I rarely branch out when it comes to salad dressing. This one is always in our fridge. Never fails. And most people like it. Even Hidden Valley lovers.
Salad season is in high gear. Make some dressing while the lettuce lasts!
Adapted from my mom’s recipe
2/3 sugar or 1/2 cup agave
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 slice fresh onion
1 t salt
1 t paprika
1 t celery seed
1 t dry mustard
1 cup canola oil
Place everything in the blender except the oil. Blend on high until onion is pureed. If possible, open the lid of the blender (or tilt your stick blender to the side) and SLOWLY drizzle in the oil while still blending. When all of the oil is incorporated, it’s finished. Pour into a jar or bottle and store in the fridge. Keeps a long time (couple of months?). Shake well before using.
Yield: about 2 cups
Grandma Baer’s original recipe called for 1 cup sugar. I think that is too much but if you want to really get them hooked on it use at least 3/4 c.
Thanks Mom!
Is this the stuff I had with my salad on Friday?? It was so good!
Yup!
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I made this last night and we loved it! I used honey instead of agave or sugar, and it tasted great to us! Kind of a mix between french and honey mustard. Thanks for the recipe. Question: how long does this usually keep for you in the fridge?
Awesome! I’m scared to try honey just because I know we love it with sugar or agave!
I’ve already had it in the fridge for several months. That usually happens over the winter when we aren’t eating much salad. It never spoiled but it does really separate. If you don’t like when the oil and vinegar separate, just whiz it in the blender again before eating.
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I just made this and can’t wait to eat dinner!!!!
Do you think it’d taste ok to substitute the canola oil with extra virgin olive oil? So much controversy around canola these days, we don’t buy it any more.
Hi Shannon!
I actually don’t buy canola anymore either. I’ve switched to peanut oil, though maybe that’s not any better? I’m not sure why I made the switch! Anyway, a light tasting olive oil would be fine but if the olive flavor is heavy, it would definitely affect the end result. If you love olive oil, that might not be a bad thing, though!
Try Grape Seed oil, as good for you as Olive oil and lighter. Can’t wait to try this dressing,
I don’t have any celery seed on hand, what can I substitute or can I omit?
The celery seed is the main flavor in this dressing. You could omit it but it would taste very different. Salad dressing is very adaptable so try whatever works for you 🙂
I had celery, so I used my stick blender and added it. It tastes pretty good, but I’ll pick up some celery seed for next time. My husband still used bought salad dressing, but I use only homemade any more. Thanks for the recipe!
I wouldn’t have thought to do that! I think you’ll like it even more with the seed. It tastes a lot different than the fresh.
I did forget about the option of replacing the celery seed and salt with celery salt. It probably wouldn’t be quite the same but might give a closer taste than raw celery!
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Just made this to serve with dinner tonight! Can’t wait! Somehow I let myself run out of dry mustard so I substituted mustard seed, which may even prove to be better for our tastes 🙂 We like a good tangy dressing! Thanks for sharing!!!
Good thinking on the substitution! Hope you love it as much as we do 🙂
can I use Dijon mustard instead of dry mustard?
Probably but I’ve never tried it! It would give a different flavor but not a bad one.
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time! My favorite restaurant makes something very similar and I could not find a comparable recipe until now. I was so excited to make it that I didn’t check my ingredients first. I ended up having to sub cider vinegar for red wine vinegar so I went ahead and used a full cup of stevia (my sugar substitute). I omitted the paprika as I didn’t have any. I also had to use celery salt so I cut the regular salt in half. It still turned out amazing! Thanks so much!
Awesome! Making do with what you have is what cooking is all about!
Can you please clarify if it’s a teaspoon or a tablespoon
Of which ingredient? If it’s the onion, that is by taste. If you like onion flavor, use a thick slice. If you would rather not taste it much, either skip it or use a thin slice.