The Easiest Creamy Salad Dressing

Looking for a creamy salad dressing you can make quickly and with minimal effort? Get some mayo and a mason jar, and get shaking.

Those of you who’ve been around TNB for a while know that the only sauces permissible in my kitchen are of the homemade variety. This is doubly true for salad dressings. At the risk of sounding too harsh, I find store-bought dressings to be… gross.

I don’t mean to yuck someone’s yum, or to sound like a snob, but they’re just something I’ve never gotten onboard with. Bottled dressings’ goopy texture, slick mouthfeel, and artificial-tasting flavors (even if they’re dubbed “natural” on the label) are the fastest way to ruin a salad, if you ask me. Also, I can almost always taste the unpleasant chemical flavor of the crappy oil they’re made with (which is, after all, the main ingredient of vinaigrette).

Making DIY salad dressing in a jar is a technique I picked up a while ago and it’s nothing short of a game-changer for – fine, I’ll admit it – dressing snobs like me. You basically put all the ingredients in a jar and shake them up until emulsified. Forget the nervous whisking, the separation of oil and vinegar, and the dirtying of multiple dishes in order to make a basic dressing. Once you try this mayo-based technique, you’ll never go back.

What’s In This Creamy Salad Dressing

This homemade vinaigrette is made up of the classic components: olive oil, vinegar, mustard, and maple syrup (or honey). What makes it creamy and ensures that the oil will not separate out is adding a bit of mayonnaise to the mixture. 

Key Ingredients + Substitutions

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The flavor of whatever oil you use will come through in the dressing. Use the best quality you can get your hands on. I recommend California Olive Ranch as a tasty and affordable supermarket option.
• Vinegar: You can use balsamic or any other mild vinegar, like white wine, champagne, or apple cider. I’m not a huge fan of distilled white vinegar here since it can be overpowering.
• Mayo: Makes the dressing creamy and helps it emulsify.
• Mustard: Use brown, Dijon, or whole grain mustard.
• Maple Syrup: My go-to sweetener for sauces. You can sub with honey.

How to Make Creamy Salad Dressing in a Jar

Find complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

• Combine the Ingredients. Measure out all the ingredients and combine them in a jar with a tight-fitting lid.
• Shake to Emulsify. Shake the jar vigorously until everything comes together and a creamy dressing forms.

How to Use Homemade Vinaigrette

This creamy mayo-based dressing works on any and all salads (see: this meal prep lunch salad, avocado BLT salad, Thanksgiving salad). You can also use it for massaging kale, on pasta salad, and even on salmon (if you eat fish).