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Hey guys, today I have a super simple no-fuss recipe for you all: My creamy yogurt dill salad dressing.

I love this recipe for a few reasons:

1. It can be whipped together super quickly
2. It’s totally delicious
3. It’s waaaay better for you than so many other dressings out there!

Honestly guys, have you ever read the back of a salad dressing bottle? It’s a little bit frightening.

How my yogurt dill salad dressing recipe came to be

I am the kind of person who always ends up resorting back to the same old same old when it comes to salads. I usually serve a green salad with about 2-3 other vegetables, and then top it with some salt, pepper, vinegar (or lemon juice) and olive oil.

While that’s a perfectly acceptable way to eat salad, it can get kinda boring. So, at some point I decided that I needed to start trying to create some new recipes. The perfect place to start, I thought, would be with a nice creamy dressing. And so it came to be that this recipe was born!

Yogurt Dressing vs. Ranch Dressing

This recipe is very similar to a classic ranch salad dressing, except that most ranch dressings are not made with yogurt, and they also typically include a lot more herbs than this one. I’ve kept this recipe super simple with just dill as the featured herb, but if you want to go for more of a ranch vibe, you can try adding some chives, parsley, and a little bit of lemon to make it taste more like a classic ranch dressing.

Can I make substitutions in this yogurt dill salad dressing?

Yes, for sure you can! Try using sour cream in place of the yogurt (or 1/2 and 1/2), and any type of mayonnaise will do. I would recommend staying away from Miracle Whip, however, since that will sweeten up the flavour quite a bit, and I like my dressing to be savoury.

For the spices and herbs, you can honestly just use your imagination. Use fresh garlic instead of dried for the best flavour, and if you’re not a fan of dill, try using chives, parsley, cilantro, oregano, or basil instead.

Best salad combinations for this dressing:

My favourite for any type of savoury creamy dressing would be a classic garden salad, but this is also so delicious with other combinations as well. Here are a few ideas:

1. Classic garden salad: Romaine, cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers (pictured)
2. Grilled chicken & vegetable salad: Romaine, cucumber, tomatoes, roasted red peppers, carrot ribbons, and grilled chicken
3. Chicken and Parmesan Salad: Romaine, warm chicken breast, parmesan cheese, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and red onion
4. Roasted vegetable salad: Romaine, roasted carrots, roasted zucchini, roasted red peppers, fresh arugula, fresh cucumber, fresh tomato, slivered red onion and bacon bits

How to prepare the elements of a great salad:

The dressing:

Follow the recipe! In this case, throw everything together, whisk it up, and set it aside.

Romaine Lettuce:

My favourite hack for making lettuce easy for salad is just to chop up the whole head, and throw it (unwashed) into a salad spinner. Next, wash the chopped lettuce in the spinner, spin it, and voila – your lettuce is ready to go. Store in a ziploc bag until ready to use to keep it nice and crisp.

The vegetables:

Believe it or not, the way you cut the veggies really does make a difference in the taste of the finished salad. If you like your salad to focus more on the flavour of the dressing, make sure to cut up the veggies really small so that everything gets coated in that delicious flavour. If you want to focus more on the flavours of the vegetables or meat, keep those things larger so that every bite will burst with the flavours you want to focus on.

Chicken:

One simple way that I like to prepare chicken for salads is just to fry it in a cast iron skillet with butter, salt, and pepper (or a bit of lemon pepper), until it’s nicely browned on each side and nice and tender (and cooked through) in the middle.

If you want the process to take less time, go ahead and cut it up before you fry it; however, I prefer to cut my chicken after I fry it so that the meat stays nice and tender and you get that soft inside of the meat to enjoy.

Roasted vegetables:

• Red peppers: You can cook these over an open flame on the barbecue or the stove top, till the skins are blackened and the flesh is soft. You can also roast them in the oven under a broiler for the same effect. Cool completely, remove the skins, slice, and serve tossed with a bit of salt and olive oil.
• Zucchini: Depending on the size of my zucchini, I like to remove the stems and then either halve or quarter them lengthways. Set these onto a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake at high heat (at least 400 degrees F), under a broiler, or on the barbecue until the cut edges are slightly blackened. Toss the cooked zucchini with salt, fresh parsley, fresh minced garlic and olive oil.
• Carrots: Julienne the carrots into long thin strips and toss them with salt, paprika, a bit of cinnamon, and olive oil. Spread onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake at 375-400 degrees F until the edges of the carrots are just starting to blacken and the carrots are soft. Cool completely before adding to your salad.

Carrot ribbons:

Wash and peel your carrots and remove the stems. Next, using your vegetable peeler, peel off strips of the carrot into long ribbons (at least 1/2 the length of the carrot). Add them to your salad.

Onions:

Slice the onions super thin and just use a few! A little onion goes a long way on a fresh salad!

Salad essentials & what you will need for this recipe:

For this recipe, you will need:

• Glass measuring pitcher
• Measuring spoons
• Cutting board
• Sharp paring knife or garlic press
• Small whisk or stirring spoon
• Mason Jar, for storage

My favourite salad essentials:

• Lettuce spinner
• Ziploc bags (for storing washed lettuce)
• Cutting boards
• Quality chef’s knife and paring knife
• Garlic press
• Cast iron pan (for getting a good sear on meat for salads)
• Serving bowls with lids (for easy transportation and make-ahead storage)
• Glass serving bowl (for at home dinners)
• Salad tongs or servers (for easy serving)
• Glass measuring pitcher (for dressing prep)
• Measuring cups and spoons (for dressing prep)
• Mason jars (for dressing prep and storage)

And with all of that… I give you the recipe:

And that’s it! A super simple, healthy option to make dinner time more special.

If you make this salad dressing recipe (or any of my salad suggestions), let me know what you think in the comments! And of course, if you remember: tag me in your photos on Instagram @naomicakesofficial; I love to see what you guys have been making!

Bye for now,

Naomi

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