This post may include affiliate links.
If you make a purchase, I'll earn a small fee at no extra cost to you.
Learn the secret to creamy, cheesy garlic salad dressing…and a warning.
I used to think making my own salad dressing would be a pain in the butt. It seemed like every recipe needed a different type of vinegar–rice vinegar! balsamic! white wine vinegar! sherry vinegar!
Then I attempted balsamic vinaigrette and it was a complete disaster, confirming my suspicions. It took me about a year to get over it and try again, and now Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette is my favorite dressing.
Creamy dressings were next on my list, starting with Caesar. I found a great recipe at Good Cheap Eats and dove in. Unfortunately, it was a gritty fiasco. Pre-shredded cheese is too coarse and doesn’t break down no matter how long you blend it. Update! Jessica pointed out that her dressing doesn’t include cheese–the cheese is for topping the salad. (Guess who didn’t read the directions carefully?!?)
After many more experiments, I came up with a tasty recipe. The microplane grater is the key to helping the cheese emulsify into the dressing.
Tools Used to Make Cheesy Garlic Dressing Recipe:
Microplane grater: this is the key to helping the cheese emulsify into the dressing
Immersion blender: a great kitchen tool to combine the ingredients nicely
Cheesy Garlic Dressing Recipe
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
½ tsp. garlic
½ tsp. dijon mustard
¼ cup parmesan, grated extremely fine
salt and pepper (optional)
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, putting the cheese in last. “Floating” the cheese on top of the liquid helps it blend and keeps it from getting stuck on the bottom of the bowl. Blend with an immersion blender for a few seconds until all ingredients are combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. (I usually add more garlic.)
Warning!
Making your own dressing is economical, healthy, and addictive. I spend my time in the garden thinking about different herb salad dressings. Imagine how amazing a dressing with fresh shallots, thyme, and parsley would be!
Cheesy Garlic Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup parmesan, grated extremely fine
- salt and pepper, (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, putting the cheese in last. “Floating” the cheese on top of the liquid helps it blend and keeps it from getting stuck on the bottom of the bowl. Blend with an immersion blender for a few seconds until all ingredients are combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed. (I usually add more garlic.)
Good thinking! I’ll have to try that!
What kind of olive oil do you use? EVOO or some of the lighter ones? I’ve tried some with EVOO and it hasn’t been favorable and I wonder if it’s just my taste buds or I am choosing the wrong kind. Thanks!! Looks so yummy!!
Yeah, EVOO has a pretty strong taste! I’ve switched to avocado oil recently–just as healthy and can be heated to a higher temperature. Plus it doesn’t really have any flavor. Give that a try!
I found this searching for a cheesy salad dressing. decided to try it and I’m glad I did. The salad was awesome because of this dressing. Thank you for sharing it.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It’s gotten impossible to find this dressing mix. If you’re an herb lover try Heinz Tarragon vinegar. I buy it by the gallon on Amazon. Long ago in a diet workshop, I learned to reverse the oil & vinegar ratios…perhaps the reason for my addiction to this particular vinegar.
I ha e been a fan of Good Season’s Garlic Cheese dressing for decades…it sadly has disappeared for good per Kraft. It was made with blue cheese. Any recipe ideas? I’m desperate.
I tried the original recipe & wasn’t thrilled with the olive oil taste, even though I used EVO. (sorry) But I continued to experiment and found that Red Wine Vinegar & canola oil worked better for the flavor my husband likes and it came pretty close to the Good Seasonings Cheesy Garlic taste.Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Yum! I haven’t ventured into making salad dressing, but I am loving this recipe! Thanks for sharing on Tuesday Greens.
This looks awesome!!! We would love it if you would link up at our linky party:
http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/two-girls-and-a-party-link-up-29/
Live every Wednesday to Sunday.
Hosted by:
http://www.lifewiththecrustcutoff.com/ Parrish @ Life with the Crust Cut Off
http://thissillygirlslife.com/ Dana @ This Silly Girl’s Life
We hope to see you there!
I’m confused. Did you blend cheese into my dressing? The cheese is just for topping. The dressing is just olive oil, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and garlic.
No WONDER it didn’t work! User error…sigh…