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Creamy Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Barbara
Once you realize how quick, economical, and easy it is to make a deliciously creamy salad dressing at home, you'll never buy those overpriced bottled versions at the market ever again.
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • wide mouth glass jar with tight fitting lid
  • immersion blender

Ingredients
  

For the salad:

  • 6 cups spinach leaves
  • ¼ cup red onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

For the bacon croutons:

  • 2 slices sour dough bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
  • 2 tbsp bacon fat

For the dressing:

  • ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp Kosher salt
  • ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup olive oil
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • shaved Parmesan cheese, optional garnish

Instructions
 

  • Place bacon in a large skillet and cook over medium heat until crispy and golden brown.
  • Drain cooked bacon on a paper towel lined plate.
  • Crumble bacon, and set aside.

For the bacon infused croutons:

  • Cut sliced sourdough bread into half inch cubes.
  • Add the cubed sour dough bread to the bacon fat left in the skillet from frying the bacon and toss to coat with the bacon fat.
  • Cook, tossing croutons frequently, until golden brown and crisp.
  • Remove croutons from the pan using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Set aside.

For the creamy vinaigrette dressing:

  • Place apple cider vinegar, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a glass jar.
  • Using an immersion blender combine ingredients together.
  • With the blender running, slowly add olive oil in a steady stream to the other ingredients in the jar to emulsify.
  • Add parmesan cheese to the jar.
  • Screw on lid and shake to combine the Parmesan cheese with all the ingredients.

For the salad:

  • Place spinach leaves, sliced red onions and tomatoes in a large bowl.
  • Toss with the creamy vinaigrette. Adjust the amount of dressing to suit your taste.

To serve:

  • Place a mound of the spinach/tomato/onion salad on each plate and top with a sprinkle of the cooked crumbled bacon and a handful of the bacon infused croutons.
  • Optional: Add shaved Parmesan cheese to garnish if desired.

Notes

NOTE:  Store any excess dressing in the jar, with the lid on, in the fridge, for up to 2 weeks.
Keyword bacon, homemade, made from scratch, salad dressing, side dish, spinach