With the rise of celiac disease and gluten intolerance, so many people are following a gluten-free diet these days. Our Italian salad dressing has no gluten-containing ingredients without sacrificing anything at all! Making next level healthy salads just got easier.
One of the great things that really makes for a perfect salad are the tangy flavors in a homemade salad dressing. It's also just fun to be able to say: "we make our own salad dressing.". A lot of the time what you find in grocery stores is full of artificial color and flavors, so the best way to avoid all of that stuff is to just kick the store-bought stuff entirely.
Gluten-free dressing is one of the simplest recipes, and the ingredient list is so basic, that most folks should already have these simple ingredients laying around. You can make easy gluten-free salad dressings with just some pantry ingredients, a jar, or a small mixing bowl. We think that this is the best gluten-free dressing there is to give your salad kick!
We've been making lots of gluten-free recipes lately, like our citrus almond olive oil cake, and crispy cauliflower bites, and frankly, the challenge has been a lot of fun! It's always refreshing to discover new ways to approach food products and cooking.
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What You're Going to Need!
- Olive Oil - Oil is one of the key ingredients in almost all homemade dressings, not only for the viscosity, but also for flavor. This lovely extra-virgin olive oil has a great fruity and herbaceous quality.
- Vinegar - With this being an Italian style vinaigrette, we are going with red wine vinegar, but you can use your favorite, just be aware that you may have to adjust the oil and sugar content, since different ones have different levels of acidity, (please stay away from white vinegar, as it's highly processed and tastes like medicine!). Another note, malt vinegar is not gluten free.
- Dijon Mustard - This gives a really nice spicy note to the finished dressing, as well as it acts as an emulsifier, where a lot of store-bought salad dressings may contain wheat thickeners.
- Garlic - Fresh and minced. You can use garlic powder in order to increase shelf life by a week or two, but we really prefer the taste of the real thing.
- Salt - Pure, kosher salt.
- Sugar - We used white granulated sugar for it's very simple sweetness, but if you would like to avoid refined sugar, maple syrup or honey will also work to balance the flavors.
- Red Pepper Flakes - The mild heat that this traditional Italian seasoning adds just the right kick.
- Basil - Sweet, with a slight anise flavor.
- Thyme - This is probably my favorite herb. It has a way of creating kind of a handshake between many different ingredients.
- Oregano - If you can find oregano that is Greek or Mexican in origin, they are the most full flavored.
- Rosemary - In place of using all fresh herbs, we just used this one. The dry version is very one dimensional.
See recipe card for quantities.
Recipe
Gluten Free Vegan Italian Salad Dressing
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Combine all ingredients in a mason jar.
- Seal the lid tightly and shake to combine.
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!How to Make Dairy & Gluten Free Salad Dressing
Once you have everything from the ingredients list and a glass jar, making this healthy salad dressing is a snap!
- This is one of our favorite ways to mix things up. Just place ingredients into a mason jar, and....
2. shake it up!!! Ta-da, homemade gluten-free salad dressing, ready for all of your favorite salads!
Chef Tip
This vinaigrette salad dressing doesn't have any food starch or gluten ingredients. It also doesn't have any thickeners or emulsifiers that will keep it together permanently. Make sure that it is well shaken or stirred before using it on green salads or leafy greens, or you will just be getting the oil from the top.
Variations
There are lots of different options for this high-quality gluten-free salad dressing!
- Vinegar/Acid - Balsamic vinegar is a very popular choice, or apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, even fresh lemon juice will work really nicely!
- Oil - There are lots of flavorful options available, like avocado oil, grapeseed, or even some really flavorful ones, like walnut, (just use powerful oil like this one as a seasoning, replacing all of the oil will result in overpowering bitterness.).
- Worcestershire Sauce - the umami flavor in this beautiful condiment can be a game changer, but keep in mind that it contains gluten and anchovies, so it won't be gluten free or vegan anymore with this addition.
- Onion Powder - add a little of this , to give your heartier salads a different flavor.
Storage & Helpful Hints
Store this dressing in the tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It's actually at its best after 4-5 days!
Since we used an extra virgin olive oil in this dressing as opposed to a highly processed one, the oil will solidify in the refrigerator. You can work around this in a number of ways. If you pull the mason jar out of the cooler an hour or so before using it, it should come to room temperature and "melt". Shaking it aggressively will also do the trick, or running warm water over the jar, as well as microwaving it for just a few seconds.
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Yes, you can double the recipe without it affecting the flavor, and it stores well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks!
Jason Miller says
Incredibly easy.