My Favorite Salad Dressings

My go-to vinaigrettes, the caesar I use in salads and wraps and homemade ranch that makes picky eaters happy. Plus, a carrot miso dressing that you'll want to eat with a spoon.

Super Simple Salad Dressing from my book, Dinner is Done, photographed by Debora Smail.

I dragged my feet a bit on which recipe to share this weekend. I wanted it to be “healthy” (in quotes because isn’t that always a moving target), a useful and easy weeknight recipe for “new year, new you” goals, and something you’ll continue to make all year long. Enter the salad dressing post. These are the dressings I stock in my fridge and teach in my online and in-person cooking classes. These are pure gold.

• Super Simple Salad Dressing: One of the most popular recipes on my blog and something my husband tells me should be bottled and sold. He’s biased, but I agree it’s darn tasty. There’s a trick to making this recipe that I learned during culinary school from Alice Water’s former assistant and that I still teach in almost every cooking class.

• Balsamic Vinaigrette: Honey to balance the vinegar, Dijon and microplaned garlic to bring it home, and always EVOO.

• Weeknight Caesar: The shortcut dressing to end all others. I’ll get you over your fear of anchovies if it’s the last thing I do. You won’t even taste the tiny bit added to this dressing, and it packs an umami punch.

• Buttermilk Ranch: With fresh herbs, lemon juice and Greek yogurt that adds protein and tart undertones.

• Carrot Miso Dressing: This is a carrot-ginger-miso flavor bomb that gets pureed in a blender or food processor. You will want to eat it with a spoon.

Full recipes are below!

At the end of January, my online Smart in the Kitchen School class will focus on making better salads at home. We meet on Zoom and I teach 3-4 recipes in an hour or less, and share tips, knife skills and culinary wisdom along the way. After every class, I email a recording and save it to a password-protected website and on a members-only app. We’ll talk salad dressing tips, the best way to taste your vinaigrette and how to adjust if you find it too acidic, too bland or just blah, plus a cheat sheet for making a good leafy grain bowl and a dozen other salad recipes. I have a discount of 40% off a yearly membership if this is your year to master the kitchen basics. The discount expires mid-Jan, so jump on it!

If you’re looking for other healthy dinner recipes to kick off the New Year, check out my full Recipe Index or might I suggest the following:

Roasted Fish with Cannellini Beans and Green Olives

Roasted Fish with Shallots, Tomatoes, and Red Chilies

Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Asparagus and Artichokes

Za’atar Salmon with Asparagus

Spring Vegetable Stir Fry

Sheet Pan Roasted Fish with Green Beans and Cherry Tomatoes

Chicken Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce and Greek Salad