Creamy Salad Dressing (including base mayo recipe)

by Brandi Marter August 01, 2016

There is nothing easier than a salad dressing. You can make them all with a few simple rules and a little creativity. I’m going to give you my standard bases and some ideas to expand on but seriously...play around! At worst you have to throw away some oil and eggs. Not ideal but not the end of the world. You’ve got to learn what flavors work well together if you want to be comfortable in the kitchen. This is as good a place as any to start!

Creamy dressings:

Let’s start with the base (this is also a great mayo on it’s own)

1 ½ c grapeseed oil (you can use olive oil here but I recommend a light one so your mayo doesn’t have an overwhelming flavor)

2 eggs

1 tsp mustard

2 tsp cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

Dump everything into a deep, narrow container (I use a 32oz deli container) and bust out your immersion blender. If you don’t have one, stop what you are doing and go now. I’m not playing around. Blend for a minute or so and you’ll have mayo perfection. If you don’t have an immersion blender and stubbornly refuse to get one, you can add all ingredients minus the oil to a blender (it’ll have to be one that doesn’t have a base that overheats), turn on the blender and very VERY slowly drizzle in the oil. Go fast and it’ll never emulsify.

Once you have your mayo the sky’s the limit. Here are some variations I use:

Ranch - 1 tbsp onion powder, 1 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp dried chives, 1 tbsp dried parsley

Salsa Dressing - add 1 c organic salsa

Roasted Garlic - add 1 c roasted garlic cloves and 1 tbsp dried parsley

Greek Dressing - add ¼ c chopped fresh mint, 1 tbsp garlic powder and 2 tbsp lemon juice