Creamy Garlic Dressing

There are lots of reasons to skip store-bought salad dressings and make your own instead. Homemade dressings are fresher, have less salt and allow you to control exactly what ingredients go into them. All these things are true of this creamy garlic dressing recipe. However, the most compelling reason to make a batch is that it’s so unbelievably delicious!

Fresh garlic and green onions folded into the creamy base make this homemade dressing recipe much more flavorful than anything you can find in a bottle. Not only is it a tasty choice for topping side salads, but creamy garlic salad dressing can also be spread onto bread or tortillas for sandwiches and wraps. Best of all, the dressing comes together in minutes. This is truly a recipe for garlic lovers!

Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Dressing

• Garlic: Use two medium cloves of fresh garlic. Finely mince them so that they blend smoothly into the dressing. There are plenty of easy ways to mince garlic, even if you don’t have a garlic press.
• Green onions: Just two green onion stalks contribute lots of savory flavor to this creamy garlic dressing recipe. Take care to store green onions correctly so that you’ll always have some on hand.
• Sour cream: One of the ingredients that makes this dressing so creamy is tangy sour cream. The recipe calls for reduced-fat sour cream, but regular sour cream will also work just fine.
• Mayonnaise: Use your favorite brand of fat-free mayonnaise in this dressing. Just like with sour cream, you can also use a reduced-fat or a regular version for this mayonnaise recipe.
• Milk: Control how thin or thick the dressing is with the amount of milk you add to the mixture. We call for fat-free milk, but whole or 2% milk makes the dressing creamier.
• Sugar: Just a little sugar balances the savory flavor with a bit of sweetness. Some home cooks choose to omit the sugar from this creamy garlic salad dressing recipe, and report that the dressing is still quite delicious.
• Seasonings: A teaspoon of salt and a dash of black pepper complete this dressing. You can always adjust the amounts up or down to suit your taste.

Directions

Step 1: Combine the ingredients

Whisk the sour cream, mayonnaise, milk and sugar in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in the chopped green onions, minced garlic, salt and pepper.

Step 2: Chill

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Cover the bowl tightly and pop it in the fridge. Allow the dressing to chill for at least an hour to bring out the best flavor from all the ingredients.

Creamy Garlic Dressing Variations

• Add fresh herbs: Recipes with fresh herbs are always extremely flavorful and vibrant, so consider dicing up some fresh herbs to stir into the dressing. Great choices to pair with the garlic flavor are sage, dill, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.
• Use yogurt: Substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream. It has less fat than regular sour cream, and more protein, too. It creates a creamy, tangy dressing.
• Make it more garlicky: Garlic lovers will always add more garlic to a recipe than is called for, and you can do the same with this dressing. Mince in an extra clove or two for a stronger garlic flavor.
• Try it as a dip: Reduce the milk slightly to make the dressing a little thicker, and serve it as a dip with sliced raw veggies, chips, wedges of pita bread or even french fries.

How to Store Creamy Garlic Dressing

Keep the dressing in a tightly-sealed food storage container in the refrigerator for up to one week. Stir the dressing well before serving.

Creamy Garlic Dressing Tips

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How can you make a thinner creamy garlic dressing?

Add more milk, a tablespoon at a time, to the dressing. Stir after each addition until the dressing reaches the consistency you’d like.

How do you use creamy garlic dressing?

Drizzle this dressing over your favorite green salad recipe, or serve it as a dip with a platter of sliced veggies. It’s especially good on a thick wedge salad. The dressing can also serve as a dip for snacks like oven fries, crackers, soft pretzels or slices of crusty bread. Garlic dressing is fantastic as a condiment for sandwiches, like roast beef, turkey or in the place of mayo in a BLT. You can also try folding the dressing into your favorite pasta or potato salad.