Long gone are the days of hearty soups, stews, and roasted root vegetables that kept our souls warm and our bellies nourished all winter long. Spring and Summer mark a time to celebrate fresh, light, and vibrant vegetables. That's right, it’s salad season!

While salads are probably one of the healthiest meals of all, how we dress our salad can totally make or break our healthiest intentions. In fact, store bought dressings can oftentimes be what I call the “undo” button, capable of completely sabotaging what could have been a delicious and nourishing meal.

Don’t believe me? Head to your fridge or pantry, pick up a store-bought dressing and take a glance at the list of ingredients. More times than not, you will find a long list of highly processed ingredients, including sneaky sugar, excess sodium, and highly refined oils, along with an assortment of artificial additives and preservatives.

So, how do we dress our salads for success? You can start by learning what to look for when reading the nutrition label of store-bought salad dressing, which I explained in detail here. And while there are a few good products currently on the market, such as Tessemae's All Natural Dressings, the truth is, you’re better off making your own. DIY Dressing is a no brain-er - it’s healthier, more affordable, and puts you back in the driver’s seat.

The idea of making your own salad dressing may feel intimidating, but after a little practice, it becomes second nature. To make it extra simple, here’s a step-by-step guide to DIY salad dressings.

DIY DRESSING: A Step-by-Step Guide

When it comes to making a salad dressing, I follow a simple acronym: FASSS — Fat, Acid, Seasoning, Salt & Sweet. FASSS represents the 5 key components of a delicious and nutrient-rich salad dressing, with no recipe required! Let’s break it down:

Fat

Fat serves many purposes! It brings a creamy texture to your salad dressing and serves as an emulsifier that holds all the other ingredients together. Fat also acts as a chauffeur for your salad’s nutrients. Did you know that many of our nutrients are “fat soluble”? That means they need fat to help transport them from our GI tract to our cells. Without fat, our nutrients never reach our cells and we lose out on reaping their health benefits. This is why fat-free salad dressings are actually counterproductive. Try one of these high-quality fats: Olive oil, flax oil, nut and seed butters like tahini or almond butter, organic yogurt, hummus, or a mashed up avocado.

Acid

Acid brightens up your salad dressing, bringing a nice tang to every bite. Think: vinegars and citrus fruits. There are so many different vinegars to explore: red wine, white wine, apple cider, sherry, balsamic, white balsamic, rice vinegar - each of these has a unique flavor. You can also use lemons, limes, oranges, and grapefruits .

Seasonings

Here’s where you get to add some personality to your dressing. Add garlic, some minced onions, scallions, or shallots, or mix it up with ginger or different herbs and spices. Think of what kind of flavor profile you’re craving — whether it’s Asian, Mexican, Italian, Mediterranean — and let that direct you towards seasoning combinations commonly used in these areas of the world. For example, if you’re going for an Asian-style dressing, you’ll probably add some grated ginger and garlic and perhaps some cilantro or fresh mint and toasted sesame oil. Pro Tip: Use Chef Chad Sarno’s Herb & Spice Chart as a guide to creating flavor combination from around the globe!

Salt

In cooking, we add salt to bring out the flavor of the other ingredients, not to mask the ingredients. Add a pinch of sea salt, or a splash of tamari, or whisk in a little bit of miso paste. Chopped or pureed olives or capers are also a fun way to add a briney, salty bite.

Sweet

A touch of sweetness helps round out the ingredients in a dressing, sauce, or dish. I generally encourage tasting your dressing before sweetening - you may find it tastes great as is! If you do find a need for a sweetener, it’s best to choose something that also delivers nutrients. Think: Fruits — fresh, frozen, dried, or pureed — or a splash of 100% fruit juice. You can even add grated or pureed veggies that tend to have a natural sweetness, like sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, or roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, and caramelized onions. A teaspoon of honey or pure maple syrup is also a great option. Whatever you choose, be mindful and sweeten sparingly. This is a case of “less is more.”

Here's an example of the FASSS method...

Everyday Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette

I make this at the beginning of every week so that it’s in the fridge ready to go. It’s super simple to make, and incredibly versatile - I love it on salads, roasted veggies, fish, chicken - you name it. Here’s the FASSS breakdown:

Fat: Olive Oil
Acid: Lemon Juice (and zest) + Vinegar (switch it up: red wine, apple cider, or champagne work great)
Seasonings: garlic + Dijon mustard + herbs + cracked black pepper
Salt: pinch of Sea Salt
Sweet: Do you need it? The lemon juice usually does the job for me! If not, add a tsp of honey or maple syrup.

Practical Tips for DIY Dressings

Ratios: Traditional salad dressings are usually one part vinegar to three parts oil, but feel free to play around and discover your personal preference. I tend to enjoy tangy dressings, so I use a higher acid to oil ratio. Others may prefer more subtle notes of acidity, so using a higher fat ratio, or even simply adding some water, can help dilute or mute the acidity in a dressing.
Re-purpose Jars: Save glass bottles from store-bought dressings, pickles, condiments, etc. These make for a great container for your homemade dressings as they can be securely sealed and are conveniently portable so that you can take your DIY dressing to-go for salads at work. Since I use Dijon mustard in most of my dressings, I love using a nearly-empty Dijon mustard jar. I simply add all the ingredients, give it a shake, and store it in the fridge for the week.
Make one or two dressings each week: I recommend preparing one basic dressing, like the lemon Dijon vinaigrette, and one new, “fun” dressing each week. That way you always have a flavorful dressing at the ready to use for your veggies all week long. Plus, if you follow this formula, you will have mastered four DIY dressing recipes by the end of each month!
Reverse-engineer your favorite store-bought dressing: Consider using your favorite bottled salad dressing for inspiration - what flavors and textures does it offer? Check out the ingredient list and cross out or omit all of the non-real food ingredients. The ingredients that remain represent a list of real food ingredients that you can use as a great starting point for a DIY recipe. Now categorize the ingredients into each of the FASSS categories, and fill in the gaps as needed!
Beyond Salads: Your DIY dressings are great for salads, but they also work well as marinades or finishing sauces for proteins, roasted veggies, and Buddha bowls. So if you aren’t a salad lover, learning a few DIY dressing recipes to keep in your back pocket will still be worth the investment.

The Challenge

Now take what you learned and put it into practice. Here’s your homework assignment for the week:

Save an old glass condiment container, or buy a case of mason jars.
Pick a dressing to try (I’ve included a few of my favorite combinations below for your to experiment with, or try hacking your favorite store bought dressing)
Jot down the FASSS ingredients you plan to use
Add them to the mason jar, give it a shake. Store it in the fridge for up to a week.
Report back - I want to hear, how did it go for you? Leave comments below.

FASSS is inspired by and adapted from culinary educator and founder of Healing Kitchens, Rebecca Katz.

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How to: Make DIY Salad Dressing