Food Recipes Sauces, Condiments and Preserves Salad Dressing 17 Salad Dressings for Greens, Vegetables, and More Drizzle homemade vinaigrettes and sauces over your next fresh salad for an impressive starter or meal. By Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann Jodie Kautzmann is an editor, baker, and confectioner with more than 15 years of experience in content creation, recipe development, and pastry production. She's obsessed with the fine details and ingredients that take dishes from tasty to outright otherworldly. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 12, 2024 Trending Videos Close this video player Photo: Greg DuPree When you're making a salad, the dressing is essential — it helps bring everything together and adds that final pop of flavor and lusciousness. We've rounded up some of our best salad dressing recipes, from barbecue sauce-inspired dressings to basic and quick vinaigrettes. With these in your arsenal, you'll have plenty of dressings to complement salads and vegetables. 01 of 17 Lemon-Shallot Vinaigrette Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Debbie Wee While this tart, punchy vinaigrette is fantastic on salads, it's a great sauce to drizzle over roast chicken, grilled fish, fresh or roasted vegetables, or anything that could use a bright wake-up call. Get the Recipe 02 of 17 Texas Barbecue Sauce Vinaigrette Eric Wolfinger In the Lone Star State, thin and vinegary barbecue sauce is mopped onto meats as they smoke to keep them moist and flavorful. For ease, this recipe calls for prepared barbecue sauce, which gives the dressing outstanding long-simmered flavor. Get the Recipe 03 of 17 Upland's Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Greg DuPree This creamy dressing from chef Justin Smillie calls for fresh herbs, hot sauce, shallot, and more. Get the Recipe 04 of 17 Sweet and Tangy Mustard Dressing Eric Wolfinger Mustard sauce — South Carolina's go-to sauce for 'cue — gets its signature flavor from a surprisingly humble ingredient: plain yellow mustard. Bolstered by honey, cider vinegar, and a dash of chile powder, this dressing's sharp flavor will wake up any salad. Get the Recipe 05 of 17 Alabama-Style White Barbecue Sauce Dressing Eric Wolfinger Inspired by Alabama's claim to saucy fame, this easy mayonnaise-based dressing comes together in just minutes. Apple cider vinegar provides a nice bite, while garlic and onion powders lend flavor that's reminiscent of classic ranch but with a tangy twist. Get the Recipe 06 of 17 Honey-Lemon Dressing Julia Hartbeck Melissa Rubel Jacobson's simple, 5-minute lemon-honey dressing for salad gets extra flavor from a touch of lemon zest and freshly chopped thyme leaves. Get the Recipe 07 of 17 Citrus-Scallion Dressing Photo by Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Thom Driver Recipe developer and cookbook author Leah Koenig says she sneaks this vinaigrette "straight from a spoon." Get the Recipe 08 of 17 Dijon Vinaigrette Julia Hartbeck Grace Parisi's easy, 5-minute Dijon vinaigrette recipe combines just a handful of ingredients for a versatile, flavorful dressing you'll want to always have at the ready. Get the Recipe 09 of 17 Zesty Chile-Lime Vinaigrette Greg DuPree This dressing straddles East and West, just like Vietnamese cooking. Its zippy, fresh flavor is great for a wide range of salads, from mixed lettuces to grated beets and carrots. Get the Recipe 10 of 17 Basil Vinaigrette © Tina Rupp This simple five-minute dressing is great with an heirloom tomato salad, pasta salad, panzanella salad, and grilled fish, chicken, or lamb. Get the Recipe 11 of 17 Basic Vinaigrette © John Kernick A good, puckery vinaigrette has a ratio behind it: three parts oil to one part acid. Acid can take the form of vinegar or citrus juice. "Once you understand that, you got this," says chef Hugh Acheson. "Add whatever you want. Go flavor-crazy. Shake that jar. Work those forearms." If you make too much, it will keep in the fridge for seven to 10 days in a sealed container. Get the Recipe 12 of 17 Tomato-Shallot Dressing © Jonathan Lovekin This easy dressing for salads, pasta, fish, or grilled chicken steals a technique from Spanish kitchens: grating a whole tomato for perfect skin-free pulp. Get the Recipe 13 of 17 Sherry-Shallot Vinaigrette © Tina Rupp Soaking shallot slices in vinegar makes them deliciously pickle-like. For a more tart flavor, let the shallots soak for up to two hours. Get the Recipe 14 of 17 Smoky Orange Vinaigrette © Kana Okada This marmalade-sweetened dressing is quintessential Bobby Flay, with bold flavors that taste best with grain salads or grilled meat. Get the Recipe 15 of 17 Caesar-Style Dressing © Tina Rupp Instead of egg yolk, former F&W editor Melissa Rubel Jacobson's Caesar-style dressing calls for mayonnaise. Get the Recipe 16 of 17 Shiro Shoyu Vinaigrette © Nicole Franzen San Francisco's Rich Table's Evan and Sarah Rich developed this tangy and tasty, 10-minute vinaigrette perfect for any salad. Get the Recipe 17 of 17 Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette © Kana Okada Bobby Flay adds sweet roasted garlic puree to creamy Caesar dressing instead of lots of mayonnaise. Get the Recipe Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit