Test Kitchen Assistant Ashlee Redger

We've all been there: standing in the grocery store aisle, confronted with a wall of salad dressings, trying to differentiate between the countless fruity vinaigrettes and seemingly dozens of brands and flavors of ranch-style dressings. There is another option, though. Homemade salad dressing not only offers impressive, fresh flavor, but it’s also incredibly easy to make - and our DIY salad dressing kits make it even simpler.

So why should you try homemade dressing? Our Test Kitchen Assistant Ashlee Redger, a culinary student at Johnson & Wales, is here with three great reasons:

1. You Know What’s In It

Bottled dressings are notorious for containing preservatives, flavoring additives, and texture stabilizers to keep them useable, even after months on the shelf.  Sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup are also often added, even in “lite” dressings.  When you make your own Italian Dressing, you know it will be nut-free, gluten-free, free of additives, and super tasty.

2. You Can Switch Up Ingredients to Boost Nutrition

In recipes that call for sour cream, like Garden Ranch Dip & Dressing, try substituting plain Greek yogurt to add protein and cut down fat. Yogurt will also add a nice tanginess without sacrificing creaminess. Instead of olive oil in vinaigrettes, experiment with a variety of oils made from nuts, seeds, or other plants. You might be surprised by the subtle flavor differences of each variety. Walnut, safflower, flaxseed, and sunflower are all great oils to try, each with their own unique flavor and health benefits.

3. You Can Customize the Flavor

Along with using different oils, you can customize salad dressings to your taste.  We love a pinch of Whiskey Barrel Smoked Black Pepper in creamy dressing like our Smoked Black Pepper Ranch. Like heat? The classic Crushed Red Pepper can give a pop of spice and add color to vinaigrettes and creamy dressings alike. For some bright citrus flavor, sprinkle Minced Lemon Peel in to fruity strawberry or pomegranate vinaigrettes. In the Savory Spice Test Kitchen, we discovered that stirring Cantanzaro Herbs into Dijon mustard and honey makes a Honey Mustard Dressing that is totally “wow”-worthy.

When you know how simple and delicious it is to make your own salad dressings, you’ll never want to drizzle your veggies with the bottled stuff again. To make the process even faster and easier, check out our DIY salad dressing kits and upgrade your next plate of greens.

Do you have a favorite recipe that uses Savory Spice products? Submit your recipes to our test kitchen so we can share them with our Savory friends and family.