Creamy Herb Yogurt Salad Dressing

Creamy, tangy, and made with any fresh herbs you have on hand, Creamy Herb Yogurt Salad Dressing is super versatile. Serve it on green salads, for dipping vegetables or pita chips, or tossed into a pasta salad.

This is a dressing that I started making years ago in the summer. I buried it in this recipe for Spring Cobb Salad but have been making it so much lately that I wanted to bring it back with a little extra love. This dressing is the kind that I love having in the refrigerator because I use it just about any time we need something for dipping, topping, or tossing. It’s very light – made mostly with plain yogurt – so it really works in a variety of ways. It’s also super easy to make. Here’s how!

Ingredients for Creamy Herb Yogurt Dressing

• Fresh Herbs – These give the dressing most of its flavor, and just about any fresh herbs will work. I love to combine any leftover fresh herbs I have in the fridge to make different flavor combinations. Basil, parsley, green onions, mint, chives, and cilantro are all good options. (Tip – a combination of basil, chives, and a bit of fresh dill here makes a dressing that tastes a bit like Ranch Dressing.)
• Garlic – Add a clove of garlic here for savory flavor. 
• Plain Yogurt – I use plain, nonfat yogurt here (either Greek or regular). The only thing you have to watch for is that the type of yogurt you use will affect the thickness of the dressing. Greek yogurt is thicker than most regular yogurt, so you may need to thin the dressing out with a tiny bit of water if you use the Greek variety.
• Mayonnaise – While you can skip the mayo here, a little bit goes a long way to give the dressing a creamy, rich texture and flavor.
• Dijon Mustard, Lemon Juice, and Honey – These ingredients give the dressing a balance of tart, tangy, and sweet flavors. It’s a good idea to taste the vinaigrette and adjust these to fit your preferences.

How to Make Creamy Yogurt Salad Dressing

Unlike many other vinaigrettes and salad dressings, there’s no oil in this one, so no need to worry about emulsifying the dressing (adding the oil slowly so that you get a smooth dressing). Just combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. If you have an immersion blender, use that to blend everything together in a jar or small bowl. (Note: if using a larger blender, you’ll need to be sure that the blades of the blender or food processor sit low enough to be immersed in the ingredients as they blend.)

As noted above, the thickness of the dressing will change depending on the type of yogurt you use. If using a thick type of yogurt, you may need to add a tiny bit of water to thin the dressing out.

The most important step is to taste the finished dressing and adjust to your preferences. Depending on the type of herbs you use, you may want to alter the flavors to add some sweetness from more honey or more sour flavor from lemon juice.

Ways to Use Creamy Herb Dressing

• Dipping Vegetables
• Dipping chips or pita bread
• Dressing pasta salad (it goes well with a pasta salad like this one) 
• Dipping appetizers (I’ve got a good one coming tomorrow!) 
• Serving over roasted or grilled vegetables
• Drizzling over cooked meats

Still have lots of fresh herbs? Try these other recipes that use fresh herbs

• Herb Marinated Pork Chops with Apple Chutney
• Warm Cauliflower and Herbed Barley Salad
• Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Laab / Larb Gai)
• Thai Pomelo Salad (Yam Som O)

Favorite Tools

• Ball 8-oz mason jars
• Immersion Blender

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