Cure your salad woes with these three simple and flavorful dressing recipes…

This post goes out to all the salad haters, the people who are convinced that lettuce is flavorless and best left to the grazing cows (you know who you are). But guess what? We’re about to prove you wrong once and for all. Salad can, in fact, be flavorful. Delicious, even. The trick is to dress it in style. Here’s how:

Step 1: Whatever you do, avoid the store bought varieties.  

“It’s highly unlikely that if you’re eating a fresh plate of salad greens, you would sprinkle sugar over the top,” explains our in-house dietitian, Rebecca. “Yet, packaged salad dressings are often a hidden source of both sugar and salt.”

Ew.

Step 2: Ditch your ordinary oil and vinegar.

We love the classic combo, but it’s getting a bit boring, don’t ya think? That’s why we’re spicing things up with three unique but simple dressing recipes that’ll make you fall head-over-heels in LOVE with salad.

1. Papaya and Tarragon Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Tarragon
• 1/3 Cup Honey
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dry English Mustard
• 3/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Papaya Seeds
• 1/2 Large Shallot (Minced)
• 1 Clove Garlic

Instructions

1. In a blender, combine the first 5 ingredients. Add the extra-virgin olive oil and pulse, pulse, pulse!
2. Now for the cool part: add in the papaya seeds, shallot, and garlic. Pulse until the seeds are coarsely chopped.
3. Drizzle and DIG IN!

2. Soy and Peanut Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Smooth Peanut Butter
• 2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
• Salt and Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Whisk together the peanut butter, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce in a medium bowl until smooth. (Serious question: Is it just us or does your hand get tired/sore after furiously whisking?)
2. Whisk in water until dressing is the consistency of heavy cream.
3. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Aaaaaaaannnnddd…. GO.

3. Basil and Chili Dressing

Ingredients

• 1 Chopped Green Chili (with or without seeds depending on your spice tolerance)
• 1/2 Cup Arugula
• 1/2 Cup Packed Fresh Basil
• 1/2 Cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Grated Lemon Zest
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Teaspoon Sugar
• Salt and Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Puree the chili, arugula, basil, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a blender until smooth.
2. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Have a competition over who can handle the most spice. Kidding! (only kinda)

Now that you’ve got your hands on the dressing recipes, it’s time to make beautiful (read: Instagrammable) mason jar salads.

Don’t forget to tag #HelloFreshPics so we can see your beautiful creations.

Happy Cooking!