Here are 6 easy homemade salad dressing recipes you can easily make at home. From a super tasty ranch dressing, to homemade thousand island to a light Italian vinaigrette, these are the best dressings you’ve ever tasted! My husband Mike had to edit to add this after a recent taste test on our show!! These homemade salad dressings are quick and easy to make and cost a lot less than store bought!
6 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
One of the comments we hear over and over again is about how much money people are saving using the homemade salad dressing recipes from Volume 1 of our Dining on a Dime Cookbook. And you wouldn’t believe how delicious they are if you haven’t tried them! These easy salad dressing recipes are quick and easy and the best part is they are much less than half the cost of dressing from the store!
We get complimented over and over again about our homemade salad dressing recipes from people who say, “My family refuses to even eat store bought salad dressing now and they homemade dressings are so fast to make!”
This post includes some of our favorite homemade salad dressing recipes for you to try!
This homemade ranch dressing recipe is quick and easy to make and is versatile for salads, vegetables and many other foods. It is so delicious and fresh, you’ll wonder why you ever bought store bought! It also makes an easy party dip!
Ranch Dressing Recipe (Ranch Dip)
- Yield: Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
1 cup mayonnaise (low-fat may be used)
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. green onions, minced (tops only or chives)
1/4 tsp. onion powder or 1 Tbsp. fresh onions, minced
2 tsp. parsley, minced
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. garlic powder or 1/2 to 1 garlic clove, finely minced
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a container with a lid.
- Refrigerate before serving.
For Ranch Dip, use sour cream or yogurt in place of buttermilk.
Most of these easy homemade salad dressing recipes are from Volume 1 of our cookbook:
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This thousand island dressing recipe is an easy homemade version of the classic salad dressing that you can make at home for pennies. It’s good not only on salads and vegetables, but also on sandwiches and hamburgers. It’s similar to the Big Mac sauce at McDonalds and is great on hamburgers. Mike tested this homemade salad dressing a recent taste test on our show and loved it!
Thousand Island Dressing Recipe
- Yield: Makes 1 1/3 cups
Ingredients
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish or sweet pickle, minced
2 Tbsp. chili sauce or ketchup
2 Tbsp. green bell peppers, minced
1 Tbsp. fresh or 1 1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder or 2 Tbsp. onion, minced
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl except the egg. Mix well.
- Stir in the egg.
- Refrigerate.
This homemade blue cheese dressing recipe makes a thick and chunky blue cheese dressing that is super delicious! It’s super fresh and tastes even better than restaurant quality blue cheese, but for only a fraction of the cost!
Wedge Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing
Salad
Instructions
- Mix the first 6 ingredients for the blue cheese dressing the day before serving.
- Chill.
- When ready to serve, put a wedge of lettuce onto each plate.
- Top with dressing.
- Sprinkle with a mixture of bacon, Parmesan and chives (mixed together).
Easy Catalina Dressing Recipe (Sweet Tomato French Dressing)
This easy Catalina salad dressing is a perfect blend of sweet and tangy flavors, making it a must-have for your salads! With its rich, tomato-based French dressing taste, it also doubles as a flavorful starter sauce for marinades, dips, and more. Ready in minutes with simple pantry ingredients, it’s a budget-friendly way to add bold flavor to any meal!
- Yield: Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
2/3 cup ketchup
1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup lemon juice or vinegar salt (to taste)
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 tsp. onion powder
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar with tight lid and shake.
- Refrigerate.
This Italian vinaigrette salad dressing recipe makes a tasty and full flavored vinaigrette dressing that is lighter than the creamy dressings. It is a restaurant quality vinaigrette salad dressing that you can easily make at home for a fraction of the price of the store bought kind!
Italian Vinaigrette Recipe
- Yield: Makes 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil or vegetable oil, or a combination
2 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped, or 1/4 tsp. onion powder
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. parsley, minced
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. dried basil or oregano
1 tsp. sugar
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in a large jar with tight lid.
- Shake well.
For Creamy Italian Dressing beat 1/2 cup mayonnaise into Italian Vinaigrette.
For Low-Calorie Vinaigrette substitute apple juice for the oil and reduce vinegar to 1/3 cup.
Old Fashioned Salad Dressing Recipe
An old-fashioned salad dressing that’s timelessly delicious! This classic recipe combines tangy vinegar, rich mayonnaise, and sugar, perfectly balanced with mustard and a dash of pepper. Ideal for topping fresh greens or classic coleslaw, this dressing brings a nostalgic flavor to every dish. Simple yet satisfying, it’s a staple for any salad lover.
- Yield: Makes 4 cups
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup vinegar
1 cup water
mayonnaise
Instructions
- In a saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt and mustard.
- Stir in eggs.
- Gradually stir in vinegar and water until smooth.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate.
- Just before serving, combine the desired amount of dressing base with mayonnaise.
- Refrigerate leftovers.
Tastes great on potato salad, coleslaw or salad greens.
This creamy homemade cucumber buttermilk dressing recipe makes a yummy creamy salad dressing you’re sure to love! The cucumber and buttermilk, along with the dill give it an especially tasty and light flavor. Try it today and you’ll definitely be satisfied!
Cucumber Buttermilk Dressing Recipe
- Yield: Makes 1 1/4 cups
Ingredients
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup cucumber, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
2 Tbsp. green onions, white and green parts, or chives, minced
2 tsp. fresh parsley, minced or 1 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 tsp. dill, dried
1/4 tsp pepper, freshly
1 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight lid.
- Shake well.
- Refrigerate.
3 Ingredient Salad Dressing Recipe
- Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the salad.
- Toss and refrigerate 1 hour.
Crunchy Veggie Salad Recipe
2-3 cups broccoli
2-3 cups cauliflower
1 cup (4 oz.) grated cheddar cheese
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup raisins
3 Ingredient Salad Dressing
Just before serving pour dressing over salad and add:
3 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
How long can you keep these dressing in refrigerator?
Pretty much like regular dressings. At least 3 wks except maybe for the one with hard boiled eggs in it. That one I would keep only about 2 wks. Don’t forget too that you can halve the recipes or quarter them and make up less if you need to.
In the ranch recipe can I substitute sour cream for the buttermilk??
You can Yvonne but do realize that the recipe will not taste quite the same and of course the texture will be different.
Hello.
My name is Linda. I love your creation. I’m going to make my lip balm for my family. I have a question. I am learning all this creative of everything. But how can I change my hobbies to a career ? I don’t no where to start. Please help me.
Thank you
Linda this is a good question we have done some videos on this but here is a couple of posts on our website that might give you some tips and ideas. One thing though to keep in mind. When you turn your hobby into a business it will no longer be a fun hobby. What we at one point we did to relax and have fun with will change over to a lot of hard work and stress. Make sure you are willing to give it up as a hobby and that you have some thing else you can replace for you to have another hobby so you will have something to have fun with and will help you to destress. Here are the Posts on Starting your own business
What is the ratio of Old Fashioned Sugar Dressing to mayo? What is the point of the sugar dressing? 2CUPS of sugar?? I dont get it.
Often sugar is added to a dressing to balance the acidity in it and to help with sometimes sharp taste of the it. Many dressings use sugar. Sugar dressings are really good in coleslaw. As far as the ratio goes, you put a small amount of the sugar dressing in a bowl and add a small amount of mayo until you get the taste you like.
I would use frozen broc and cauli, thawed, in the recipe. Or, blanch it and chill. Not quite so hard. Can eat more than a few tbsps then lol …my kids mouths get tired!
I’m like most people & love Ranch Dressing. It seems that since I have to buy buttermilk as one of the ingredients, it would cost more than just to buy it already made.
Many of the recipes we have aren’t for just saving money but for people to use if they run out of something or are in a bind. I can buy store bought bread much cheaper and for less work but we still have recipes on how to make your own bread and things. Plus there are a lot of people who keep buttermilk on hand for many things and so this recipe would work for them. Then we have people who like to make their own because they like to know the ingredients that is in their food. We cater to many many different people’s needs with the book. We hope people will use common sense and pick and choose what they need and what works best for them.
Loved the Italian vinaigrette. I did add some grated Parmigiano to it and balsamic vinegar. I poured it over gf pasta and veggies. It was really good. Thanks
With the 3 Ingredient recipe, I can’t have sugar nor artificial sweetener. Do you think substituting some berry or other fruit juice for the sugar would work?
You could try it Lynette but it really wouldn’t be quite the same because it would have a fruit flavor and it would be just mayo and fruit mixed together which probably wouldn’t be that bad. Make a half or 1/4 recipe and see what happens.