My house salad dressing, Everyday Balsamic Vinaigrette, is a simple, homemade salad dressing inspired by a trip to Greece. It pairs well with most salad combinations and can be used as a base recipe to create other dressing variations.
I eat a lot of salads. I also know salad dressings are one of the most processed foods. A lot of store-bought dressing contain added sugars, fats, and chemicals used for emulsion. Knowing this, I decided to create my own salad dressing, which I call Everyday Balsamic Dressing. This is what I consider to be my house dressing, nicknamed Everyday Balsamic because I use it almost daily.
Greek Inspired
My Everyday Balsamic Dressing is inspired by the salads I ate while visiting Greece a few years ago. In Greece, the standard Greek salad is served with olive oil, red wine vinegar, and dried oregano.
These three ingredients, olive oil, vinegar, and oregano are the base for my dressing. To the three base ingredients, I add dijon mustard for spice and to help thicken the dressing then finish it off with the standard salt and pepper seasoning.
My Standard Salad
I love this Everyday Balsamic dressing because it pairs so well with most styles of salad. My go-to salad base includes greens, bell pepper, scallions, cucumber, and garbanzo beans. From there, I add a protein plus my Everyday Hummus and baby carrots for dipping!
My Everyday Balsamic Dressing is also a great base recipe for creating other variations. When modifying the recipe, try to keep the 1:1 ratio of oil to vinegar to help maintain the dressing consistency we’re all familiar with.
A few of my favorite variations include:
- Use red wine, sherry, or rice wine vinegar in place of the balsamic vinegar
- Add a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic granules
- Swap the oregano for Italian Seasoning
- Make it spicier by adding a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
- Create a ranch vinaigrette by adding a tablespoon of
seasoning
No matter how you modify the recipe, it’s sure to be a success and will hopefully become your house dressing in the same way as it’s become mine!
- ¼ cup quality extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ ground black pepper
- Pour all ingredients into a small jar
- Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously to combine
- Serve immediately or store at room temperature for up to 5 days
