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Home » Recipes » Sauces and Condiments » Best Salad Dressing

Best Salad Dressing

May 29, 2020 by Faith 71 Comments

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If you’re looking for the Best Dressing for salad, this is it! It’s a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and savory flavors with a little nuttiness from sesame and poppy seeds.

Best Dressing for Salad

With summer just around the corner, lighter meals are becoming increasingly appealing to to me. SALADS of all kinds are calling my name!

But a salad is only as delicious as its dressing, right? I’m going to show you how easy it is to whip up the Best Dressing of your life. Trust me, this recipe will blow your mind!

Best Dressing 2

The warmer months are so short where we live up north that we savor each moment and try to compensate by eating all the fresh summer veggies we can while they’re in season.

In the throes of summer’s heat, it’s actually pretty common for us to marinade a whole bunch of different veggies, and then throw them on the grill and call that dinner!

Best Dressing 3

Best Dressing for Salad

The thing about a really great salad dressing is that it’s not only nourishing (full of healthy fats!). Also, it adds flavor to the salad without overpowering the flavors of the other ingredients in the salad.

Salad Dressing Ingredients:

  • Good-quality extra virgin olive oil
  • Apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
  • Honey
  • Dijon mustard
  • Tamari sauce (or coconut aminos or soy sauce)
  • Poppy seeds
  • Sesame seeds
  • Seasoned salt
  • Black pepper
  • White onion
  • Garlic

Best Salad Dressing Recipe with Description

What Can I Use This Recipe For?

  • Green salad
  • Coleslaw
  • Pasta salad
  • Potato salad
  • Topping for grilled or steamed vegetables
  • Marinade for chicken
  • As “sub oil” for submarine sandwiches

Best Dressing 4

Easy Marinade

This recipe also works great as a delicious and easy marinade!

It’s my favorite all-purpose dressing, which often doubles as a chicken marinade in our house. I love it so much that at any point there’s usually a jar of it in my fridge.

You can use it as a marinade for grilled, steamed, or roasted veggies, as well as fish, chicken, and steak. It’s also delicious in pasta salads, bean salads, panzanella salad (Italian bread salad), or even just to dress a mix of salad greens.

Best Dressing 5

Oil in Salad Dressing

The kind of oil you use can take a dressing from good to amazing, so be sure to use good-quality oil here. I go for extra-virgin olive oil with a gorgeous green-gold color and a fruity, slightly peppery taste.

Here are the types of oil you can use in this recipe:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Grapeseed oil
  • Avocado oil

Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes:

  • Sweet and Spicy Mango Vinaigrette
  • Zesty Italian Dressing
  • French Dressing
  • Low Carb Ranch

Best Dressing 6
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith

Best Dressing for Salad in Glass Bottle on Wooden Table

Best Dressing

If you're looking for the Best Dressing for salad, this is it! It's a perfect balance of sweet, tart, and savory flavors with a little nuttiness from sesame and poppy seeds.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Condiments
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 150kcal
Author: Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tablespoon tamari sauce or coconut aminos or soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt more or less to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/2 small white onion minced
  • 1 small clove garlic grated on a microplane
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Whisk together all ingredients.
  • Store refrigerated up to 1 week.

Helpful Tips

  • This recipe makes about 3/4 cup of dressing or 6 servings; each serving is 2 tablespoons.

Nutrition

Serving: 2tablespoons | Calories: 150kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 487mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @anediblemosaic or tag #anediblemosaic!

Best Salad Dressing Recipe Pin

More Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes to Try:

Buttermilk Herb Dressing

Buttermilk Herb Dressing

Raspberry Dijon Vinaigrette

Raspberry Dijon Vinaigrette

Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing

Roasted Garlic Salad Dressing

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on May 13, 2011. I updated it with new photos in 2015, and more information on May 29, 2020. As a point of comparison to show how much my photography has evolved, I kept one of my original photos (below).

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!

Filed Under: Sauces and Condiments Tagged: Best Dressing, Best Dressing for Salad, Best Salad Dressing, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Homemade Marinades, Homemade Salad Dressing, Recipes, Salad Dressing, Vinaigrette

Comments

  1. Becca says

    February 3, 2021 at 12:53 pm

    Hello, I’m getting ready to make your lovely salad dressing and thought I should ask if you toast the sesame seeds first? Or if organic sesame seeds not toasted is what you use?
    Thanks very much, Rebecca

    Reply
    • Faith says

      February 4, 2021 at 8:29 am

      Becca, For this recipe I use organic sesame seeds (not toasted), but I think toasting the seeds would also be delicious and enhance their nutty flavor. I hope you enjoy the dressing!

      Reply
  2. Ha Nguyen says

    November 20, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    5 stars
    Because of Covid, I had to cut some calories by eating more salads. This is one of my favorites that I’ve found. Thank you so much for sharing. I always have all the ingredients at home so it’s super easy to make!

    Reply
  3. Debbie says

    May 26, 2018 at 8:49 am

    What is the quantity for “1/2 a small white onion”??? Cup size or Tbsp size. White onions come in all sizes!!! What about using 1 large whole shallot? That seems small enough.

    Reply
    • Faith says

      May 31, 2018 at 8:35 am

      Debbie, One of the things I enjoy most about cooking (vs baking) is the freedom it gives us. Unlike baking, we don’t have to follow a specific formula to ensure a chemical process occurs. We can add more or less of what we love! I noted a “small white onion” because that’s what I used; yes, there will be some variation in size, but in general, I find that half of a small-ish onion is perfect (for my tastes) for this recipe. Of course if that seems like too much to you, don’t add as much; on the other hand, if you’re an onion-lover, go for the gusto and add more. I find that half of a small onion, minced yields about 3 to 4 tablespoons, but it’s much more of an art than a science. Yes, you could absolutely try this recipe with a shallot instead; I think it would lend delicious flavor!

      Reply
  4. Jan says

    January 2, 2018 at 12:32 am

    I made your Best Dressing today and it was a big hit at our luncheon. I think next time I would add a little less honey, but other than that, I loved it. I will keep this recipe handy, because I will be making it again.

    Reply
  5. Sandy says

    May 18, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    Please help me, I can not figure how to print recipes I want to use.

    Reply
    • Faith says

      May 18, 2016 at 6:03 pm

      Sandy, I’m happy to help! If you scroll down the page until you see the recipe, on the top right-hand corner of the recipe you’ll see a gray circle that says “print”. Click on that and it will take you to the print view of the recipe. Please let me know if you need anything else!

      Reply
  6. Hope says

    April 21, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    Excited to try this! Do you know the calorie count for 2 Tablespoons? Thank you

    Reply
    • Faith says

      April 22, 2015 at 8:19 pm

      Hope, Thank you so much! I don’t calculate calories or other nutritional information for my food, but there are several free online tools that will help you with this. Calorie Count is a pretty useful tool, and can be found here. I hope this helps and that you like the dressing if you try it! :)

      Reply
  7. Valerie says

    February 19, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    This recipe was divine, the garlic and onion added a really nice flare to the salad, and i can imagine that this would be really good to pour over potatoes and then roast them to perfection which i will try very soon, i would blend this with rice even for a different take on flavour, and definitely salads!
    thank you for my new go to dressing!!

    Reply
  8. mary says

    January 2, 2015 at 9:21 am

    can you substitute olive oil with Grapeseed oil?

    Reply
    • Faith says

      January 5, 2015 at 7:43 am

      Mary, I haven’t tried this recipe with grapeseed oil, but I think it would be fine. I only ever use this dressing on top of salads, so as long as you like the flavor of grapeseed oil on your salad, it should work. Hope you like it if you give it a try!

      Reply
  9. Bonny says

    June 9, 2014 at 11:29 pm

    Just wondering, what is seasoned salt? This recipe looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Faith says

      June 21, 2014 at 1:01 pm

      Hi Bonny, Thanks so much! This is my all-time favorite dressing. :)

      Seasoned salt is a mix of table salt, herbs, and spices; in addition to salt and black pepper, it contains herbs and spices like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, celery salt, oregano, thyme, etc. (Sometimes it also has a little bit of sugar!) The only thing to look out for is to get a brand that doesn’t have MSG.

      I hope you enjoy this dressing if you give it a try!

      Reply
  10. George Edw. Seymour says

    November 27, 2013 at 2:15 am

    Faith: Just posted this recipe to my Other Food and Drinks board, but was surprised that you said it would only keep for a week in the refrigerator. Why is that? Thanks, George

    Reply
    • Faith says

      November 27, 2013 at 7:15 am

      George,

      Thanks so much for your interest in this recipe. Every time I make this dressing it’s gone within a week (I’m a big salad eater!), so I don’t know how much longer it will keep for, and I didn’t want to make a claim that I’m not sure of. If you make it and want to see how long it will last, please let me know what the result is. Hope you enjoy it!

      Best,

      Faith

      Reply
  11. Lisa Evanoff says

    October 11, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    I made this tonight and it was so delicious, I am pulling it out for any special or not so special occasion!

    Reply
  12. BusyBee says

    June 6, 2013 at 12:09 am

    This dressing is aptly named; it is “the best”! I didn’t have poppy seeds so I substituted chia seeds. They were tasty and thickened the dressing a bit,but next time I’ll make sure to have poppy seeds on hand. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!

    Reply
  13. Nancy says

    May 16, 2013 at 4:18 pm

    Does it need to be refrigerated?

    Reply
    • Faith says

      May 17, 2013 at 11:03 am

      Nancy, This dressing can be refrigerated for up to 1 week. Do you mean would a pasta salad made with this dressing be ok if left outside for a few hours, like at a picnic or BBQ? If so, yes, it should be fine. There isn’t anything (like raw egg) in it that need to be refrigerated until eaten. Hope you enjoy it if you give it a try!

      Reply
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Hello! I’m Faith and I write An Edible Mosaic. This is my recipe collection of international favorites and updated American classics, with an emphasis on seasonal dishes. I focus on real foods that sustain body and mind, bring people together, and make a house a home. Welcome to my mosaic of recipes.

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I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to email me with questions or comments.

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