Spring Salad Greens with Homemade Ranch Dressing
Are you ready for spring salad greens with homemade ranch dressing? It’s the time when we can start to sow seeds for greens in the house.
I have been making my own ranch dressing for decades. It’s lighter and more flavorful (at least to me) than anything you can buy in the store. Knowing what’s in my dressings is important to me.
I could eat a salad for lunch every day but in the spring and summer, I actually do. It’s the season when greens are fresh from my garden or the farmer’s market.
Homemade Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1 clove garlic, minced I use 1 tsp. minced jar garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together and refrigerator for at least an hour before serving
Notes
“You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients”
Julia Childs
Salad Fixings
In addition to a bowl full of fresh greens, you can add any of your favorite fixings. A protein is also a great addition.
- Hard-boiled egg
- Carrots
- Celery
- Hearts of Palm
- Tomatoes
- Green Olives
- Green Onions
- Red Onions
- Feta Cheese
- Shredded Cheddar
- Protein – Chicken, Shrimp, Steak, Salmon, (Anything left over from dinner)
This is also the time when our chickens are starting to lay eggs at a steady pace so I hard-boil eggs every week. We love them chopped up on a fresh green salad.
Salad Dressing Tricks
When I buy buttermilk it is only to use it for my dressing. I used to throw away the left-over until I got smart and started freezing the buttermilk in my ice trays. 1 tablespoon in each square. 8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup of buttermilk.
Once it’s frozen in the tray I take it and put it into a container to use later from the freezer. I take out my 8 cubes and let them thaw and then proceed with the rest of the dressing recipe.
Chives can also be frozen. I don’t know about you but chives are a perennial here in Illinois and I get tons of it. When the growing season is slowing down, I cut a bunch of chives, finely slice them and freeze them. In this dressing, you can just add them frozen and by the time you mix everything up they are perfect.
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You can find more fresh salad recipes HERE
Creamy Ceasar Salad Recipe HERE
Pasta and Shrimp Salad HERE
Salade Niçoise HERE
Peace,
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This looks great Lynn! I agree homemade dressing is always best.
It’s good, it’s easy! Nothing better –
Lynn I am excited to try this! We are trying to make more of our meals from scratch! pinned.
It’s very easy and very yummy. I typically just use vinegar, olive oil, and some herbs but this is a nice change of pace.
Thank you so much for sharing my recipe!
Good recipe, Lynn! I love buttermilk recipes and I use it (or rather, I sour my milk) in a cake recipe and the cake turns out fabulously!! Anyway, I am so happy to share your post at Share Your Style #341 this evening for you. 🙂 Hope you are having a wonderful week!!
Happy Easter,
Barb 🙂
Thank you for sharing my post!