My 3 Favorite Salad Dressing Dinners
There is a comfort in the dinner dishes I was taught to cook at a young age and have spent decades perfecting, many of which are time-consuming and usually reserved for weekend cooking. On especially busy week nights, I turn to an unexpected ingredient to make some of my family’s favorite dishes: salad dressing. I grew up thinking salad dressing only had a place on top of a bowl of lettuce. I never dreamed I’d be using honey mustard dressing to marinate pork chops or Italian dressing to sauté shrimp. In my house, we have three favorite easy dinner dishes where salad dressing is the star.
- Caesar Chicken: I love a non-creamy Caesar dressing (Newman’s Own or Ken’s is the best), and it’s a staple in our pantry because of how often we make this dish. All you need to make this dish is veggies of your choice (frozen veggies cook more evenly), shredded or sliced chicken (we keep rotisserie chicken on hand in the freezer), Caesar dressing, and either rice or noodles of your choice. In an oven-safe dish, combine your frozen veggies- our favorite combo is red onion, red/yellow/orange bell pepper, zucchini, and squash, cooked chicken, a dusting of ranch powder, a splash of white wine, and about 1/2 to 1 cup of dressing depending on the amount of veggies in your dish. You want just enough dressing to coat everything but not so much that the dish is drowning in it. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 20-30 mins until the veggies are the right doneness for your preferences. I usually mix in a little extra dressing when I take the dish out of the oven, then serve over noodles or rice (of even as is from the baking dish), and enjoy. This also freezes well and is an easy dinner to take out of the freezer on a busy night.
- Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner: The Greek dressing gives just the right amount of seasoning to the dish as it cooks. Slice red or yellow bell pepper, red onion, and grape tomatoes and toss in a bowl with the Greek dressing. Place the veggies on a parchment paper lined sheet pan along with thin sliced or shredded chicken (another dish for the rotisserie chicken in the freezer), and roast in a 350 degree oven about 20 minutes until the veggies are caramelized. When you take it of the oven, add thin sliced cucumber for freshness, a few splashes of red wine vinegar, and some crumbled feta and mix on the pan. This is delicious warm with a side of pita bread and a scoop of hummus, or you can refrigerate it and turn leftovers into pasta salad (just add a little extra salad dressing and red wine vinegar to the pasta before mixing the pasta into the leftovers).
- Balsamic Chicken Spinach Salad: This one relies on the balsamic vinaigrette for all of its delicious flavor. While the Caesar chicken is great for a quick “I forgot to plan dinner earlier,” this simple, but yummy salad is best if you think about it at least an hour in advance. This salad has only a few simple ingredients but is light and filling at the same time. All you need alongside your dressing is baby spinach, pecans, dried cranberries, a crumbly cheese (like feta or gorgonzola/blue), white mushrooms, and some chicken. I use defrosted frozen chicken tenders because they cook quick and evenly. Start with your favorite balsamic vinaigrette (mine is Newman’s Own), and put your defrosted chicken in ziplock bag with just enough dressing to lightly coat the chicken. Let that sit in the fridge for at least an hour (all day or overnight is even better). Want your chicken to soak up more of the dressing flavor? Poke each piece of chicken with a fork a few times before putting into the bag to marinate. When you’re ready for dinner, take the marinated chicken and cook in a pan or on a grill. While the chicken is cooling, assemble the remaining ingredients to build the salad. When the chicken is cool, cut into small pieces and top your salad. Drizzle a little extra balsamic dressing to meet your taste and enjoy!
As I’ve gotten busier in life and easy weeknight dinners have become a repetitive, salad dressing has become my versatile go-to for trying something new. Next time you’re staring into your pantry or refrigerator wondering what on earth to make for dinner, grab your favorite salad dressing and try mixing it up and using the dressing for something other than a salad.