It's salad season! And the best way to stay motivated to eat those salads every day? By far, the best trick I have ever found to keep my salad cravings high is a way to dress them up that I look forward to.
Great salad dressings are your secret weapon. And the good news is, once you get a handle on your preferred ratios, you can experiment endlessly to find fresh new combinations.
I go through phases with my favourites, but this one has been on repeat heavily for a few years now. It's silky and thick from the nutritional yeast (hence the "creamy" element) while being bright and a little sweet. For me it hits all the right notes with fresh summer vegetable salads and even potato and pasta salads too.
Plus, an added bonus is the protein in nutritional yeast! Just one tablespoon of yeast contains roughly 3-5 grams of protein, depending. If you maximize the amount of yeast in this recipe at a half cup, you'll be adding sneaky extra protein to your fresh salads. Not a bad way to do it!
Creamy Maple Vinaigrette
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup + 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1.5 tsp salt
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1/3-1/2 cup nutritional yeast
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until emulsified. Keep refrigerated in a jar and use on everything. Shake well before using.
You can also use a hand blender to make this too, just combine everything in a jar and blend. I have also used my Ninja too - it could not be easier! And there is no blender to clean up.
Enjoy!
