Homemade French Dressing

A Complete Guide On How To Make French Dressing Recipes

Many cooks find Homemade French Dressing a little intimidating at the beginning. I know I did, which is a bit bizarre considering there is no heat involved and very few ingredients. In reality, the problem lies in the fact that making a dressing is an art! Thankfully, it's one we can easily master, and this guide will help you.

When finished here, explore salads and French flavors in The Complete Handbook for Salad Making and French Seasoning.

Why You Will Love Homemade French Dressing

• A good French dressing or sauce, or vinaigrette, is easy to make at home using fresh ingredients like herbs, the allium family of vegetables that make the base for many delicious dishes, onions, garlic, chives, leeks, and shallots, and good quality oils such as olive, avocado, or grapeseed oil.
• Dressings can be served with hors d'oeuvres, all green salads, and vegetable crudités, adding a variety of tastes and being very healthy too.
• By mixing in other ingredients such as mustard or fresh French herbs, you then turn your dressing into a completely different, beautiful topping!
• Try them not just on salads but on meat and poultry dishes, fish like Poached Salmon With Fresh Herb Sauce, and vegetable recipes, as well as egg dishes.
• Try them on warm and cold foods!
• Once you know how to make your French dressings, you will never need to buy another bottle of dressing from the supermarket, resulting in big savings!

We all have different tastes, and so each individual can add his or her own preference for a perfect French recipe.

Tips For Making Delicious Homemade French Dressing

• Salad dressings are all about sweet and sour. Learn the ratio of sweet to sour that you like best. Most oils are slightly sweet in flavour, incidentally. If in doubt, add more sour, usually in the form of vinegar or citrus.

• Which oil you use matters: Olive oils cover a range of flavors from the peppery early-season oils to softer late-season ones.

• Taste your olive oil. If it is too powerful for your palate, dilute it with rapeseed, rice bran, or sunflower oil. Also, be aware that oils can go stale if left in the heat (e.g., by the stove/cooker) or in sunlight.

• Make more dressing than you need by doubling or tripling the recipe. You can keep them in the fridge in a sealed jar for ages and have a variety of dressings handy.

• Season carefully. Taste for salt, pepper, sweet, and sour. Before you dress the salad, try it out first by dipping a leaf into the dressing, then adjust the flavors if necessary.

• If you are using raw garlic in a dressing, it is best to smash it to a paste with a little sprinkle of salt, using the side of your knife blade, then a mortar and pestle if necessary. This breaks the clove down more than a garlic crusher can. The flavor will spread more evenly through the mix, and you won't get little lumps floating in your dressing.

What You Need To Make Homemade French Dressing

You just need to keep practicing, trying new combinations and measurements, and, just as importantly, keeping a note of what you've used and in what quantities.

In time, you will come to know instinctively how to dress each salad. This post will help you get started on the right path to excellent salad dressings!

13 Easy, Everyday Homemade French Dressings To Make

Basic Vinaigrette Dressing

This is a classic and a good base from which to develop newer dressings.

• 2 pinches of salt,
• black pepper
• 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar - cider or wine, but not balsamic
• 3 tbsps extra-virgin olive oil or use an alternative tasteless oil like avocado or grapeseed oil.

1. Put the salt into a bowl together with a little black pepper.
2. Stir in the vinegar and continue until the salt has dissolved - this is because salt will not dissolve in oil.
3. Now add the oil, a little at a time, beating continuously until the dressing is cloudy.
4. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes, then shake again just before use.

Variations Of The Basic Vinaigrette

Creamy Vinaigrette

To the basic vinaigrette dressing above, add 2-3 tablespoon of plain yogurt, kefir, or mayonnaise and whisk together until well blended.

Vinaigrette aux Fines Herbes

To make a vinaigrette aux fines herbes, simply add 3 tablespoons each of finely chopped fresh herbs to the above basic vinaigrette dressing.

Classic fines herbes dressing is:

• Chopped fresh parsley
• Chopped fresh chives
• Chopped fresh chervil
• Chopped fresh tarragon

or...

For an alternative and stronger flavor dressing, mix fresh fennel, chervil or parsley, tarragon, chives, and 4 leaves of marjoram. Do not use more marjoram as it is pungent and will overpower the flavor profile.

This delicious salad sauce is in my French Grated Carrot Salad.

7 More Delicious Homemade French Dressings

Lemon & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

This is a very easy dressing that is useful for strong-flavored leaf salads, such as rocket. If necessary, you can add a teaspoon of water to this dressing to thin it slightly and give it more delicacy.

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoon olive oil

1. Whisk the lemon juice and seasoning together.
2. Add oil slowly while stirring.
3. Taste, and adjust seasoning.

If you love bright, citrusy vinaigrettes, don't miss this Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing. It's a different zesty twist on classic French flavors.

Dijon Mustard Vinaigrette

• 3 tablespoon mustard (preferably Dijon mustard)
• ⅓ cup white wine vinegar
• Sea Salt
• 1½ cup rapeseed oil
• black pepper

1. Blitz the mustard, vinegar, and salt in a blender.
2. While still running, slowly add the rapeseed oil until you have a fully emulsified dressing.
3. Season carefully, a little at a time, tasting each addition.

Red Onion & Shallot Vinaigrette

Use this with roasted beetroot and lentils, topped with goat's cheese or feta.

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoon soft brown sugar
• 1 red onion or shallot
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoon olive oil

1. Combine the vinegar and sugar until sugar is dissolved, then add onion and leave for about an hour.
2. Add salt and black pepper and stir until salt is dissolved.
3. Then add the olive oil and stir well.

Honey Mustard Dressing Recipe

For those who prefer something sweeter. Also a great dressing to go with avocado halves, or on salmon and chicken.

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt and black pepper
• ¼ cup sunflower oil
• 2 teaspoons Dijon or other mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• 1 garlic clove, crushed

1. Whisk all the ingredients together in the order they are given and adjust seasoning to taste.

Walnut Dressing

This is a lovely dressing for French beans. Blanch French beans and add them to the dressing while they are still warm. Finish with finely diced apple, shaved fennel, and chopped chives.

• 1 cup walnuts
• Salt
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• A drizzle of olive oil

1. Mix the walnuts with the other ingredients and bake at 350°F/180°C/Gas 4 for 5 minutes, until lightly toasted.
2. Crush gently and add to the honey and mustard dressing above, along with 1 tablespoon of walnut oil.

Basil Vinaigrette Dressing

Best for drizzling over fresh tomatoes, grilled courgettes, or a tomato salad.

• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup or honey (more if needed to be sweeter)
• ½ cup olive oil or avocado oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped basil leaves
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Make the dressing by mixing the lemon juice and vinegar with the salt until it is dissolved.
2. Whisk in the maple syrup or honey and oil until well blended and lemony colored.
3. Then stir in the basil, garlic, and pepper, and let sit on the counter while you prepare the salad base and the rest of the meal.

OR

• A bunch of basil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 100ml/3 tablespoon olive oil
• A pinch of salt and black pepper

1. Remove the leaves from the basil and blend with the rest of the ingredients.

Creamy Honey Garlic Balsamic Vinaigrette

It pays, in the taste department at least, to use the best quality balsamic vinegar.

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon mustard
• 1-2 teaspoon of light-colored honey (no buckwheat honey here)
• 1 teaspoon garlic paste
• Salt and pepper
• 100ml/3 tablespoon olive oil

1. Whisk together vinegar, mustard, honey, and garlic paste.
2. Add salt and pepper a little at a time, tasting after each addition.
3. Pour in olive oil very slowly, whisking constantly until well combined and creamy.

Mint Honey Vinaigrette Dressing

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ½ teaspoon clear honey
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 20 grams/1cup of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
• 1 small ripe tomato, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped

1. Place the vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper into a small bowl and mix together thoroughly - a small whisk is useful for this, or a fork if you don't have one.
2. Mix in the olive oil very slowly, then gently stir in the mint and finally the tomatoes. Set aside and leave for about an hour.

This is a delicious topping for Mint Sauce For Lamb Chops!

Homemade Mayonnaise

Here is an easy and convenient method to make your amazing mayo!

Easy Immersion Blender Mayonnaise Recipe with 4 variations to create other classic dressings: Mayonnaise Chantilly, Tartar Sauce (Sauce Tartare), Sauce Niçoise, and Sauce Remoulade.