Dressings for salad

Written By Unknown on Sunday, July 3, 2016 | 2:45 AM

Here at The Kitchn, we don't like to think of ourselves as food snobs. We bear semi-secret loves for boxed mac and cheese and Velveeta. We keep frozen pie crust in the freezer (and maybe a pizza or two).

But there is one packaged product most of us here at The Kitchn have ditched completely, and that is bottled salad dressing.

Making salad dressing from scratch is nearly as fast and easy as shaking up a bottle, and the taste is phenomenally better than even the most "gourmet" jar of blue cheese dressing. (And can I just say that homemade ranch is reason alone to eat a salad tonight?)

It's easier, though, to quit buying bottled dressings when you don't even need to consult a recipe before shaking up tonight's salad. So here, from us to you, are six salad dressings that we love and know by heart. Spring greens are just now blooming out onto our tables, and they need nothing more than a drizzle of delicious dressing.

But before we dive into our favorites, let's talk about dressing a salad with no recipe whatsoever. The most basic way to make a salad taste really, really good is to toss it lightly with good olive oil, then squeeze a little lemon or drizzle some balsamic vinegar over it. Toss with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper, which are often all too neglected in salads, and you have yourself a delicious side salad. Herbs will just make it that much better.

6 Salad Dressings to Know By Heart

Two-Minute Creamy Salad Dressing - (Pictured above) Even better than ranch dressing, this incredibly simple dressing has mayonnaise and grainy mustard.
Quick Ranch Dressing - A classic dressing, so much better when homemade. Mayonnaise and buttermilk, chives and mint, if you're inclined.
Italian Salad Dressing - More Italian-American than Old World, this dressing replaces that bottle of Kraft we grew up with.
Eggless Caesar Dressing - A Caesar salad is a treat, especially with romaine (fresh or grilled) and this easy eggless dressing.
Creamy Blue Cheese Dressing - That luscious blue cheese taste, all homemade, but just as good for dipping celery and wings as dressing salad.
Balsamic Vinaigrette - The classic balsamic vinaigrette, the one we like to shake up in a jar and leave in our refrigerators for fast and easy salads.