3 Simple Salad Dressing Recipes: Creamy Balsamic, Honey Mustard, and Lemon Garlic

Learn how to make three of my favorite Simple Salad Dressing Recipes: Creamy Balsamic, Honey Mustard, and Lemon Garlic. Each takes less than five minutes to make and is full of flavor!

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Simple Salad Dressings

Homemade salad dressing is so simple to make yourself. It only takes a few minutes to combine the ingredients needed for a delicious dressing that will elevate any salad.

These three simple salad dressings are so easy that you can commit them to memory and whip them up in a matter of minutes. Your salads will love them and so will you!

This time of year, with fresh produce at its peak, salads are at the top of our meal menu every single day. With only a few basic ingredients from the fridge and pantry, I’ve been able to pull together a delicious dressing for our salads every day.

Making salad dressing from scratch is nearly as easy as buying a bottle, but the taste is infinitely better. These three incredibly simple salad dressing recipes are the ones that we’ve marked as our family favorites, the ones that we keep making over and over again.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

The first dressing recipe is a simple but classic Creamy Balsamic Dressing. Having this quick homemade salad dressing recipe in your back pocket will take you a long way in the kitchen.

With a sweet and tangy flavor, this dressing will brighten up any combination of vegetables and greens and even berries too. The mustard helps to emulsify the vinaigrette so it doesn’t separate. S

Balsamic Dressing Ingredients

This creamy balsamic dressing only has a few simple ingredients:

• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Mayonnaise
• Water
• Garlic
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• Salt and pepper

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Honey Mustard Dressing

The second easy salad dressing, a One-Minute Honey Mustard Dressing, is a family favorite and always popular with the kids. It quite literally takes one minute to whisk together and tastes amazing.

The kids will eat almost any veggie if I let them dip it in this! Check out these Tips to Make Vegetables More Exciting and 5 Ways to Make Food More Fun if you need more ideas to get your kids to try new veggies.

Honey Mustard Dressing Ingredients

The ingredient list for this simple salad dressing is pretty short, too!

• Mayonnaise
• Prepared mustard
• Honey
• Lemon juice
• Salt and pepper

Garlic Lemon Salad Dressing

The third dressing recipe is my personal favorite these days, a Lemon Salad Dressing that is bursting with flavor. Just a teaspoon of this on my salad plate goes a long way. It pairs really well with chicken and fish too.

Garlic Lemon Salad Dressing Ingredients

Like the other homemade salad dressing recipes, it’s just so simple. In fact, it is probably the simplest, quickest, and shortest ingredient list of all!

• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Garlic 
• Salt and pepper

How to Make Salad Dressing

Even if you’ve never made your own salad dressing from scratch, these easy salad dressing recipes will make you feel like a kitchen pro. To make your own salad dressing, simply combine all the ingredients in a mason jar, screw on the lid, and shake vigorously to combine.

Alternately, you can whisk together the ingredients in a bowl and then pour any leftovers into an airtight container. Be sure to give your dressing a taste before serving it to see if it needs any more salt and pepper.

How to Store Salad Dressing

Leftover dressing will keep up to a week in the fridge. If your dressing separates in the fridge, let it rest on your counter for a few minutes and then shake up the dressing to mix it all up. Don’t worry, the separation of the oil and vinegar is totally normal!

My Favorite Salad Recipes:

Looking for some fresh salad recipes now that you have three simple salad dressing recipes to try? I’ve found a couple to pair with each of the three salad dressings to give you some new ideas.Check out a few of these favorites, or head to the salad archives in the recipe index!

Try it with Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette:

In this Massaged Kale Salad with Roasted Squash, Goat Cheese, and Pepitas, kale is lightly massaged with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, tossed with roasted delicata squash, roasted red onions, herbed goat cheese, and pepitas. 

Berry Salad Lettuce Cups, was inspired by the flavor combination of berries and balsamic vinegar. If you haven’t tried the combo of berries and balsamic yet, give it a try. It is so good!

Try it with Honey Mustard Dressing:

This Chicken, Beet, and Arugula Quinoa Bowl recipe features lots of delicious produce, hearty quinoa, protein rich chicken, salty goat cheese, and nutty heart-healthy walnuts for a filling, satisfying meal. 

Fuel up and support heart health with this Winter Spinach Chicken Salad Quinoa Bowl. It is the perfect loaded salad to enjoy during winter. 

Try it with Lemon Garlic Dressing:

Italian Mixed Greens with Prosciutto  is the perfect salad to pair with homemade pizza night! A mix of arugula, radicchio and baby kale is topped with crispy prosciutto and fresh shaved parmesan. (This one would also be tasty with the Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette)

This Zucchini Tomato Basil Salad is a light and refreshing summertime salad and perfect when your garden is exploding with tomatoes, basil, and zucchini in the later summer months. Add some chopped basil to the dressing for a little extra special!

What are your favorite homemade salad dressing recipes?

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Save these 3 Simple Salad Dressing Recipes to Pinterest!