6 homemade salad dressing recipes so good you’ll want to memorize them

If you’re still buying bottled salad dressing at the grocery store, it’s time to stop.

Not only are they expensive, but they’re never as good as their homemade counterparts. And they often have a litany of revolting ingredients and preservatives (shelf-stable ranch, we’re looking at you).

If you have a whisk, or better yet, a blender, you can make all the dressings your heart desires. Here are six recipes you’ll want to memorize. Spend your money at the grocery store on something better!

1. Ranch

Ranch dressing is ludicrously easy to make, and tastes so much better when it comes from your own kitchen. In the summer you can make it with tons of fresh herbs (yum!) and in the winter, you can make it with dried (still yum, and less expensive). I’m quitting Ken’s Steakhouse Ranch forever.

Try this buttermilk ranch dressing recipe from Five Heart Home.

2. Balsamic Vinaigrette

Not to brag, but my mom makes THE BEST balsamic vinaigrette. I don’t know how she does it, and neither does she—because she never measures anything… so here’s a good recipe from Barefeet in the Kitchen that you can keep in a jar in your fridge for when a salad craving strikes.

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3. French

Now, I’m not a big French dressing person (it’s too sweet for my taste), but I know some people live and die by it, which is why it’s on this list. It does have a longer ingredient list than most other dressings, but if that’s what encourages you to eat a salad, then go for it.

Try this version from Local Global Kitchen.

4. Italian

Goodbye, bottled Italian dressing with the strange floating flakes and soupy texture. You can use any mixture of Italian herbs you want in your homemade Italian dressing.

This recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction incorporates fresh Parmesan cheese.

5. Blue Cheese

This is hardly a salad dressing and more of an upgraded cheese sauce, but who cares? No wedge salad is complete without it, and homemade dressing is vastly superior to bottled for chicken wing-dipping. Plus, you can really splash out on good blue cheese for this recipe so it’s exactly as funky (or mellow) as you’d like it. Added bonus: You control the chunkiness.

Make it like this.

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6. Poppyseed

Sweet poppyseed dressing is a warm-weather staple for spinach salads. This dressing also makes a great marinade, and you can adjust the amount of sugar if you prefer a tangier dressing. And again, freshly chopped shallot makes this dressing totally addictive.

Here’s a recipe from Love Grows Wild.

What are your favorite homemade dressing recipes? Share them with us on Facebook.