Homemade Salad Dressing (Basic Vinaigrette) (2024)

Published: Aug 5, 2022 · Modified: Jun 8, 2024 by Cinde LittleThis post may contain affiliate linksLeave a Comment

Switching to homemade salad dressing is a smart move for gluten free cooks. They’re quick and easy to make, with or without a recipe, and you probably have the ingredients on hand. No label to read, no additives or preservatives. You can't beat that!

Ingredients

By knowing the ratio you can whip us a delicious vinaigrette dressing in the time it takes to read a label. This is a skill that comes in handy every day of the week and even when you're away.

• wine vinegar or lemon juice
• olive oil(extra virgin or any oil of your choice)
• Dijon mustard
• salt & freshly ground pepper

See recipe card for exact amounts.

Instructions

The basic salad dressing recipe is 3:1, three parts oil to one part acid.

It’s a ratio so you can measure it in tablespoons, cups or just eyeball it right into a Mason jar. Some mornings I even eyeball it into a tiny plastic container for my lunch.

For a small recipe mix 3 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar. To make a big batch of dressing use ¾ cup oil and ¼ cup vinegar.

7 Reasons To Make Homemade Salad Dressing

I might be a salad dressing snob but I won’t apologize for that. From day one in my first kitchen I just didn’t care for the taste of store bought salad dressing.

Here are 7 reasons I think you should make the switch to homemade vinaigrette dressing.

1. You can make just enough dressing for a salad for two and do it in one minute.
2. Make a jar that will last for a month, also in one minute.
3. Vinaigrette dressing keeps forever in the fridge.
4. You can vary the flavours to suit your taste and experiment to find flavour combinations you love.
5. No reading salad dressing labels!
6. Over time you’ll collect recipes that you can repeat for a lifetime. (Click on SALADS in the RECIPES tab to see some of mine.)
7. Your dressing will never contain high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavours or the additives and preservatives that make it shelf stable.

What is the Best Oil for Salad Dressing

Your taste buds ultimately determine the best of anything but a nice olive oil is always a good choice. Many recipes will call for extra virgin olive oil so buy some different ones over time and learn to recognize the subtle differences.

Experiment with other oils like coconut or avocado. Use stronger oils like walnut oil or sesame oil as a seasoning only. Substitute a small amount so the ratio is still 3:1 and it will work.

I keep hearing that highly processed refined vegetable oils like canola, corn and sunflower are not healthy. The high levels of omega-6 fatty acids contribute to inflammation and chronic disease.

Change is hard but I’m trying to use olive oil everywhere I used to use vegetable oil including stir-fries and pan-fried recipes. I haven't used a lot of avocado oil simply because of the cost. However, I'd be the first to say when it comes to food we need to think of long term health.

See Also

How to Make an Oil and Vinegar Salad DressingTypes of VinegarThe Ultimate Salad Dressing ArithmeticHow to Make Vinaigrette (Plus 3 Essential Variations!)

What is the Best Vinegar for Salad Dressing

The acid for a basic vinaigrette dressing is typically lemon juice or vinegar and that gives you a lot of variety to choose from.

• Juices like lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit or tomato are all acidic and work well in dressing.
• For gluten free it’s best to stick with plain, unseasoned vinegars like red wine, white wine, apple cider, balsamic, sherry or rice.
• Avoid distilled white vinegar. It may be good for cleaning your coffee machine but it’s too harsh for a salad.

To get the flavours you want simply add spices, herbs or any food to either the dressing or the salad. For many foods from salad dressing to alcoholic drinks, added flavouring is the step in food manufacturing when gluten might sneak in.

What Makes Salad Dressing Creamy

Combining oil and vinegar is tricky. When you shake it the oil and vinegar stays together for a few minutes. Whisking oil and vinegar will keep it stable a bit longer.

For the best Caesar salad dressing, homemade mayonnaise or any thick dressing you need a hand blender or food processor to properly combine the oil and vinegar. This is the process of emulsification and it is how you make a creamy salad dressing.

Emulsifying the ingredients allows your salad dressing to sit for a longer period of time without separating and it improves the way the dressing coats the salad greens.

It takes a few more minutes but is still very simple.

The Best Emulsifier for Salad Dressing

Egg yolk, mayonnaise and mustard (I like Dijon mustard) are the most common emulsifiers used to make salad dressing.

Thanks to America’s Test Kitchen for this video with the scientific description of an emulsion.

Using the 3:1 ratio recommended for a vinaigrette (3 tablespoons of oil and 1 tablespoon of vinegar) they add ½ teaspoon of mayonnaise for it’s emulsifying power and ½ teaspoon mustard for the best flavour.

Top Tip for Homemade Salad

1. Get a salad spinner and dry the lettuce. Wet lettuce waters down the dressing and makes a flavourless salad.
2. Add just the right amount of dressing. Too much dressing makes for a soggy, disappointing salad.
3. Serve immediately after your salad is dressed!

Summer's Best Garden Salad

Whether your lettuce is from a garden, a Farmer's Market or the grocery store there is no end to the variety for year round salads with homemade salad dressing. In the summer I can't resist adding edible flower petals to make salads look stunning. Check out How To Use Edible Flowers in the Kitchen for more ideas and to learn what flowers you can eat.