The Simple Creamy German Salad Dressing You Need To Start Using

Salad dressings will make or break a salad and without them, you'd have a sad, dry bowl of vegetables. We typically think of salad dressings as falling under two main camps: oil and vinegar-based dressings and mayonnaise-based dressings. However, German salad traditions break the mold with a simple creamy salad devoid of mayo, oil, or vinegar.

Known in German as salatsauce, creamy German salad dressing is a three-ingredient dressing consisting of heavy cream, sugar, and lemon juice. Heavy cream is one of the richest, thickest dairy products, full of flavorful butterfat. The acid from the lemon juice gives the cream a sour complement while the sugar provides a pleasantly sweet finish. This dressing comes together in seconds and is incredibly versatile.

Not only does this dressing add richness to any salad ingredient you pair it with, but you can also augment or substitute ingredients in the dressing itself. If you don't have heavy cream, you can use half and half or even sour cream. Some recipes add fresh herbs like dill to the mix. Furthermore, German salads are a one-bowl, made-to-order dish in which the dressing goes in first, followed by the dry vegetables.

You whisk together the cream, lemon juice, and sugar until you have a uniform texture, then you throw in your solid ingredients and toss to coat. This method mirrors the popular technique of finishing pasta in its sauce and ensures a uniform coating for light and heavy ingredients without dirtying extra bowls.

Since German salatsauce is so versatile, it will enhance all types of salads. Traditional German salads use this sauce in simple green salads with soft butter lettuce or to coat a crunchy cucumber salad. However, the richness of the heavy cream stands up well to hearty salads and grain bowls.

This would be a wonderful dressing for a roasted root vegetable dish, bringing out the sweetness of the caramelization in roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and beets. It would also complement bitter veggies like Brussels sprouts, rutabaga, broccoli, and arugula.

Salatsauce's ultra-creamy texture will soften and enrich heartier types of lettuces and other foundational greens like kale, cabbage, shredded raw Brussels sprouts, or spiraled zucchini. You could add sour cream, dill, and tarragon to it for an easy and flavorful take on classic coleslaw dressing. This would also extend to new potato and green bean salad with chopped chives, red onions, and hard-boiled eggs.

It would also make a delicious summer salad accompaniment to dress a bowl of cherry tomatoes, grilled corn off the cob, roasted red peppers, yellow squash, and feta cheese. The beauty of this simple dressing is that you make it as a small batch, tossing in the rest of your ingredients to gobble up on the spot without worrying about leftover containers or forgotten dressing going bad in the fridge. It's made with household staples, and it's open to any twist or adjustment.