The Only 8 Salad Dressings You Really Need

With all of the additives, preservatives, sneaky sugar sources, and other unnatural ingredients found in salad dressings, you really are so much better off making your own. Not to mention, homemade dressings just taste better, too!

We've sorted through our recipe archive to find our favorite five salads that are each tossed in our favorite dressings. Keep these five dressings in your back pocket, and whip them out for weeknight or weekend salad success!

With lemon, olive oil, and not much else, this dressing should be your go-to for massaging kale or dressing up complex salads with lots of texture and flavor.

View the Recipe: Kale Salad With Spiced Chickpeas and Berries

Herbaceous, bright, and tasty on raw, steamed, or roasted veggies (or meats!), this dressing is as versatile as it is delicious. 

View the Recipe: Flank Steak and Salad With Green Goddess Sauce

We lightened up a classic Caesar dressing—but didn't take away any of the lush, creamy texture—with Greek yogurt. Worcestershire, lemon juice, and anchovy paste add in the classic flavors from the restaurant-style Caesar dressing you love.

View the Recipe: Grilled Caesar Salad With Sourdough Breadcrumbs

A chopped salad, full of contrasting flavors and textures and bound by a zingy vinaigrette, is a great quick and easy meal. For maximum Greek flavor, drizzle this dressing on a salad of mixed lettuce, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, and lots of feta.

View the Recipe: Greek Chopped Salad with Grilled Pita

Ranch dressing is creamy, comforting, and delicious, but the classic recipe of buttermilk, mayonnaise, garlic, and herbs is often full of calories, fat, and sodium. We've reimagined this much-loved dressing into a healthy, protein-packed recipe by trading most of the mayo for Greek yogurt. We keep a small amount of the mayo to balance the tanginess of the yogurt and buttermilk. Toss this zippy dressing with salad greens, drizzle it over pizza, or use it as a dip for veggies. 

View the Recipe: Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

There are lots of ways to make an Asian-inspired salad dressing, but we love using this combo of coconut kefir, chile-garlic sauce, ginger, and lime for its bright flavor and boost of probiotics.

View the Recipe: Thai Kale-Mango Salad with Coconut Kefir Dressing

Cooling and tangy blue cheese dressing is always welcome as a dipping sauce for wings, or slathered over a wedge salad. We've lightened up the classic dressing with low-fat buttermilk and apple cider vinegar (but, don't worry, there's plenty of blue cheese whisked in). 

View the Recipe: Grilled Bok Choy "Wedge" with Blue Cheese-Buttermilk Dressing