4-ingredient All-purpose Salad Dressing

This 4-ingredient all-purpose salad dressing is easy to make and uses simple ingredients you likely already have in hand. And truly does live up to its name!

“What could be more important than a little something to eat?” -Winnie the Pooh

Salad dressings are a must with me, I’ve never eaten a salad without dressing in my life, and I don’t plan to change that any time soon.

But when I decided to take a step in the direction of healthy eating and from scratch living. I quickly discovered that salad dressing was far from an easy thing. I learned that finding something to replace my beloved ranch dressing wasn’t going to be easy.

Not to mention, I usually forget about needing dressing until I already have a salad waiting for some.

I tried a wide variety of healthy store-bought dressings, but I wasn’t a huge fan of any of them. I found them to be pricey and lacking in flavor. Not to mention, full of added sugars, soy, and preservatives. This left me with a choice, either find a good homemade dressing, that was easy to make and worked well with pretty much everything. Or quit eating salads altogether! Something I wasn’t about to do anytime soon. And so begin my long and somewhat tedious task

Spoiler: I found the perfect homemade salad dressing. You’ll want to save this recipe, trust me you’re going to love it!

All-purpose salad dressing.

I’d love to say this recipe came about because I did the smart thing, went back to basics, and learned what a classic salad dressing was and should be. But that really wasn’t the case.

This recipe actually came about when my mum had to eat a special way and started having her salads with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt. A couple of ingredients later and we had perfection!

I could probably have called this ‘the classic salad dressing’. After all, it is quite commonly used in salads in Europe. I could have also called it ‘lazy girls’ salad dressing. After all, you don’t even have to make it, you can simply, drizzle, squeeze, and sprinkle the ingredients on top of a bowl of lettuce/salad and it’ll still taste amazing.

But I decide to refer to this as my ‘all-purpose salad dressing.’ Because, well, it works for everything. I haven’t found a salad yet I don’t like it on yet. It uses so few ingredients that we always have on hand, and I can easily whip it up at a moment’s notice.

Any time, anywhere, for any reason this dress gets the job done! It also makes learning how to make your own salad dressing less daunting, and gives a good quality good easy choice that is sure to be a hit with everyone!

How to make 4-ingredient all-purpose salad dressing.

Ingredients.

• Extra virgin olive oil, You can also use Italian olive oil, or neutral oil (flavorless oil) if you aren’t a fan of olive oil. Things like avocado oil, hazelnut oil, and even canola oil will also work
• Lemon juice
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions.

Combine all the ingredients in a small jar, and shake to mix. Or combine them in a small bowl and whisk together.

Taste and adjust the seasoning in needed.

Drizzle over your favorite salad and enjoy!

Notes

This dressing can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1-week. Just be sure to shake/stir before use. I love to keep mine in a mason jar!

This dressing can also be used as a dipping sauce for bread and makes a great dressing for light and summery pasta salad.

If you are looking to spruce this dressing up a little, here are a few things to add.

• Balsamic vinegar.
• Crushed red pepper.
• Fresh or dried herbs.
• Crushed fresh garlic.
• Maple syrup or brown sugar (to make a sweet dressing)
• White balsamic vinegar
• Fresh herbs
• Soy sauce
• Orange juice
• Yellow mustard
• Wine vinegars
• Garlic powder

My go-to salad is a large bed of mixed greens, topped with red onions, salty feta, and chicken with homemade croutons and this dressing!

I hope you enjoy this simple, easy, and delicious salad dressing!