Best Salad Dressings By Chef Jen  [46 more lists]

Just like we all have our own favorite salad toppings and ingredients, we each have that one favorite salad dressing, be it ranch dressing, Italian dressing or even a sweet and tangy honey mustard, that we reach for when making a salad. The very best salad dressings are very much based on personal preference with some people preferring creamy dressings like blue cheese and thousand island and others opting for the oil and vinegar dressings like Greek dressing and vinaigrettes. Whatever your preference, it's easy to agree that the dressing makes the salad. Simply tossing vegetables, cheeses, meats and other salad toppings in a bowl starts to create a salad, but the dish is not complete and does not fully become a salad until a favorite salad dressing is added.

While many salads have specific dressings that complete the recipes, such as the garlicky Caesar dressing completing a Caesar salad and an oil-based Greek dressing with oregano topping a Greek salad, once you go beyond these classic choices, the variations on the traditional salad dressing varieties are nearly endless.

Ranch dressing lovers can choose from varieties with bacon, cheese and spice, among others, while Italian dressing can be creamy or oily and include secondary flavorings such as zesty seasonings and Mediterranean flavorings like feta cheese and lemon. Vinaigrettes are equally as versatile with choices like raspberry, balsamic and red wine among the popular varieties.

The best salad dressings are in fact so great that they are not limited for use on salads. Ranch dressing is especially popular as an everyday condiment served alongside pizza, breadsticks, chicken wings, chicken nuggets and even french fries. Same goes for blue cheese, Italian and thousand island, which can be used as condiments on sandwiches, subs or burgers.

However you choose to enjoy your favorite salad dressings, be it as a condiment, on a sandwich or on a simple salad, with so many choices and variations on the traditional types, it's easy to find a salad dressing to suit nearly anyone.