5 Fresh Salad Dressings to Shake Up

These quick and easy all-purpose salad dressings will step-up anyones’s kitchen skills, no matter the experience. We’re whipping up Carolina-found ingredients with our favorite herbs for fresh healthy salad dressing for two that you’ll be proud to share. What better way to spruce up a bagged green salad mix, garden vegetable salad, bean salad, pasta, or grains than with a quickly mixed homemade dressing.

Get 5 Simple Salad Dressings for Two recipes to add to your collection this season. Let’s nourish and nurture ourselves into a beautiful summer season with salads and light fare this year. Try adding a salad a week to your regular diet for a side dish or meal. The more salad the better when you’re topping it with healthy ingredients and dressing to get extra nutrients and fiber weekly.

Use a clean glass shaker or jar with lid for shaking up flavorful dressings in your home. Chopped salads packed in glass jars are a safe way to keep your food fresh, plastic-free, and healthily made from home. Just remember to refrigerate the jarred salad until ready to eat. It should last about two days in a refrigerator. After that the vegetables start losing moisture, nutrients, and may oxidize.

Ball glass jar company has been a staple in my grandmother’s home for as long as I can remember and they continue to produce American jars.

King of glass jars, Ball announces a beautiful food-safe jar to celebrate 140 years of business in America.

Ball glass jars are perfect vessels for canning, mixing and storing salad dressings, and packing salads for meals to-go.

5 Sensational Dressings to Elevate Your Salads this Season

The heat is on, and we are looking for ways to eat light and keep cool. Let’s shake up this season with homemade salad dressings. I use five different but locally found vinegars to produce salad dressings that you can whip up quickly at home. Fresh or dried herbs help add splashes of calorie-free flavor.

Here are 5 quick and easy vinegar-based salad dressings to keep the calories off while you cool down at mealtime.

• Lemon Herb Vinaigrette This versatile vinaigrette is a powerhouse of a recipe to use year around. Combining sweet and tangy Myers lemon juice with local honey, organic vinegar, and fresh herbs, this dressing can be used as a marinade for vegetables, meats, fish, or used as a salad dressing.

• Garden Vinaigrette Dressing uses crisp dry white wine vinegar to bring out the flavors of roasted red bell peppers, garlic, and fresh herbs. Shallots may be substituted for garlic for a milder flavor. This dressing is excellent on green salads, bean salads, bulgar wheat salads, protein and vegetable marinade, and more.

• Peach Poppyseed Vinaigrette This classic Carolina recipe combines sweet and juicy peaches with popular poppyseeds in a perky dressing that’ll make your salad sing!
• Red Wine Vinaigrette is also known as Italian dressing. This light and easy salad topper combines olive oil, red wine vinegar, dried herb and seasonings for a splash of flavor.
• Rice Wine Vinaigrette is a light and refreshing dressing for vegetables and leafy green salads. You may substitute white vinegar for a bolder flavor if desired.

Lemon Herb Vinaigrette, serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, about 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey or 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon fresh parsley, rinsed and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground is best

Combine all ingredients in a shaker or jar and mix well. Use within 3 days.

Red Wine Vinaigrette, serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or olive oil blend. Use Extra virgin oloive oil if using the dressing immediately.
• 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend, no salt added
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, fresh ground is best

Combine all ingredients in jar and shake well. Use immediately or store refrigerated for up to seven days.

Peach Poppyseed Vinaigrette, serves 2

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces canned peaches in light syrup (about one third a 15 ounce can)
• 2-3 teaspoons peach syrup from the can
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped red onion or about 2 thin slices of onion dropped in the food processor
• 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons avocado, vegetable, or salad oil
• 1/2 teaspoon poppyseeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black or white pepper

Combine all ingredients but poppyseeds in a blender or food processor until blended. Lastly, add in seeds and stir or shake to blend. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to four days.

Rice Wine Vinaigrette, serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 3 Tablespoons light salad oil like sunflower oil, avocado, or canola oil. Nut or sesame oil is not recommended for this dressing.
• 1 Tablespoon freshly washed and chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend, no salt added
• 1/2 teaspoon white or black ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar

Combine ingredients in a jar and shake until mixed well. Use immediately or within three days. This light and refreshing dressing is great on cut cucumbers tossed with olives, tomatoes, and a soft cheese such as local goat milk cheese. Toss salad mixed greens or shredded iceberg lettuce in the dressing and top with a slice of grilled fish, lobster, shrimp, or a simple chicken breast for a healthy and delicious meal.

Reminder: Olive oil becomes semi-solid when refrigerated. When using olive oil in a dressing, use the dressing immediately for best results. These recipes yield a small batch that is easy to shake up and use once. If making the dressing/marinade in advance, use vegetable oil or a blend of olive oil for best results. Enjoy!