I make a lot of salad dressings at home. But I admit, I get lazy sometimes and find myself reverting to the store-bought versions. I’ve vowed to end my purchases of bottled dressings. Well, or at least jazz them up by adding a few fresh ingredients. I’m starting with this incredible creamy poppy seed salad dressing. My wife proclaimed it her instant favorite, which is a great way to start on my homemade dressing journey!
Nice And Smooth
This dressing has the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. And just the right consistency. It does run off your salad and form a lake at the bottom of your plate. Nor does it sit there, stuck to your salad like well… gum.
Grated onion really adds a lot of flavor to this creamy poppy seed salad dressing. Use a fine grater, such as a microplane, to get the onion as finely grated as you can. You can also mince the onion then, using the flat side of the knife, squish the onion into a paste.
I’ve never been to a Houston’s restaurant. I did at least look at their menu online. Their food sure looks awesome. So though I can’t say this copycat of their buttermilk garlic salad dressing is a true copycat, I can say it is fantastic. I could’ve just called it ‘Great buttermilk garlic salad dressing’ but I like to give credit where credit is due. Because it’s great. Like slurp-slurp-I-love-salad-more-than-ever-now fantastic. This is copycat Houston buttermilk garlic salad dressing is what Ranch dressing wish it would be. Amp’d up. Taken to another level! Thanks mostly to the garlic, but also a few other ingredients too!
Give It A Rest. And A Shake.
Make sure you let the dressing ‘get happy’ in the fridge overnight before serving. It makes a huge difference. And make a double batch because this copycat Houston buttermilk garlic salad dressing isn’t just for salad. It’s great for dipping wings. And veggies. Give the bottle a good shake (or the container a good stir) before serving.
I’ve been waiting for good, fresh strawberries to show up at our local grocery store so I could make this copycat Panera strawberry poppy seed dressing. My patience was definitely rewarded and then some. This could easily be my favorite salad dressing of all time. Smooth strawberry flavor with just a bit of sweetness. White balsamic vinegar, while not as cheap as the dark version, is more mellow and adds a great tang. This dressing looks as amazing as it tastes, too. It’s a big ‘ooooh’ and ‘ahhhh’ winner on the table.
What Is White Balsamic Vinegar?
I was curious what makes white balsamic vinegar more subtle and rich than the dark version, so I Googled it. Turns out dark balsamic vinegar is aged for at least twelve years in barrels that have been fired and were previously used for other batches of balsamic vinegar. White balsamic vinegar, on the other hand, is aged at least twelve years in new barrels that have not been fired or used before. That explains the cleaner, smoother flavor! It’s perfect in this copycat Panera strawberry poppy seed dressing.
Other Berries Work Too!
You can substitute other berries for the strawberries if you want. Raspberries and black berries are great. Or even try peaches. I think this recipe will work well with any good in-season fruit.
It’s sub in a tub week here and that makes me happy! It’s one of my favorite weeks. Every once in a while I go on a salad-for-lunch (or dinner) kick. No big ole subs for me. Just nice, fresh loaded salads. Now, this ain’t necessarily one of them fru-fru fancy light healthy salads. A guy has gotta eat. Work is hard. I work up an appetite. That’s why I go big when I make my Subway Black Forest Ham sub in a tub. Heavy on the turkey. Heavy on the provolone. Heavier on the ham. Yeah, there’s tomato. And bell pepper too. It’s a salad! And spinach and cucumber! It’s all good. Oh I forgot! Red onion! Love that crunch! I just add my favorite dressing the and I’m a happy guy!
A Little Prep Goes A Long Way
To make things go smoothly when I am having sub in a tub week, I do as much preparing ahead of time as I can. That way when it comes time to make my lunch, such as this Subway Black Forest Ham sub in a tub, I can have it put together in just minutes. I chop a combination of iceberg and green leaf lettuces and put them in a sealable tub with a paper towel to help keep them fresh. Then, I stem a little spinach, chop it loosely and add that in. I add cherry tomatoes because they hold up well. Add chopped bell pepper, sliced red onion and a few slices of cucumber. I cover the container and put it in the fridge overnight.
I could pre-cut my sandwich meats and cheese, but I like doing those the day I am having my salad. Who knows, I might change my mind from the day before about what I want on my salad. So I just wait. It’s not like they take that long to cut!
Place the lettuce and spinach into your tub or onto a plate.
Layer the sandwich meat slices and roll up like a cigar. Slice with a knife. Add to the lettuce. Note: If your meats are too thick to roll up, just slice them into bite-sized pieces instead.
Slice the cheese and add to the lettuce along with the tomato, bell pepper, cucumber and onion.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with your favorite dressing.
Notes
This salad can be made a day ahead. Just cover and store in the fridge.
I love avocados. They’re perfect on a salad. Sliced. Chopped. Or even in the dressing itself. This avocado Ranch salad dressing is quite easy to make. It packs a nice subtle avocado flavor, along with the wonderful creamy herb flavor of Ranch. It has a very mild spiciness to it too. You can make it spicier if you like, or leave out the hot sauce entirely. I like my dressing pretty thick, so that’s how I made it. But if you prefer yours a little thinner, just add some more milk.
Thick Enough For A Dip
Avocado Ranch salad dressing isn’t just for salads either. It’s perfect as a dip for chips or veggies. Or use it as a substitute for sour cream on tacos or nachos. It’s also great as a sandwich spread. Just make it a little thicker (by using less milk) then spread on bread. Add your favorite sandwich meat and boom, excellent!
Using different types of hot sauces also make for great variations on this dressing. Citrus hot sauce adds…. well, a nice citrus kick. Or try a smoky hot sauce. This dressing is very versatile.
I am always looking for new salad dressing recipes for Salad Week. Something to change things up. We usually have salad week if we have over-indulged the week before or if we have eaten out too many meals while traveling. This copycat TGI Friday’s Mandarin orange sesame dressing is so good! The orange marmalade and the honey balance out the sesame oil. Sesame oil is such a strong flavor so you can use a little less if preferred, but I love the taste of it. I like that it has chopped Mandarin oranges for texture. I also added Mandarin oranges to the salad to tie it all together. Salad week is always great thanks to great dressings like this one!
The Perfect Balance
This copycat TGI Fridays Mandarin orange sesame dressing is one of the best homemade dressings that we have made! This dressing would be good as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets. It would also be great as a sauce for crudités. Although I admit, I don’t usually use the word ‘crudités’. I’m not very fancy. Sorry.
My wife quickly declared this sesame salad dressing as one of her all-time favorite salad dressings. She loved the light hint of sesame oil and soy sauce, with just a touch of sweetness. A hint of vinegar. And creamy mayonnaise. They hit all the right notes for her. It’s not a thick sauce, not at all. It’s just slightly thicker than say, Italian dressing. And it’s perfect on a garden salad.
Don’t Rush
Although you can try and rush this sesame salad dressing, don’t. Resist the temptation to do that. Let it rest at least 30 minutes before serving. At least. And if you can, let it sit overnight so that the flavors get happier. As I note in the recipe, you might want to adjust the amount of sesame oil. Although my wife and I both are fans of sesame oil, we find that a little goes a long ways. We felt that one tablespoon was perfect for us. So, we recommend that you start with a little, taste, and add more if desired. You can always add more after it has set a while, too. You just can’t take it back out so use it sparingly if you’re like us and are a little sesame oil-shy.
One of my favorite things is roasted red peppers. I find myself using them in a lot of different recipes. I was happy to find this recipe for roasted red pepper vinaigrette. Of course, the roasted red pepper flavor is delicious. But the vinegar gives it a little bite. The honey balances it all out. Sometimes we will have salad week for dinner and we will change up the salads and make a couple of dressings for the week. This dressing has become one of our favorites!
Simple. Yet Delicious.
Roasted red pepper vinaigrette is easy to make and you probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry. I used jarred roasted red peppers instead of roasting my own, but either will work. The nice thing about the jarred ones is that if you end up with any leftovers they do freeze well for uses in recipes like this dressing.
We like this dressing to be smooth. But you can adjust the consistency a bit by not running the food processor as long. Or run it longer. You might want to check it after a few seconds to see if it’s where you want it to be.
Last week was salad week here. Every once-in-a-while I go on a week-long campaign to make salads for dinner every night. Now, these are not little ole wimpy salads. No, they are meal-sized salads that dreams are made of. To add a special touch I often make dressings from scratch, like this copycat Chipotle honey vinaigrette. This dressing checked all the boxes. It has the perfect consistency. Nice and creamy. A little sweet. And a little heat. Heck, I just realized that my favorite salad dressings are a lot like barbecue sauces! Huh!
A Dressing. And A Marinade.
This copycat Chipotle honey vinaigrette is not only great on salads, it’s also great as a marinade for chicken. Just let chicken breasts get happy in the dressing for an hour or so, then grill as desired. Chicken thighs too. So make extra vinaigrette and enjoy something special!
I could’ve made a smooth, creamy, mellow Ranch dressing. Like I have a number of times before. But no, I wanted a bit of a change. I wanted a salad dressing that would sneak up on me and then hit me with a little kick. This jalapeno Ranch dressing has that bit of kick, but also a great pepper flavor. I’m not a big fan of jalapeno-infused flavors where I can’t still taste the fact that the jalapeno is a pepper. This jalapeno Ranch dressing has that and more. No forgetting that the jalapeno is a pepper here.
Ranch Elevated With A Kick
The dressing thickens a bit as it sits. If it gets too thick for your liking just add a bit more buttermilk. A little at a time. Don’t add too much at a time. You can add more, but you can’t take it out once it’s in there! Stir and serve.
This dressing is also great as a dip for vegetables or chips. Use less buttermilk to make a thick, spicy dressing for hamburgers, wraps, or sandwiches.
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