How to Make the Perfect Homemade Salad Dressing | Balanced Bites, Diane Sanfilippo

How To Make Perfect Homemade Salad Dressing

Diane Sanfilippo Balanced Bites Wholesome Foods, FAQs, Fats and Oils, Real Food 101 5 Comments

Allow me to give you my tips on how to make the perfect homemade salad dressing.

Allow me to give you my tips on how to make the perfect homemade salad dressing.

A truly great salad dressing starts with great ingredients!

You know I love a high quality EVOO, then either citrus or vinegar, then a mustard to help emulsify the oil and vinegar or citrus, then, of course, we add some Balanced Bites spices.

Eating real food often means that you’re going to pile on the veggies at every meal, so why not get creative with them by adding the perfect homemade salad dressing?

Packing tons of nutrition into a salad is always a great idea, but I’m a firm believer in the notion that we eat with our eyes first, so keeping it visually exciting is critical in my world. Bright colors, different shapes and textures, and a bit of pop here and there go a long way towards keeping your senses engaged with a drool worthy salad.

The foundation to a great salad is the dressing, and my typical “recipe” for how to make perfect homemade salad dressing is some variation of the following:

Perfect Homemade Salad Dressing Formula

  • 2/3 cup oil (I always use extra virgin olive oil)
  • 1/3 cup acid (vinegar or citrus juice like lemon, lime or orange)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard (I typically use dijon, but any mustard is fine)
  • 1 teaspoon Balanced Bites spice blend of choice, my favorites are GREEK, SUPER GARLIC, SUPER GARLIC PIZZA, and SAVORY (or a few pinches of salt and pepper)

Whisked together.

Now, if you're lightening up your intake and using less fat, you can easily make your ratio 1/2 cup oil to 1/2 cup vinegar. Or even more vinegar versus oil – this is up to your taste and nutritional preferences. Just know that, for some, too much vinegar versus oil can be quite acidic to the palate!

If I’m feeling like kicking it up or making it interesting, I’ll add some fresh herbs to my homemade salad dressing. I usually only do this if I'm going to use the full batch right away, otherwise, I stick to dried herbs.

If the salad is going to be extra bitter (kale or lots of spicy veggies), I may add a touch of honey, maple syrup, or something fancy like pomegranate molasses to the dressing to mellow it out against the veggies. Or, I may use a sweeter vinegar like a fruity balsamic.

If I’m away from home or dining out, I keep it simple with my EVOO, fresh lemon, salt, and pepper. There you go!

All of that goes down very quickly in my head when I go to the fridge to pull things from it for the salad. It’s a matter of having ingredients on-hand, and then getting creative with them!

Be sure to tag @balancedbites & @dianesanfilippo on Instagram when you create your salads at home!

Now that the weather has been warming up, I've been dreaming about eating salad for every meal (well, when I’m not warming up a BB Meal), and did you know you can get my Diane's Salad Madness eBook *FREE* when you sign up for our Balanced Bites newsletter?

Balanced Bites Free Downloads | Diane's Salad MadnessI’m a firm believer in the notion that we eat with our eyes first, so keeping my salad plate visually exciting is critical in my world.

Bright colors, different shapes and textures, and a bit of pop here and there go a long way towards keeping your senses engaged when building a drool-worthy salad.

In this eBook I include:

– over 100 salad recipe inspirations
– 7 easy, fool-proof steps that break down how to build a drool-worthy salad
– a dining out guide
– tips for what to do when you’re on-the -run
– 2 full pages of dressings and sauces

Why do you want to join our email list?

Well, our email subscribers get special offers that we don’t share anywhere else. We also send a weekly new recipe, tips for using your #balancedbites spices, details and updates on meals (and special offers on those when they begin). It’s basically the BB Insider’s Club!

Sign up now to get *Diane’s Salad Madness* sent straight to your inbox!

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  1. Pingback: How To Make Perfect Homemade Salad Dressing – Doctor Weight Loss Program

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