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, etc.  So feel free to use whatever will work best for your salad!
2. Sweetener options: Feel free to add 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey (or your desired sweetener) if you would like to make this dressing a bit sweeter.
3. Storage instructions: I find that the lemon juice version of this dressing doesn’t taste so great after more than 24 hours in the fridge.  So if you would like to make a larger batch of the dressing to store for up to 1 week, I recommend using vinegar in place of the lemon juice.