Fed & Frugal: Ranch Dressing and Salad (plus 5 bonus dressing options!)

This easy recipe shows you how to take your salad to a whole new level while also teaching you to make your own homemade delicious dressings, including a household favorite, ranch.

Fed & Frugal Ranch Dressing
6-8 servings, 30 minutes 

Ranch Dressing Ingredients

• 2 tbsp fresh dill
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp fresh chives
• 2 tbsp fresh basil
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 cup sour cream
• ⅓ cup mayonnaise
• 5 cloves garlic confit
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Salad Ingredients

• 1 large carrot, peeled into ribbons
• 1 small red cabbage, shredded
• 1 cucumber, sliced
• 2 radishes, sliced
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 crate of cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 kale bunch, washed and sliced
• 1 small crate of baby arugula
• Roasted delicata squash, leftovers
• ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup hemp seeds
• Grilled chicken, leftovers
• Cooked quinoa, leftovers

Instructions

Ranch Dressing

1. Pick and roughly chop all of the herbs and place them in the food processor.
2. Add sour cream, mayonnaise, garlic confit, apple cider vinegar, salt, and fresh cracked pepper to the food processor and blend.
3. Once mixed, taste and adjust depending on preferences.

Assembling salad

• Wash and dry all the veggies that you are using for the salad.
• Slice the veggies in bite size or portion size servings.
• Place the kale and arugula into a bowl or onto a platter.
• Add all the vegetables, chicken, and quinoa to the bowl (or whatever leftovers you are using) — spreading and placing throughout.
• Then sprinkle hemp seeds and pumpkin seeds on top.
• Then drizzle the ranch dressing or any of the other dressings on top and serve.

Other salad dressings to try

(For all of these dressings, just whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl, or put into a sealable container and shake!)

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 4 oz. balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp mustard of your choice
• 3 oz. olive oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Pomegranate and Honey Dressing

• 4 oz. pomegranate juice
• 1 tbsp. Honey
• 3 oz. olive oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Citrus Tahini dressing

• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 3 oz. olive oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Citrus Dressing

• 4 oz. orange juice
• 3 oz. olive oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

Fig Dressing

• 1 tbsp fig jam (You can swap out any kind of jam here for your own take on the dressing)
• 4 oz. apple cider vinegar
• 3 oz. olive oil 
• Salt & Pepper, to taste 

Notes

• You can use store-bought mayonnaise or homemade mayonnaise (check out the mayo recipe from our ahi tuna tostadas).
• In this salad, some ingredients were leftover and added to reuse — such as the grilled chicken, squash, and quinoa. Use your own leftovers to make your salad your own.
• The herbs for the ranch dressing are a guide. Use what you have or what you like.
• If you don’t have a food processor or blender for the ranch, finely mince ingredients and combine in a bowl.
• Quick serving tip: Slice the carrots into ribbons using either a mandolin or potato peeler and roll them up for a prettier presentation.
• Don’t feel like you have to be fancy and arrange the carrot ribbons. You can simply slice them as well.
• If making or using garlic confit, make sure to keep it refrigerated after preparing and use within 7 days. (See this USDA article for more.)