Salad dressings... what's your favorite?

[lalaparker]

i'm new to Whole30 and in need of a good salad dressing that's W30 approved. Any suggestions???

[kaiser179]

I really like the ranch dressing recipe from Well Fed, but you could do a batch of homemade mayo and add any spices that you like.

[Beets]

I've seen people mention one or two compliant store brands, but making your own dressing is easy and quick.

Here's the one I've been eating most lately:

1/4 avocado

juice from 1/4 meyer lemon

sea salt

1/4 cup (?) good EVOO

And my basic vinaigrette. I use garlic instead of shallot, or jarred freeze-dried shallot (genius stuff), or I will just skip it. I make enough to dress one salad (so maybe half of the recipe amount) in the bottom of my salad bowl and mix with a whisk. It emulsifies fine w/out electrical appliances. I will also sub in lemon for vinegar. It's a good place to start. I sometimes eat it several times a week and don't get sick of it.

[Courtney Lauren]

I make a lemon vinaigrette with extra virgin olive oil, juice from two lemons, 3 garlic cloves, fresh ground black pepper, Himalayan pink sea salt, and Italian seasoning. You can add other seasonings too if you'd like. I add Mediterranean seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder sometimes. What ever seasonings are your favorite.

[Keianna]

I make a balsamic dressing with equal parts olive oil and high quality balsamic vinegar. Add chopped garlic, mustard powder, salt, pepper and shake or stir like crazy. When Paleo I add a drizzle of raw honey.

[percypat]

I like shaking up red wine vinaigrette with olive oil. Super simple, nice and tangy.

[Susan W]

Homemade mayo with a nice balsamic. So yummy. Sometimes I add olive oil and lemon juice to thin it. Also garlic smashed and pureed with a knife or grated on a microplane.

[percypat]

Homemade mayo with a nice balsamic. So yummy. Sometimes I add olive oil and lemon juice to thin it. Also garlic smashed and pureed with a knife or grated on a microplane.

 

That sounds amazing.  I must try it.

 

You know those two jars of mayo I made?  I'm getting kinda close to having to make some more 

[Susan W]

Lol..I figured they wouldn't last too long. Oooo..nothing to do with salad dressing but zoodles cooked in ghee with mayo stirred in. Be still my heart.

[percypat]

More things to my growing list!  Though it might have to eggplant noodles since zucchini doesn't seem to be my friend anymore.  *sigh*

[Susan W]

I love eggplant much more than zucc. Haven't tried it with my noodilizer yet though.

[Chandler]

I like Ranch Dressing, Balsamik Venegrette the most, though thre are many varieties avaiable.

[moggle]

Sometimes a drizzle of a good balsamic vinegar is enough 

[ABS32013]

I often make citrus or balsamic vinaigrette (acid and olive oil in approx. 1:2 ratio, usually whisked with some Dijon to emulsify and add flavor, salt, pepper - you can add all sorts of things, but I tend to keep it pretty simple).  My current obsession, though, is just a good glug of white balsamic vinegar (slightly sweet, especially to a W30-ized palate) and a drizzle of olive oil.  Tessamae's makes some great compliant bottled dressings.  Depending on where you live, you might be able to get them at Whole Foods or other stores (check the Tessamae's website).  They also do mail-order.

[vtknitgirl]

Paleo Mayo and Avo mixed together with a little coconut amnios, I add a bit of water to thin it out and salt and pepper to taste.  

[calee]

Thanks everyone for all of these great ideas. My salads were getting boring. Not anymore!

[MrsRobinson]

I also like a couple big spoonsful (spoonfuls?) of salsa or bruschetta as a dressing, particularly if the salad has chicken on it.

[Vian]

My favorite dressing of all time is caesar, but the parmesan makes it non-compliant. I wonder if it would still be tasty without the parm?

 

I whip up my own, I don't measure anything, but this is close...

 

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/3 c. olive oil

1 clove garlic, grated or mashed

1 tbs. anchovy paste or 3-4 fillets

1 tbs. dijon mustard

pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 c. parmesan cheese (optional)

 

Put everything into the jar of a blender and mix together.

[MrsStick]

I like the balsamic creaminess of the Italian recipe in Well Fed. If I want a vinaigrette, about a 2:1 ratio of balsamic and EVOO (yes, more balsamic than EVOO), a pinch of garlic powder, black pepper, and an Italian-ish seasoning mix I have (has the typical Italian stuff, plus red pepper flakes, and I forget what else). 

 

Delicious. I could just put plain balsamic on salads, though. I love the stuff!

[DeannaDaniels]

I've seen people mention one or two compliant store brands, but making your own dressing is easy and quick

Here's the one I've been eating most lately:

1/4 avocado

juice from 1/4 meyer lemon

sea salt

1/4 cup (?) good EVOO

And my basic vinaigrette. I use garlic instead of shallot, or jarred freeze-dried shallot (genius stuff), or I will just skip it. I make enough to dress one salad (so maybe half of the recipe amount) in the bottom of my salad bowl and mix with a whisk. It emulsifies fine w/out electrical appliances. I will also sub in lemon for vinegar. It's a good place to start. I sometimes eat it several times a week and don't get sick of it.

I just tried a version of this with about 1/2 avocado, juice from 1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange, a little (sorry for the pack of measurements) coconut oil and a little salt and pepper. I almost melted in my chair. My salad was full of vegetables; bell peppers, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach... I felt so healthy (and full). I ate it with some orange roughy cooked with just a little orange and lemon juice squeezed on it. Mmmmmm mmmm good!

[sjosey77]

Drizzle Rosemary olive oil and lavendar basalmic vinegar.  It's great with fresh spinach, diced granny smith apple,  chopped raw pecans, a very small amount of sugar free dried cherries cut up, thinly sliced onion and fresh pepper.  Heaven!

[Leeannimal2626]

Tessemae's is available in stores and most of the flavors are whole30 compliant. I bought the lemon Chesapeake and balsamic flavors today. So yummy! Olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice salt and spices are all that are in them. I think they are a w30 partner too!

[mangio_bene]

I use olive oil and balsamico on my salads.  I have never been a fan of dressings on salads other than a well made ceasar.  In restaurants I usually squeeze lemon juice on my salad since they don't always have olive oil.

[ladyshanny]

I have two that I love.

 

Balsamic Vinagarette

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup whole grain dijon

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

garlic powder, S&P

Put into a magic bullet or use an immersion blender and emulsify.  

 

The Planks Love Guacamole Ranch - I put all into a jar except the coconut milk, buzz w/ my immersion blender and then add the coconut milk and pulse a couple times.  I use a combo of fresh dill and fresh parsley as the herbs.

2/3 cup extra light olive oil or avocado oil

1 room temperature egg

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1 tbsp dried herbs or handful chopped fresh herbs (my favorite to use is dill, followed by cilantro and/or parsley)

2 Tbsp full fat unsweetened canned coconut milk 

[KarynKAT]

How Long do these dressing last in the fridge?? I made the ranch from the book and I am concerned I will be throwing it out in 2 days. HELP!