Rich, creamy, and herbed, this easy salad dressing makes your fresh, veggie-loaded greens sing! With a base of soft cheese or sour cream instead of mayo, it’s the perfect recipe for egg-free folks!
We’re on a quest to find the perfect homemade creamy salad dressing!
This simple dressing will make your fresh, veggie-loaded salads sing! It’s rich, filled with herbal goodness, and there’s no mayo… so it’s perfect for those with egg allergies.
How To Make Salad Dressing Without Mayo (Egg-Free!)
How to make creamy salad dressing without mayo, you ask? It’s so easy and the number of options may surprise you.
First, grab a Mason jar and choose your base ingredient.
Pick one (or use a combination, if you like):
- soft cheese, such as chevre, cream cheese, yogurt cheese, or kefir cheese
- sour cream (pictured above)
These all have different consistencies. The key is to add raw milk to whichever one you’re using to get it to the consistency you prefer.
My recipe below reflects a thinner consistency, which is what we like because 1) it lasts longer and 2) it is easier to pour.
Our favorite dressing base is chevre or sour cream. The yogurt cheese or kefir cheese will make the dressing more tart, so you might want to decrease the apple cider vinegar and/or add a bit of raw honey.
For homemade soft cheese and sour cream recipes, see our Fundamentals eCourse. For more soft cheese recipes, check out the Cultured Dairy and Basic Cheese eCourse.
Next, choose your favorite herbs.
In the recipe below you’ll see dill and parsley, plus my herbed seasoning salt blend. It’s so delicious and easy to make!
Feel free to use whatever combination of herbs you enjoy most or have on hand.
Finally, add the remaining ingredients and whisk well to combine.
It’s delicious right away but even better after some chill time in the fridge (be sure to read my best tips below).
This creamy salad dressing recipe is so versatile it’s sure to be your go-to for when you’re craving a creamy dressing.
5 Best Tips For Making The Perfect Creamy Salad Dressing
While bottled dressings are a tad bit more convenient, they pale in comparison to freshly-made salad dressings. Plus, using real, whole-food ingredients means a healthy and nourishing addition to your salads.
But, if your dressing doesn’t suit your taste buds you’re more likely to not use it. Here’s my 5 best tips for making perfect creamy salad dressing you’ll love to eat…
- Since yogurt or kefir cheese are tangy, feel free to add a bit of honey or other natural sweetener. Trim Healthy Mama plan followers, use stevia or another on-plan sweetening option.
- The flavors develop more as the dressing sits. You may want to give it a couple of hours before serving, then taste and adjust as needed.
- If you think you want more of a seasoning, wait until you’ve done #2 and tasted to make sure.
- Did you add too much of an herb or seasoning? Just add more base ingredient and adjust the rest of the seasonings to taste.
- Want to use fresh herbs instead? Remember the 3:1 ratio rule. You’ll need 3 times as much fresh herb as dried.
What Salad Is Best Served With Creamy Salad Dressing?
That all depends on your tastes, really. But definitely any big, leafy green salad loaded with your favorite veggies is perfect for a creamy salad dressing.
Other veggie salads, such as potato (or low carb cauliflower potato salad), pea, tomato and cucumber, or other mixed vegetable combinations are enhanced by using this flavorful, herbed dressing.
Or, try replacing the mayo in meat, fish, or egg salads with this dressing. You’ll get loads of flavor in one quick dollop and no need to get out extra ingredients.
Quick and easy meals? Yes please!
Can I Use Creamy Salad Dressing For Anything Other Than Salad?
Absolutely! It’s not just for lettuce salads.
Give these ideas a try:
- Spread on a wrap instead of mayo.
- Top a baked potato or sweet potato instead of plain sour cream.
- Stir into a cream sauce.
- Make it thicker and use as a dip for fresh veggies.
- Use it as a marinade.
- Soak chicken in it before frying.
- Enjoy a dollop with roasted veggies of all kinds.
Trim Healthy Mama Tips For On-Plan Creamy Salad Dressing
This dressing is perfect for the Trim Healthy Mama plan.
There are no inflammatory oils, no added sugars, and nothing artificial. Plus, using cultured, raw dairy gives you gut-healthy probiotics.
If you’d like to add a bit of sweetness, use pure stevia extract or erythritol.
Want to know if erythritol is OK for a traditional foods lifestyle? This article shares everything you need to know about the sugar alcohols, xylitol and erythritol!
This is a THM:S dressing so use in a low carb setting for best weight loss results. Since it’s made with dairy, it’s not suitable for a Deep S meal.
Now that you see how easy and delicious making your own healthy salad dressings is, you’ll want to keep a batch of this creamy dressing on hand at all times!
Creamy Salad Dressing
Rich, creamy, and herbed, this simple dressing makes your fresh, veggie-loaded salads sing! This recipe calls for a base of soft cheese instead of mayo — perfect for egg-free folks! Makes 2 to 3 cups.
Ingredients
- 1 cup soft cheese such as chevre, cream cheese, yogurt cheese, or kefir cheese (or use 1-1/2 to 2 cups sour cream)
- 1 cup raw whole milk plus additional if needed, for consistency (omit milk if using sour cream)
- 1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons herbed seasoning salt or 1 teaspoon sea salt (plus more to taste)
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 pinch ground black pepper
Instructions
-
Whisk all ingredients together -- in food processor, blender, or with a whisk by hand.
-
Add additional milk as needed for consistency. I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
-
Adjust seasonings to taste.
-
Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
5 Best Tips For Making The Perfect Creamy Salad Dressing
- Since yogurt or kefir cheese are tangy, feel free to add a bit of honey or other natural sweetener. Trim Healthy Mama plan followers, use stevia or another on-plan sweetening option.
- The flavors develop more as the dressing sits. You may want to give it a couple of hours before serving, then taste and adjust as needed.
- If you think you want more of a seasoning, wait until you’ve done #2 and tasted to make sure.
- Did you add too much of an herb or seasoning? Just add more base ingredient and adjust the rest of the seasonings to taste.
- Want to use fresh herbs instead? Remember the 3:1 ratio rule. You’ll need 3 times as much fresh herb as dried.
More Salad Dressing Recipes!
We’ve got more healthy homemade salad dressing recipes for you, too:
- Creamy Sunflower Seed Salad Dressing (Dairy-Free)
- Tangy & Sweet Tomato Salad Dressing (THM:S)
- Probiotic Lemon-Garlic Salad Dressing Vinaigrette
- Creamy & Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing
- THM Probiotic Cucumber Ranch Dressing
- 28 Fermented and Probiotic Salad Dressings
What herbs will you use in your creamy salad dressing?
This post was featured in 28 Fermented and Probiotic Salad Dressings.
This post was originally published and written by Wardee Harmon on 8/13/09. It was updated and republished on 6/29/20.
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I like to whisk together balsamic vinegar, really good olive oil, a bit of old fashioned mustard, honey and some salt. simple, delicious & works best to wilt hearty leafy greens like swiss chard & kale for a very satisfying salad.
.-= LeeLee´s last blog post… Livestock News =-.
This is great, Wardee. We just started buying raw milk products and they really make a difference. I added about 3-5 cloves of raw garlic which really enhanced the the dressing.
I like the combination of sour cream and plain yogurt in my creamy dressing. Along with dill, parsley, sea salt, black pepper, a little garlic and onion. I often use dehydrated garlic and onion. And then a little raw milk to thin it out.
This is a new dressing I made recently. It is a little sweet, which I like sometimes.
Asian Salad Dressing
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp Tamari sauce
¼ tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
Sea salt to taste
Mix the vinegar, Tamari sauce and the honey together until the honey dissolves. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour over 4 cups fresh baby spinach, mix and serve.
This isn’t a creamy dressing, but it our favorite homemade dressing so far:
Honey Mustard Vinegrette
1/2 Cup raw apple cider vinegar
1/3 Cup olive oil
1/4 Cup flaxseed oil
2 t stone ground mustard (or your favorite mustard)
1 T raw honey
1/2 t salt (or herbamare, have done it both ways)
1/2 t dried parsley or 1 t fresh parsley
1/2-1 t dill (this is optional. I love dill, so I use it sometimes)
You can really use whatever herb combination you like. I’ve experimented with all kinds of combos, but this is my favorite.
.-= Kendra´s last blog post… The Perfect Start =-.
That looks divine! Thanks for sharing!
.-= Kimi @ The Nourishing Gourmet´s last blog post… Pennywise Platter Thursday 8/13 =-.
Great ideas, everyone! I’m going to try out these recipes – I think we’d love them.
Our last batch of bacon-fat mayo (Darcey’s recipe) ended up with way too much lemon in it. It makes a super salad dressing though!
Well Wardee you already know about our favorite salad dressing *grin*
It uses mayonnaise, because I didn’t have access to any good milk or milk products until just recently…. So I’m excited to try some of my RAW milk products in place of the mayo!
I call it Green Garden Dressing (should have a slight green color)
2 cups organic mayo (or your better raw milk product)
1 cup organic balsamic or red wine vinegar
* IF NOT using mayo, add 2 teaspoons sea salt or tamari
1/8 of a cup green stevia
2 Tablespoons Spike or other non-salt spice mix
Ummy additions: fresh herbs, garlic, chives and mild chili peppers from your garden!
Put all the ingredients into a quart jar.
Using a hand blender (wand) blend until smooth.
Stir before serving, if to thick add a bit of water, stir again.
Store in the refrigerator.
I’m getting hungry now…. We also use this dressing on corn tortillas melted with cheese, and as a base for dips.
Blessings
The best part of this is definitely its versatility! You teach people how to make their own and make it their own at the same time – Thank you so much for linking up!
🙂 Katie
I really love this salad dressing! I did not have all the particular spices or the nutritional yeast, so I had to come up with my own variation on that, but the base ingredients were exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t make quite enough yogurt cheese, so I had to use also some sour cream in addition to the raw milk. I wasn’t sure what I would think about the apple cider vinegar gave it just the *tang* that I literally crave.
Thanks! Now I’m excited to try some of your other recipes. 🙂
Thanks for all the recipes. My favorite creamy “Ranch” dressing so far is to take 1 cup of kefir cheese. 1 cup homemade mayo, salt, pepper, dried dill, dried onion powder, dried garlic powder and mix it together. Makes a yummy healthy ranch type, even process in a seeded cuke…………
Wardee,
Is it okay to add fresh herbs to this dressing? I have some chives and other herbs in my garden and would love to put them to use this way. 🙂 Just wondering if there is a reason they might need to be dried.
Thanks!
Maureen
Maureen – Definitely! And how wonderful! Use at least 3 times the amount when subbing fresh for dried (I’m sure you know that).
Thank you for the inspiration on how to make your own creamy dressing! This is just the sort of “recipe” I love to use. I use mainly dill, parsley, chives, and garlic to flavor it, and one or two other herbs in smaller amounts. The first time I made it everyone said it tasted like blue cheese dressing. Hopefully the batch I just set in the fridge will be equally well received.
My “usual” dressing is a mix of herbs, which change every time, in 2/3 cup olive oil and 1/2 cup vinegar (usually 1/4c ACV and 1/4 another flavorful one). Sometimes mustard. If I’m afraid my family won’t like it I add about a tablespoon or less of honey or maple syrup, and everyone always loves it. I’m not always good at tossing stuff in something and it turning out delicious (though I still try…), so I’m very proud of my dressings.
Hi Wardeh,
I was wondering–is there a reason to make kefir cheese then add milk in? Would it work to just use kefir? Is it purely for flavor? It seems like removing liquid then putting it back in.
Enjoying your blog, your podcast, and your online classes. Thanks for all the resources and knowledge you are sharing!
Elizabeth
Elizabeth — Adding a bit of milk to the kefir cheese sweetens it up. Kefir is pretty tart. Plus it makes it a dressing consistency. You could start with kefir (not kefir cheese) for sure, but the dressing would be more tart.