Best Blue Cheese Dressing + Heirloom Tomatoes
I used to work at a restaurant in college that was kind of known for it’s salad dressing. Weird but so totally true.
Store bought Italian Dressing and French Dressing (standard restaurant fare), homemade Ranch Dressing and finally, the piste de resistance if you will, what was known in our parts as The Best Blue Cheese Dressing Ever. Seriously. I think people came to the restaurant just for the salad dressing. In part because it really was delicious but also because of the way we served it.
The dressing was served in these stainless steel caddies that we’d put in the middle of each table after people ordered. Each caddy held four bowls- one for each dressing. You could spin it around taking what dressing you wanted for your salad. Or for smothering your bread. Or for double dipping your chips. Or for pouring into the not so stealthly tupperware you think you’ve hidden in your purse. No lie. Some people have no limits. But the real problem was that we only had 4 caddies. During the summer when we were at our busiest, we could have up to 25 tables. (You do the math.) People got down right territorial over the dressing and didn’t want to share. It was a waitressing nightmare. And to this day I still think of the double dippers and I can honestly tell you that I never once ate out of those caddies. Ever. I did however eat the dip in my own personal bowl in the back. I don’t even like blue cheese but somehow a salty Ruffles brand potato chip dipped into the blue cheese dressing was the perfect bite. And, yes, it has to be Ruffles. A sturdy chip to hold up to the almost dip like dressing is the way to go. I’ve done my research, folks.
The dressing is mostly sour cream based with mayonnaise, a little lemon juice and red wine vinegar, fresh chopped garlic, lots of black pepper and, of course, crumbled blue cheese. (If you want to make it a little lighter, feel free to swap either part of or all of the sour cream with plain greek yogurt.) It’s the kind of dressing that I never make the same twice. Or rather I never follow a particular recipe but I taste along the way until I get it right. It’s open to interpretation so adjust the ingredients as you see fit. Just don’t skimp on the black pepper, it really makes the dip.
It’s simple, savory, just a little stinky and seriously, The Best Blue Cheese Dressing Ever.
PrintBest Blue Cheese Dressing + Heirloom Tomatoes
Description
A thick and rich blue cheese dressing that’s great for dipping vegetables or topping a cobb salad!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or a little less if you don’t like it hot!)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together sour cream and mayonnaise. Add red wine vinegar, lemon juice and minced garlic. Stir in blue cheese crumbles. Season with salt and pepper and taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.
- Store dressing in a container with a tight fitting lid. Store any leftovers in fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
For a lighter dip, replace the sour cream with greek yogurt and the mayonnaise with light mayonnaise.
74 Comments
i ADORE blue cheese dressing…so much so that i think it would make me eat raw tomatoes without even thinking about it 🙂
also, i worked in college at a restaurant that was known for its salsa. not weird at all!
You don’t like tomatoes? Then we’ll share the plate. I’ll eat the tomatoes and you eat the dressing!
Another dressing I would love, and I would really enjoy it on tomatoes. Maybe with some crumbled Feta!
BTW, in college I worked at Le Parisien restaurant and even though the restaurant is long gone, you can still buy their dressing at Costco!
I don’t really like blue cheese so I could happily make this dressing with feta only! 🙂
I can’t stand blue cheese. But I know someone who can! Thanks for the recipe!!
Alright, I’m not a blue cheese fan, BUT the dressing looks so thick and the tomatoes so juicy, that I promise I will give this a try. Your photos are just lovely in this post my dear.
I’m not a blue cheese fan either. But I *sort of* like this dip and only when I’m dipping potato chips into it! “)
This is so pretty and summery!
Thank you! I can’t get enough tomatoes right now!!
This looks downright delicious!
Thank you!!! It is. Or was rather…… 🙂
I have a huge chunk of strong blue cheese just waiting to be used in the fridge, thanks for giving me a terrific way to use it up!
Enjoy!!!
oh yum! I have to say this is absolutely my favorite dressing and always has been since I was little. And how delicious over heirlooms!
I don’t even love blue cheese and I like this. So good over tomatoes! Have a great week, Karista!!
Umm, definitely making this ASAP!! And will be smothering it all over my homemade buffalo (boneless) chicken! Thank you!!
I love, love, love homemade blue cheese dressing and cant’ think of a better way to enjoy it than with suweeet tomers! And I must admit, I’ve been a double dipper more than once.
Yum, yum!!! This recipe is very similar to my own famous blue cheese dressing. I love to top a salad or tomatoes with even more blue cheese crumbled right over the dressing.
Would love for you to share this at the All Star Block Party!!
This was delicious!! I just had it with some fresh tomatoes from the garden and arugula for a salad.. Yummy!
I just added a little bit of worceshire sauce to it as well
Love the addition! Might have to steal it!!
Made this tonight to do a buffalo chicken wrap type of thing and it was AMAZING. Really and truly. Thanks!
Yum! Are you going to post the buffalo chicken wraps? That sounds amazing!
I just made this blue cheese dressing today and it is fantastic! I live in the south of France and they don’t have a lot of choices for salad dressings here in the grocery stores so I have to make all of mine by scratch. I stumbled across this recipe and we have already eaten a whole cucumber dipping it in the dressing! Thanks so much, I am going to follow your site from now on! Cheers!
Thank you for the lovely comment! Glad you have you here!
Kelley I have made your Blue Cheese Dressing for two different parties and everyone has absolutely loved it on a fresh green salad. I don’t like blue cheese myself but my husband loves it and we know so many who others who do. I did thin it a bit with some milk for the salad. Everyone who ate it raved over how great it is. Thanks for sharing this recipe I’ll be using it forever!
Yumm best blue cheese ever
It’s a favorite of ours!
This looks amazing! By any chance do you remember the ranch dressing recipe and would you be willing to share that as well?
This is absolutely fantastic!! My tastebuds are singing your praises (I can’t say my hips are too happy with you, though!) This reminds me of a blue cheese dressing I had as a child and it totally takes me down memory lane. I managed to polish off my first batch in just a few days and am now well into my second one. Yesterday I thought maybe I wanted ranch instead, and pulled out my trusty Hidden Valley… but no. Suddenly it tasted sad and stale to me in a way it never had before. I pulled out my blue cheese again and realized that bottled dressings may now be ruined for me. :-D. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. My apologies to your hips! 🙂
hey Kelley!! I am wondering if you remember any of the other salad dressing recipes and if you would be will to share those?? This one sounds fantastic! Thanks!!
The blue cheese was the only homemade one. All the others were store bought!
Made this….. It was easy and everyone looovvvvvved it. definite recipe keeper!!!!
Ty for sharing the recipe
This dressing is amazing!!! I have gotten people who won’t and don’t eat blue cheese to try it and fall in love!!! ( with the dressing of course!) please tell me you have an equally if not better ( doubtful) recipe for a homemade ranch. I think about this blue cheese dressing every week!!! I have made it four times and can’t say enough good things about it. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!!!
You are so welcome! I do have a ranch recipe….I really should post it…I’ll try and do it sooner rather than later. Thanks for reading!
Any idea why my dressing turned watery the next day and how I can prevent it next time?
No idea. I’ve never had that happen.
I found this dressing recipe this afternoon, and made it for supper tonight m-m-m. It is the holy grail of blue cheese dressing! Seriously, I am so happy I found it!
Thank You!!
🙂
This was sooo good. I made it last night and I think it will go quickly! I took another commenter’s suggestion about a dash of Worcestershire and couldn’t tell much difference. Also I was out of mayo so I substituted 1/2 cup of cottage cheese instead. Phenomenal recipe. Thanks so much.
I have made this several times and it is now my go-to blue cheese recipe. The first time, I made the recipe exactly as written and it turned out great. The second time I was out of sour cream and subbed cottage cheese and I actually like it better. So this is definitely a keeper recipe making it as is or with cottage cheese. Thanks for sharing the recipe it is nice to find a salad dressing recipe that actually tastes good! Now if you only had a ranch….
I love the cottage cheese substitution! I’m going to have to try it! And you’re right, I really need a ranch recipe!!
I have been making blue cheese dressing for over 40 years. I also add minced onion to my dressing. I have never added red vinegar and think I will try that. It should make it even more tangy. Thanks.
I’m sure the minced onion is delicious in the dressing!
Do you have a preferred type of blue cheese? They all taste different and I want something mild and not too pungent.
I don’t have a favorite. I’m with you, I prefer something mild. The last time I made this, I used an already crumbled blue cheese from Trader Joes and it was super mild. Hope that helps!
I LOVE bleu cheese dressing! This recipe sounds great! I saw in some of the comments they would use feta instead. I’ll have to try that too. I love all the ripe stinky cheeses! Can’t wait to try this!
OK, so as I sat in my family room tonight thinking about what I would love to have for dinner, it was salad, and I wanted a good homemade creamy blue cheese dressing on it. So I rushed in to the kitchen recipe in hand for your dressing and found no red wine vinegar or lemons for juicing. Not to be deterred, I made a quick homemade buttermilk using apple cider vinegar and used a few teaspoons of that in place of the vinegar and lemon juice. I also switched out the regular mayo for veganaise (shh I won’t tell my fiancé that), I added in my blue cheese, garlic, sour cream, salt and lots of black =pepper with a bit of herbs de provence and put it away in a mason jar to get cold. When I went back in to get my salad ingredients, I found nothing, no lettuce, no cucumbers, no tomatoes, no crusty bread … so I guess my salad will wait until tomorrow. I will say I took a taste of the salad dressing and it’s quite delicious. Yum, and thanks for sharing it with us.
It’s all about winging it sometimes as those often become the best recipes!
Love your recipe. I live with my son. He loves Bleu cheese dressing and he really likes this one. I think he used almost a cup of it on his salad. Now that I am retired I am trying out many recipes. This one is definitely a keeper.
So……the cottage cheese substitution……please don’t think this is a stupid question but……food processor or Magic Bullet so there’s no weird cottage cheese lumps? I love the idea of not having the mayo fatness but I never would have thought that cottage cheese would be that substitution. I might make it once the original way and THEN try the cottage cheese…….unless someone tells me really quick that it tastes the same. LOVE the original blog entry. I’ve read it a bunch of times and I’m finally going to make the dressing.
I think I would use whatever makes the lump disappear because the chunks would certainly make the texture kind of funky.
Don’t even like bleu cheese but I made it – WITH – the cottage cheese and it is great! I used my Magic Bullet… I think it took more time to spatula the dressing out of the thing than it did to assemble the ingredients and make it. It’s the perfect dip for celery and carrots AND Ruffles. I was kind of lean on the bleu cheese since I don’t care for it that much but I like it in small doses. BTW – one of my fav restaurants serves piping hot onion rings with bleu cheese dressing drizzled over them and they are AWESOME!!
I made this using plain yogurt and olive oil-based mayo…it was delicious! I’ve always been a blue cheese fan (should I say, snob!) and this is one of the best I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thanks for the kind comment. Glad you liked it!!
This recipe is amazing! I am trying to watch what I eat so I tried it with light sour cream (I forgot to use light mayo as well) and it came out really yummy as well. I made 4 times the recipe so I can share with my friends and then I realized it said store up to 5 days :(. I guess I will be eating more than it thought LOL. Next time back to smaller batches. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
YOu’re so welcome! Enjoy!!
BEST BLUE CHEESE DRESSING EVER! I was the only 4 year old that loved blue cheese on my salad known as Roquefort dressing back in the day. I have played with recipes forever, but always went back to Marie’s thick and chunky. Not anymore. Thanks for this
It’s my favorite too!
I love this recipe! I left out the vinegar and lemon juice, replaced them with Worcester sauce and a bit of cream to thin it a bit. Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe several times (mostly if we have steaks) and it is amazing. I’ve sometimes altered it, depending on ingredient availability but it always turns out so yummy. I must prefer a stronger flavor because I think it’s weak when I first make it, but amazing when it sits a while. So I always try to make it earlier in the day when I’m going to serve it. Sitting and blending those flavors longer is just perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
I totally agree. It IS better when it sits a bit.
The best blue cheese dressing ever! I make it weekly. It’s my guilty pleasure. Thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome. It’s a favorite of many!
Best blue cheese dressing ever!! I make this weekly & it’s always a hit. Thanks for sharing.
I’m a little late to the party on this post but had to add my two cents. I found this recipe and made it as directed a few weeks ago and it was perfect. I’m on vacation with family and made it again tonight, but didn’t have a whole cup of sour cream, so I subbed in plain Greek yogurt for about 3/4 cup and the rest was sour cream, I added a pinch of cayenne to suit my dad, and followers the rest of the recipe as directed and it was just as good. Great recipe either way. Thanks for sharing.
Hello! I have been looking and looking for a good blue cheese homemade dressing to serve over Cobb salad. I tried yours and it’s very good! Thank you for sharing.
Yours looks beautiful in your photo. I followed your recipe precisely. Mine turned out too thick, though. It wasn’t dressing-like consistency. That made me wonder what brand of mayo you used? I used Hellman’s.
I’m also new to making homemade salad dressing. So, I’m not sure if humidity figures in or if that would affect the thickness. I live in a humid climate…?
When I make the dressing it’s really thick too….it’s sort of like a hybrid dip and dressing. You could certainly add a bit of water or milk to thin if you’d like!
Okay, good to know, Kelley. Thank you so much for your reply and letting me know. Your dressing is really good! It was a hit in my house :).
i LOVE blue cheese dressing not just on salads, but for dipping veggies, pears, strawberries and even a medium ribeye. i like it garlicky so i use 3-4 cloves and grate it in with a microplane. this recipe is my favorite and i’ve gotten my mom and several friends addicted to it, too!
Just made this. I love blue cheese dressing & was looking for a recipe that didn’t call for so much mayo. The only thing I will change next time is no vinegar. Not a vinegar girl. I also melted my gorgonzola in a bit of water so it would blend in better. Other than that, I like it. Thanks
this is THE BEST blue cheese dressing ever!!! i double the garlic (grate it on my microplane), omit the salt only use a little pepper
This is my go to blue cheese recipe. I have given it to both my sister’s who have asked for it. I add a little cream because I don’t like it that thick, but what a good recipe.
Been making this for a few years now. Hands down my favorite blue cheese anything! Do yourself a favor and let it chill in the fridge AT LEAST overnight, if not 24hrs. As amazing as it is fresh, it will knock your socks off after a day of resting.
Agreed! It is my absolute favorite. I love to dip Ruffle potato chips into the dip. It’s my kryptonite! 🙂