Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Most blue cheese dressing is a rich affair, made by blending or mashing chunks of cheese with mayonnaise, sour cream and spices. Blue cheese vinaigrette gives you a lighter version of our decadent classic blue cheese dressing that still pops with flavor. You can make the vinaigrette creamy or chunky, depending on your preference.

Heading into salad season, you’ll be happy this vinaigrette is part of your homemade salad dressing recipes. Blue cheese vinaigrette is great for jazzing up weeknight salads. It’s also a surprising player to bring to a potluck, barbecue or big game.

Have a favorite blue cheese? This recipe can be made with something basic, but your favorite artisan cheese would shine here, too. If you’re near one of the best cheese shops in America, it would be worth trying one of the blue cheeses on their shelves.

What is blue cheese?

Blue cheese is made by adding cultures to warm milk, then aging it in a way that encourages the growth of a healthy and delicious type of mold called Penicillium roqueforti. Depending on how the cheese is aged, blue cheese can be lush and creamy, dry and crumbly or anything in between. Some blue cheeses are tangy and sharp, while others are mellow or nutty. Taste a few to figure out what you like.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Ingredients

• Cider vinegar: Made from crushed apples, the golden or brown liquid has a slightly fruity flavor. Here’s more about when each type of vinegar works best.
• Sugar: Used to balance out the acidic and salty flavors of the dressing, granulated sugar brings simple sweetness to the equation. You can substitute a sugar alternative or leave the sweetener out entirely if that better suits your diet.
• Blue cheese: For extra-delicious dressing, use the highest-quality cheese you can find and afford. If your grocery store has a cheese counter, ask a cheesemonger to steer you toward a great one. A creamy or fudgy blue cheese would work nicely in this dressing.
• Onion and garlic: Onions and garlic are cousins in the allium plant family, and both bring pungency and zing to whatever they touch (including your cutting board and fingers after you chop them!). Use a yellow or white onion here.
• Dijon mustard: A French-style mustard with lots of bite, Dijon is a classic ingredient in salad dressing. At home, a smooth Dijon is my go-to mustard in everything from meat marinades to creamy soups and sauces. You can even make your own Dijon mustard recipe.
• Salt: Salt is the ultimate flavor enhancer, bringing this dressing together. If you have an extra-salty blue cheese (taste it to see), you could start with a little less salt and add more as needed.
• Canola oil: Made from a plant in the mustard family but neutral in taste, canola oil is a workhorse in the kitchen. If you don’t have any, consider substituting sunflower, avocado or grapeseed oil, which are also fairly neutral. You can use olive oil, but it will add more flavor to the equation. To learn more about the right fat for the job, check out this guide to cooking oils.
• Greens and veggies for salad: Lettuce is a great base for blue cheese dressing, but you could also toss it with massaged kale or with a hearty slaw. Toss in any of your favorite produce like shaved carrots, red onion, sweet peppers, radish and cucumbers.

Directions

Step 1: Blend the dressing

In a blender, combine the vinegar, sugar, 1/2 cup blue cheese, onion, mustard, garlic and salt. Cover and process until smooth.

Step 2: Add the oil

While processing, gradually add the oil in a steady stream until the dressing has thickened. If you want a chunky salad dressing, stir in the remaining blue cheese. Serve over salad.

Taste Recipes

Recipe Variations

• Add some spice: Blue cheese and buffalo sauce are classic American combos, and adding hot sauce to your dressing combines them both! For authentic “buffalo” flavor, use a cayenne-based sauce. However, lots of different kinds of chili pepper sauces and powders would match well with blue cheese, including chipotle, Korean gochugaru and hot smoked paprika.
• Green up the dressing with herbs: There are lots of fresh herbs that would enhance this dressing, especially dill, flat-leaf parsley and chives, or a combo of all three.
• Switch the vinegar: If you prefer, you could use champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar in place of the cider vinegar.

How long does blue cheese vinaigrette last?

Store leftover dressing in the fridge and use within five days. I like to keep mine in a repurposed salsa or peanut butter jar with a tight screw-top lid.

Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Tips

Taste Recipes

How do you use blue cheese vinaigrette?

If I’m watching a game, one of my go-to dinners is what I call “grown-up buffalo chicken.” I make a savory rubbed roast chicken, slather it with a sauce stolen from our buffalo chicken wings recipe, and make a salad with lettuce, celery and carrots dressed with blue cheese vinaigrette. It would also be nice on an autumnal kale salad with cranberries and walnuts or a crisp slaw.

In the summer, try pouring blue cheese vinaigrette over slices of vine-ripened tomato and top with a little bit of grated pepper. It would also be great drizzled on grilled corn in husks.

Blue cheese and tangy cider vinegar play nicely with sweet ingredients, so you could pour this over roasted honey sweet potatoes or cooked cubes of squash and root veggies.

Can you make blue cheese vinaigrette without a blender?

Yes! If you want to go really low-tech, you can mash the cheese with a fork and vigorously whisk in all of the other ingredients. Know that your dressing won’t be smooth like a blender-made version, though. You can also use an immersion blender or a food processor. Here are some more tips on how to make vinaigrette.