The Tastiest Types of Salad Dressing, Ranked

How do you like your salad? Just like we all have our own favorite salad toppings and ingredients, we each have that one favorite salad dressing, be it ranch, Italian, or even a sweet and tangy honey mustard. What do you reach for to pour over lettuce and other vegetables and things? This ranking of the very best salad dressings is based on personal preferences of voters, with some people preferring creamy dressings, like blue cheese and thousand island, and others opting for vinaigrettes. Whatever your favorite, we can all agree that the dressing makes the salad. Simply tossing vegetables, cheeses, meats, nuts, or fruits into a bowl starts to create a salad, but the dish is not complete until a favorite salad dressing is mixed in.

While many salads have specific dressings that complete the recipes, such as the garlicky Caesar or oil-based Greek dressing, once you go beyond these classic choices, the variations on the traditional salad dressing varieties are nearly endless. Ranch dressing lovers can choose from varieties with bacon, cheese and spice, among others, while Italian dressing can be creamy or oily and include secondary flavorings such as zesty seasonings and Mediterranean flavorings like feta cheese and lemon. Vinaigrettes are equally as versatile with choices like raspberry, balsamic and red wine among the most popular varieties.

What are the names of the best salad dressings? Categories are so broad, tasty, and versatile that they are not limited for use on salads. Ranch dressing and bleu cheese are especially popular as everyday condiments served alongside pizza, chicken wings, and even french fries. 

However you choose to enjoy your favorite salad dressings - be it as a condiment, on a sandwich, or on a simple salad - with so many choices and variations on the traditional types, it's easy to find a salad dressing to suit everyone's different tastes.