29 Best Salad Dressing Recipes

When you serve a steak dinner with all the fixings, it's always nice to round out the meal with a hearty salad. Warm bacon dressing is an excellent choice for such occasions, and stands up well to hearty spinach or kale leaves. The warm dressing wilts the greens, creating a salad with a lovely, soft texture, and great smoky bacon flavor.

You only need four ingredients to assemble a classical Greek salad dressing. Shake it up in a mason jar, and use to dress simple "village salads" of tomato, cucumber, and red onion, adding lettuce, black olives, and feta cheese to suit your tastes. Unused dressing can be stored up to two weeks in the fridge, in the same jar.

Caesar salad is always a hit, whether you serve it alongside heartier fare, or top it with chicken or shrimp for a lighter main course at lunch or dinner. This knockout Caesar dressing recipe is the classic one, and is sure to earn you a reputation as a salad master.

Gochujang, or fermented red chili paste, is a staple condiment in Korean cooking with a fantastic combination of spicy, sweet, and savory notes. Whisk it up with a few other Asian ingredients to create a palate-tingling, vinaigrette-style dressing for salad greens, cold soba noodles, or cooked shrimp.

Flavorful, rich, and easy to whip up in the food processor, this Japanese-style dressing makes a delicious, modern, global topping for crisp, cold iceberg lettuce. Ketchup and soy sauce create an amazingly sweet and tangy flavor base, while pureed vegetables and ginger add tons of nutrients, and a satisfying thick texture.

Skip store-bought dressing by making your own classic balsamic vinaigrette. It's one of the easiest and quickest dressings to whisk up, and adds a wonderfully tangy, slightly sweet flavor to mild greens. Dijon mustard acts as an emulsifier, helping to bind the oil and vinegar, for a creamier dressing.

It's so easy to make your own blue cheese dressing. Not only is it cheaper, you can also choose which great blue cheeses to use, such as gorgonzola or roquefort. Use it to coat fresh greens or as a tasty dip for Buffalo chicken wings.

This simple Italian dressing uses a very easy method for achieving a perfectly emulsified vinaigrette. The tiny dash of Dijon, when shaken, keeps the oil and vinegar mixed together for a restaurant-quality salad dressing.

Create a stunning vinaigrette for spring and summer salads with this elevated recipe. Elderflower liqueur has a sweet, refreshing, floral taste that transforms simple vinaigrette ingredients. It's a clever shortcut to creating an elegant salad in minutes, with very little effort.

Thousand island dressing is a classic topping for chopped iceberg lettuce that hails from the 1950s. Now vegans can enjoy its creamy, tangy goodness with this simple recipe that has all the retro salad dressing flavor you crave. Makes a great sauce for topping veggie burgers, too.

American-style French dressing is a sweet and tangy salad bar favorite. You make this delicious dressing by adding the typical ingredients of a French vinaigrette to a base of tomato ketchup. This gluten-free version is quick and easy to whisk up and includes a bit of Worcestershire sauce for extra oomph.

Bright, creamy, lemony, and loaded with fresh herbs, green goddess is the ultimate salad dressing to make when your garden is bursting with parsley, basil, and chives. This version, which adds garlic and anchovy paste for a nice umami kick, makes a cooling coating for mixed greens, or cold pasta salads.

Ranch dressing is not only one of America's most popular salad dressings, it's probably the nation's most popular dips. Mix it up in minutes, combining dairy ingredients and seasonings, and chill well before serving with fresh greens, raw vegetable sticks, or fried chicken wings.

Ripe avocado makes this satisfying salad dressing rich and creamy, without the need for mayonnaise. You'll love its Mexican-inspired flavors, which include fresh lime juice and cumin. Use it for topping raw spinach leaves, adding crumbled cotija cheese for extra protein.

Save money on fancy bottled dressings and whip up the perfect, gourmet-style raspberry vinaigrette at home. It's a popular choice for spinach salads, and takes just a few minutes to make in the food processor. It's also vegan-friendly.

Look no further for the cole slaw dressing you'll use all summer long for cookout salads, and topping fish tacos. It couldn't be easier to mix up this seasoned mayonnaise dressing that makes a delicious coating for shredded cabbage.

Russian dressing, a spicier variation of the classic, American-style "French" dressing, was once as common at salad bars as ranch dressing, but is now harder to find. You can make your own at home, with this foolproof recipe that includes horseradish and Sriracha sauce, for a one-two punch of spice.

Lemon and parsley bring wonderful zing and freshness to this zesty vinaigrette-style dressing. You can easily multiply the recipe when you're making salad for a crowd. It tastes wonderful brushed on grilled or roasted vegetables, too.

Makeover a spinach salad with this sweet and citrusy mandarin orange vinaigrette. It packs plenty of healthy vitamins, and loads of flavor, for a bright-tasting alternative to standard oil and vinegar dressings.

If you adore the briny taste of green olives, this tapenade-style salad dressing is sure to become a new favorite. It makes an especially tasty match for bitter greens such as radicchio and endive. Consider it as a topping for crudités and crostini, too.

Using tofu keeps this vegan ranch dressing much lower in fat and calories than traditional recipes, while retaining a thick and creamy texture. It tastes like mom's classic ranch-style dressing, but is entirely dairy-free and cholesterol-free. Pour it onto greens, or use it as a dipping sauce for vegan nuggets and tenders.

Traditional German cream salad dressing (or salatsauce) needs only three ingredients, and makes a sweet, creamy complement to soft butter lettuces, and other tender fresh greens.

Are you a vegan and missing Caesar salad? This vegan dressing has all the flavor you desire in a Caesar, but skips the usual anchovies and cheese. Vegetarian Worcestershire sauce is the secret ingredient that makes the simple combination of lemon juice, garlic, Dijon mustard, onion powder, and olive oil taste so good.

A bit of garlic and lemon juice, along with plenty of fresh mint, turns plain, unsweetened yogurt into a delicious, healthful salad dressing in a matter of minutes. Toss it with lettuce and cucumber salads, stir it into chicken salad as a lighter alternative to mayonnaise, or use it as a sauce for cold poached salmon.

Young spring garlic, or garlic scapes, give this tasty red wine vinaigrette a mildly garlicky flavor, and beautiful green color. Use a blender to combine the ingredients, for an easy, creamy dressing that will wake up the flavors of fresh seasonal vegetables and greens.

Kick off holiday meals with a light-tasting salad of delicate mixed greens tossed in sprightly, sweet-tart pomegranate vinaigrette. Fresh or bottled pomegranate juice can be used for the dressing. Scatter fresh pomegranate seeds over the salad, for a pretty presentation.

Honey-Dijon is a popular dressing that matches especially well with bitter greens, as the sweetness of the honey works to balance stronger flavors. By using reduced-fat mayonnaise, and a higher quantity of Dijon, this version cuts back on calories, while maintaining that creamy texture you crave.

Nutty-tasting tahini, the Middle Eastern sesame paste so popular in hummus and falafel sauces, is the star of this phenomenal salad dressing that also includes briny capers and za'atar seasoning. Garlicky, zesty, salty, and spicy, it will make your greens sing.

Tarragon is a staple herb of French cookery that adds peppery, licorice-like flavor notes. Both tarragon vinegar and chopped fresh tarragon go into this emulsified vinaigrette with Dijon mustard that would make a delicious, sophisticated dressing for spicy arugula leaves.