A quick and Easy Buttermilk Dressing made with low-fat buttermilk and fresh herbs. Drizzle it on top of one of my most favorite summer salads.
If I had to pick my favorite things in life to eat, it would have to be homemade pizza and a really good salad.
My idea of a perfect salad and Pat’s idea of a perfect salad are two completely different things. His idea of a perfect salad is iceberg, pepperoni, cubed cheddar and croutons. Oh and ranch… with lots of black pepper. *meh*
My perfect salad has a little bit of everything in it. Bright greens, colorful veggies, bacon, croutons and a good dressing. Luckily we both are on the same page when it comes to ranch. We both like it on the thin side… and with lots of coarse black pepper.
Ranch dressing is pretty much a universally loved dressing, am I right? But making ranch dressing from scratch can take a bit of time to prepare and I personally don’t always have the ingredients on hand. So I’ve adapted this recipe over the years, scaling down, omitting stuff… adding stuff, to which I now call buttermilk dressing, because… you guessed it, it has buttermilk in it.
Grab a shallot, a clove of garlic, some fresh parsley and thyme. Peel, smash, strip and mince…
And add it to your favorite jar or container. Of course you can play with the herbs and add fresh chives or dill… a tablespoon of both would be delicious in this dressing as well!
Add in two teaspoons of cider vinegar…
Then measure and add 6 tablespoons of mayo… for the creamy factor. For a thicker buttermilk dressing, simply reduce the buttermilk a smidge.
Finally pour in a half cup of buttermilk…
… And season with about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and lots of coarse black pepper.
Stir… stir… stir until nice until smooth.
The whole thing takes 10 minutes tops! Now you can pop it in the fridge until you want it… or serve right away. I’ve done it both ways and both are fab. More time in the fridge will of course bring out more of the flavors.
Now… let’s talk my favorite salad.
First is the spring herb mix. Besides different lettuce leaves, there is a little cilantro here-and-there and other herbaceous goodness and this summer, my life it’s all about the herbs. LOVE <3. Then comes the tomatoes. I think most peeps can buy a container of the mixed variety at any major grocery store. But these are a mixture of sungolds, chocolate cherry, grape tomatoes and ones I have no idea what they are except that they’re GOOD. Then there is the usual; cucumbers, red onion, croutons, crispy BACON and lots of coarse black pepper.
I grilled pizza {post coming soon} and this salad with the easy buttermilk dressing was the makings of a perfect summer dinner and mighty fine leftovers too!
Enjoy! And if you give this recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Quick and Easy Buttermilk Dressing + My Favorite Summer Salad
Ingredients
BUTTERMILK DRESSING:
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced thyme
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 6 tablespoons mayo
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
MY FAVORITE SUMMER SALAD:
- 10 ounces herb spring mix salad greens
- 4 slices thick-cut applewood bacon, cubed and cooked until crispy (drained)
- 1/2 english cucumber, halved and sliced into half moons
- 1 cup mixed tomatoes, cherry, sungold, chocolate etc. halved or quartered
- 1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
- croutons
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
FOR THE BUTTERMILK DRESSING:
- In a small jar or container with a tight-fitted lid combine the minced shallot, garlic clove, parsley and thyme.
- Add in the cider vinegar, mayo and buttermilk. Season with kosher salt and LOTS of coarse black pepper and stir until thoroughly combined.
- Chill or serve right away.
FOR MY FAVORITE SUMMER SALAD:
- In a large bowl add the herb spring mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced red onion, croutons, crispy bacon and sprinkle with coarse black pepper.
- Serve with the super delicious homemade buttermilk dressing.
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Pure perfection!
This is so pretty and both the salad and dressing are perfection! Simple, easy and perfect quick meal for anytime of the year!
What a perfect salad Laurie!
Beautiful! Love all the flavors. And the hubs and I both like different salads too. Men are funny!! Can we have Shiner with this salad? 🙂
My Australian husband and I like pretty much everything different in the food department. When doing stir-fries I prepare all the vegetables and meat and we have two woks and we each cook our own. I think I could get him to like this salad and dressing though. It looks delicious.
Thank you Marueen! I hope you do!
Gorgeous, just gorgeous!! I could go for a big salad right now!!
Yep- that’ll do it. I’m hungry for a perfect summer supper just like this! I like your salad style- definitely going to try the ranch. Do you buy your greens mixed or mix them up yourself?
I love the dressing!
Yup, that’s my favorite meal right there too!
Oh yum. I’m embarrassed to admit that I always reach for the packet to make my Ranch dressing. How can I not make this with how easy it is? I love all the use of fresh herbs too! Just beautiful, Laurie.
Thank you Laura! 🙂
I agree – a big ol’ salad is hard to beat! Sometimes I stick with a simple mix of fresh lemon juice, olive oil, and white balsamic vinegar for dressing. Easy and delicious!
Pizza and salad is one of my favorite meals too. In fact we have it every Friday for our Friday Night Pizza Nights. We always just grab a bottle of dressing, not my fave but it’s easy. However, I am loving this post. The dressing itself is so easy, we are huge ranch people our house so it would be nice to just have a jar ready to go whenever we want to. I also am loving the salad, so many goodies! What I can’t wait for is the grilled pizza! Grilled pizza has been one of my favorite dishes this summer. 🙂
Looks great! I really need to start making my own salad dressings.
I love buttermilk dressings and your version sounds delicious! Great post and awesome photos!
Ranch dressing is one of my favourites, but this buttermilk dressing looks even better (and healthier)! Maybe it’s time to try this instead of the store bought stuff.
I got to say, what kind of dish that involves butter milk doesn’t taste good. I meant there’s got to be none, because buttermilk taste delicious!
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