A Magic Grid of Salad Dressings by Love & Lemon

If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to get into a salad dressing rut — which is especially troubling this time of year when we’re surrounded by peak summer produce that begs for simple salads all day long. Enter Jeanine Donofrio‘s magical salad dressing chart…

Jeanine is the wizard behind the blog Love & Lemons, and her latest cookbook Love & Lemons Every Day is packed with bright, plant-based recipes that look and taste like they hold transformative superpowers. But my favorite spread in the book is not even a traditional recipe. It’s this, her “Giant Grid of Salad Dressings,” which makes it easy and, dare I say, fun for anyone to up their salad game…

A Magic Grid of Salad Dressings

All you have to do is scan the chart, pull together some basic ingredients, plus (this is important) salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and presto! Rut busted! How much better would a Bibb-tomato-avocado salad be if I tossed it with that curried yogurt dressing instead of my default-mode lemon juice and Dijon concoction? How much fresher would a kale slaw taste if you mixed it with her homemade dill blend instead of a store-bought variety? You can use her grid beyond the traditional leafy salad, too. Donofrio drizzles her Lemon Tahini on sweet potato wedges, tops black bean and swiss chard bowls with Red Pepper Mojo, and uses Healthier Ranch as a dip for summer vegetable skewers. In other words, the real magic lies in all the possibilities.

Love and Lemons cookbook

Which would you make? Any other dressings you swear by? I also liked this approach.

P.S. A killer salad recommendation and nine reader-favorite summer recipes. Plus, how to make your salads look amazing.

(Dressing grid reprinted with permission from Love and Lemons Every Day. Photos by Jack Mathews.)