Roasted Red Pepper Salad Dressing

This post may contain affiliate/referral links. It is a way for this site to earn advertising fees by advertising or linking to certain products and/or services. I appreciate your support so much!

Rich, creamy, and perfectly flavored roasted red pepper dressing is the little black dress of condiments. This homemade salad dressing combines well-loved Mediterranean flavors with the perfect fruitiness of California olive oil to give you the best salad dressing you’ve ever had. 

I’ve been very open on here about how much I hate making my own salads at home. There is just something about someone else making it that somehow makes it 100 times better. However, for the sake of my wallet and my health, I am on a mission to change that. For me, this all starts with the perfect homemade salad dressing, and I believe I’ve cracked the code on it with this recipe!

For this homemade red pepper salad dressing, I simply took a standard ratio of olive oil to acid, threw it out the window, and then added some jarred roasted red peppers, garlic, and parsley. I love the texture I got from it – smooth and creamy (because at my core I’m a creamy salad dressing girl), which coats vegetables well but can also be used as a dip for crudite and works well on a charcuterie board as well. 

Ingredients

• Lemon juice. I love fresh lemon juice in dressings for the acidic kick and freshness it brings. For years and years I would roll my eyes at Ina Garten’s harping on us to use fresh lemon juice, but she was right. Once you go fresh, you just can’t go back!
• Roasted red peppers. You could use fresh red peppers and roast them over an open flame or broil in your oven at home. However, I find that these times call for me to work smarter, not harder. I look for the highest quality roasted red peppers I can find in stores, and make sure they’ve been drained really well before adding them into my roasted red pepper salad dressing. 
• California olive oil from Sciabica. Did you know it’s estimated that up to 80% of extra virgin olive oil is fake? This might be old news to many of you, but much of the cheap olive oil we find on the shelves in our local stores just doesn’t meet extra virgin standards. The best way to combat this and guarantee that the oil you’re getting really meets the criteria is to purchase from a producer that upholds the extra virgin standard. This is why I LOVE Sciabica California Olive Oil! Their olive oils contain no artificial flavorings or additives, they’re all GMO-free, sustainably farmed, cold-pressed, and artisan-crafted in small batches. 
• Garlic. This is the one thing you’ll have to do anything to ahead of time. Did you know that when you chop garlic, it releases stored enzymes that interact with oxygen and triggers allicin (anti-cancer compounds) to form? All you have to do is lightly chop the garlic and let it sit for 10-15 minutes before doing anything else with it. Voila!
• Parsley. This is one that you could use dried, but I find that the earthiness is really best when you use fresh. Be sure to pay attention to the fact that it needs to be chopped first, then measured!
• Salt and pepper. What recipe actually tastes good without being properly seasoned? Exactly. I have measurements included in the recipe, but feel free to adjust the seasoning based on what you like!

How to make roasted red pepper salad dressing

There is a piece of me that loves the thought of home-roasting the red peppers over an open flame, gently pasting the garlic on a rustic wooden cutting board, and mincing the parsley with an old-fashioned and impossibly sharp knife. That sounds so nice, doesn’t it? However, as a single full-time working and homeschooling mom who barely has time to breathe I find that the food processor/blender/immersion blender options work best. 

The instructions are simple: find a way to blend it all together, any way you like, and then (of course) enjoy!

Equipment to make roasted red pepper salad dressing

To make this roasted red pepper salad dressing with the consistency that you see here, you will need to use a machine of some kind to get you there. I prefer my Blendtec blender, but I have also made it in a food processor and used an immersion blender. I like the blender method, though, because it truly liquifies everything and gives it the thicker consistency that allows you to use it as a dressing OR dip. 

Storage

For storing your roasted red pepper salad dressing I would highly recommend glass of some kind. I typically use these glass storage containers, but a Mason jar (or glass jar of any kind with a tight-fitting lid) works great as well. I highly recommend staying away from plastic for many reasons, but a big one is that plastic containers will leach chemicals into your food (not to mention they’re not earth-friendly in any way). I also do not recommend using metal, as the acid from the lemon might react with it. Glass is the way to go for storage here!

Outside of that the storage instructions are pretty standard: store in a (glass) container with a tightly-fitting lid for 5-7 days – if it lasts that long!

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette Recipe

Makes about 1 cup

• 1 jar (12 oz) roasted red peppers, drained
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ⅓ cup Sciabica California Olive Oil (you could use any flavor, but I love the roasted garlic option for more flavor)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. If using an immersion blender, be sure to add the ingredients to a container that your immersion blender works well in and then blend until smooth.

Looking for a few other recipes to try? Check these out for your next meal!

Gluten-Free Blender Pumpkin Breakfast Cake
Garlicky Sweet Pea Pesto
Almond Oatmeal Cookies