Fresh, creamy and tangy, this simple strawberry salad dressing comes together in minutes with just a few ingredients. It's perfect for brightening up any salad.
With fresh strawberries being available all year long you'll want to keep this salad dressing on your regular rotation. The best part? You toss the ingredients in the blender and give them a whirl. It's just that easy!
Sara and I both love making homemade salad dressings. It's such a quick and simple way to elevate your meals and control your ingredients. Our reader's top 3 favorites are Southwestern Vinaigrette, Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing and the Apple Cider Vinaigrette on the Fall Salad, but we think you'll love them all!
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Ingredient notes
- Fresh strawberries - mid winter to early spring is when you'll find the most amazing strawberries, but these days good ones are available year round.
- Greek yogurt - just plain greek yogurt. Use any fat content that you prefer.
- Fresh lemon - we're just zesting for some fresh lemon flavor - you can use the juice elsewhere because we don't need the acid in this recipe.
- White wine vinegar - this is why we don't need the acid from the lemon. We're keeping it mild and neutral with the vinegar.
- Honey - just a little bit to offset the tang from the berries. If yours are tart feel free to add more honey.
- Black pepper - This is the main flavor in the dressing besides the strawberries. We use freshly ground, but finely ground.
- Safflower oil - You can use another mild, neutral oil like canola, but do not use olive oil. The flavor overpowers the strawberries. (We first started using safflower oil when we developed this recipe for deep fried turkey breast. Don't save that one just for Thanksgiving - it's awesome any time)
- Salt
See the recipe card for full ingredient list and quantities.
How to make your dressing
The reason we call this dressing "simple" is because it truly is.
- Prep the ingredients first. Basically that's just washing the strawberries and cut away the tops. If they're large I might cut the berry itself into 3-4 pieces. Smaller ones I just halve. Wash and zest the lemon (do this directly into the blender pitcher).
- Add all the ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth.
- Refrigerate covered until time to serve. If you can make it a few hours ahead of time it will benefit from the chance for the flavors to blend.
Pam's tips
This is such a straightforward easy recipe there's not much I can add. If you have strawberries at their peak of freshness, a neutral oil and freshly ground black pepper it's going to be a great dressing.
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The black pepper flavor contrasting with the berries is what makes this a unique salad dressing. We consulted our Flavor Bible to come up with this. If you don't have a Flavor Bible in your kitchen you should order one now.
Storing the dressing
This strawberry salad dressing will keep perfectly for 5 days in the refrigerator if it's tightly covered. In all honesty I've kept it a full week and didn't notice any reduction in flavor or quality.
The great thing about using safflower oil is that it doesn't solidify when refrigerated. Before serving you'll want to set it out for a few minutes to get the extreme chill off, but the texture will be perfect straight out of the fridge.
You cannot freeze this dressing.
FAQ's
Any salad with tender greens like arugula or baby spinach is great. We also recommend salads that contain fruits and/or nuts.
We recommend safflower oil, but any neutral oil like grapeseed or canola will be fine.
You absolutely can! We use our standard blender, but an immersion blender works well too.
More strawberry recipes
If you're here you must love strawberries so you're probably always on the lookout for ways to use them:
- Strawberry Basil Gin Cocktail
- Strawberry Cake (so easy!)
- Strawberry Pie
- Mini Strawberry Shortcakes
- Clementine Salad with Strawberries
📖 Recipe
Simple Strawberry Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup strawberries halved or quartered
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Greek Yogurt
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper freshly and finely ground
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ cup safflower oil or other neutral oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Wash and clean strawberries, remove tops and cut into pieces. Zest lemon.
- Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
- Refrigerate, covered until time to serve. Make 2-3 hours ahead if possible.
Notes
- Any neutral oil may be used such as canola, safflower or grapeseed.
- Honey may be adjusted as needed for tartness or sweetness of strawberries.
- Any fat content of Greek yogurt may be used.
- This recipe makes enough for 8 side salads or 4 entree' salads.
Kay says
Love this refreshing dressing!