This simple Lemon Yogurt Homemade Salad Dressing is amazingly easy to create, boosts your salad’s nutrition, and best of all, is delicious, too!
By Kristen Smith, Contributing Writer
If there’s anything the multitude of dietary experts agree upon, it’s that vegetables are good for you.
Raw veggies? Even better.
Colorful raw veggies atop a bowl of fresh lettuces and greens? Jackpot!
(With so many different diets out there, the one thing they have in common must have some truth to it!)
Yep, you know salads are good for you and the growing bodies of your kiddos. But getting them into everyone’s tummies regularly? That can leave even the most capable momma scratching her head.
Though our family has been on the whole food train for many years, I’ve just recently started a lunchtime salad routine in our home. No matter what else we have for lunch that day (and sometimes lunch looks a lot more like grab n’ go snack time on busy homeschooling days), a salad is always part of the picture.
We change up what goes on our salad to keep things from getting boring. There usually are some cold chicken, lentils, tuna, or nuts for protein. Maybe fresh herbs or a little fruit for extra flavor. In the springtime, I might even offer some foraged chickweed or dandelion greens and flowers from our unsprayed yard!
While all of that is fun, to really make things appealing for everyone, you really need one more important element. Easy homemade salad dressings!
A homemade salad dressing might seem like something only uber-domestic mommas create. If you feel like your kitchen skills are a little lacking, you might be tempted to think that this is out of your league. But you can safely knock that worry down, because this is so easy that my children can make it for us.
My children do a lot of work around the house. Team effort is how my large family thrives!
Not only will a homemade salad dressing make a bowl of greens and veggies more appetizing to your crew, it can actually up the nutrition of your salad. This Simple Lemon Yogurt Salad Dressing boosts your salad’s good-for-you rating with a healthy dose of probiotics, needed fats, and some extra Vitamin C. Plus, it’s yummy!
You won’t need any special ingredients, either. Most homemade salad dressings are quite simple, including this one. Plain yogurt (I prefer whole milk), a lemon, some extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and some dried herbs is all it takes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 large lemon juiced (about 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a 16-ounce glass jar, like a pint-sized mason jar.
- Cap the jar and shake until the salad dressing is thoroughly blended.
- Drizzle on your salad and enjoy!
Be sure to store the salad dressing in the refrigerator. It will get much thicker in the fridge, but will return to its regular consistency after you add it to your salad and the olive oil warms up. You’ll need to stir the dressing with a spoon after taking it out of the fridge for just a few seconds to take care of any separation that will naturally occur.
In case you’re wondering if Greek yogurt will work the same as plain yogurt in your homemade salad dressing, the answer is yes! The consistency will be just a little bit different, though.
Greek yogurt will make a thick salad dressing more like ranch, and might take a little extra stirring at first, too. Regular plain yogurt will be along the lines of a thick vinaigrette and will blend quite easily. Either yogurt will taste great, though, so just use what your family normally enjoys.
As an extra bonus, you can use this dressing as a yummy marinade for poultry, fish, and veggies before cooking, too! The yogurt and lemon juice help tenderize, while the oil carries flavor through the food.
Can’t you just imagine chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill after marinating in this? Yum!
Homemade salad dressings really are that easy and versatile. Once you try your hand at making your own nutritious salad dressing, you might just find the salad bowl gets emptied a little more regularly.
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