Homemade Salad Dressing · Chunky Blue Cheese
Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
Thick, tangy and full of crumbles, for wedge salads, wings and dipping celery. Buttermilk keeps it pourable and a squeeze of lemon keeps it bright.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 0 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Serves
- about 1 1/2 cups
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- ½ cup sour cream ≈ 115 g
Swaps for sour cream
Instead of sour cream
- Plain Greek yogurt: The same amount (full-fat for baking). Tangier and a little less rich.
- Crème fraîche: The same amount. Richer and milder, and it doesn't curdle in hot sauces.
- Cottage cheese, blended: The same amount, blended smooth with a squeeze of lemon. Milder and less rich, with more protein.
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise ≈ 73 g
Swaps for mayonnaise
Instead of mayonnaise
- Plain Greek yogurt: The same amount. Tangier and lighter; a bit looser.
- Egg-free (vegan) mayo: The same amount. Very close.
- Sour cream: The same amount. Tangier and less rich.
Cooking for an allergy? Check every label.
- ⅓ cup buttermilk, plus more to thin
Swaps for buttermilk
Instead of buttermilk
- Milk + lemon juice or vinegar: 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup, topped up with milk to 1 cup, for each cup. Thinner and a bit less tangy, so bakes are a touch less tender.
- Plain yogurt + milk: ¾ cup plain yogurt + ¼ cup milk for each cup (with Greek yogurt: ½ cup + ½ cup). The closest match for tang and thickness.
- Plain kefir: The same amount. Similar tang, a little thinner.
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Swaps for lemon juice
Instead of lemon juice
- Lime juice: The same amount. A different, more floral aroma; works almost everywhere.
- Bottled lemon juice: The same amount. More sour and flatter; fine in cooking and baking, less bright in dressings and drinks.
- White wine vinegar or white vinegar: Half as much. Sharper, with no citrus aroma.
- ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
Swaps for Worcestershire sauce
Instead of Worcestershire sauce
- Soy sauce + vinegar: 1 tbsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp vinegar + a pinch of sugar for each 1 tbsp. Savory and tangy, less complex.
- Vegan Worcestershire: The same amount. Very close, with no anchovies.
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Swaps for garlic powder
Instead of garlic
- Fresh garlic: 1 clove for each ⅛ tsp powder, minced fine. Sharper and stronger.
- Granulated garlic: About twice as much as the powder. The same flavor in coarser grains, which blend better into rubs.
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Swaps for kosher salt
Instead of salt
- Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
- Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.
- 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled, about 1 cup, divided
Weights from USDA FoodData Central cup weights. Counted things (eggs, cloves, cans) stay as counts, and salt stays in spoons: kosher and flaky salts weigh very differently by brand.
Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.
Steps
Kid helper. A child can do steps 1, 2, 3 and 4: no knife, no heat. Cooking with kids
- Kid stepthe sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk, lemon juice, Worcestershire, garlic powder, pepper and salt in a bowl until smooth.
Whisk (how to whisk)
Whisk Beat ingredients with a whisk to mix them smoothly or to add air. 1. Use a bowl big enough to whisk without splashing; set it on a damp towel to stop it spinning.2. Hold the whisk loosely and move it in quick circles or side to side, touching the bottom.3. For lumpy mixtures, add liquid a little at a time and whisk after each.4. For sauces on the stove, keep the whisk moving across the whole bottom of the pan. Done when: The mixture is even with no lumps or streaks of egg. How to whisk: mistakes to avoid - Mash about a third of the blue cheese into the dressing with a fork so every spoonful tastes of it.Kid step
- Kid stepin the rest of the blue cheese with a spatula, leaving it in chunks.
Fold (how to fold)
Fold Combine a light mixture (whipped cream, beaten whites) or chunky add-ins into a batter gently, so it stays airy. 1. Put the lighter mixture on top of the heavier one, or add the flour or chips.2. Cut a rubber spatula straight down through the middle to the bottom of the bowl.3. Sweep it across the bottom and up the side, then turn it over on top.4. Turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat.5. Stop as soon as no streaks remain. Done when: There are no dry streaks or white blobs, and the mixture still looks light and puffy. Safety: Batters with raw eggs or flour aren't safe to eat raw.How to fold ingredients into a batter: mistakes to avoid - Cover and refrigerate so the flavors blend. Stir in a spoonful more buttermilk if it is too thick to pour.⏱ Chill dressing: 30 minKid step
Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.
Tips
- A creamy blue cheese like Gorgonzola makes it milder; a firm, crumbly one keeps the chunks.
- Serve it with chicken wings, celery and carrot sticks, or spooned over a wedge of iceberg lettuce.
Storage
Refrigerate in a covered jar up to 5 days.
How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage.
Quick answers
- What can I swap?
- Instead of sour cream: Plain Greek yogurt, the same amount (full-fat for baking).
- Instead of mayonnaise: Plain Greek yogurt, the same amount.
Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.
Estimated nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 150 630 kJ
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbohydrates
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 0 g
- Sugars
- 1 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Saturated fat
- 5 g
- Sodium
- 300 mg
Whole recipe, 8 servings: about 1,170 calories.
Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 9 of 9 ingredients.
How we estimate
We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 8 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.
Estimated cost
About $0.65 a serving
About $5.20 for the recipe as written (8 servings).
Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 6 of 9 ingredients, 99% by weight.
How we estimate
Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.
- blue cheese $3.85 ERS
- sour cream $0.60 ERS
- mayonnaise $0.45 ERS
- buttermilk $0.20 ERS
- lemon juice $0.10 ERS
- Worcestershire sauce $0.05 ERS
Not priced (no official average price we can match, so not in the total): garlic powder, black pepper, kosher salt.
More dishes for less: cheap eats.
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Gear for this recipe
- See price on Amazon: Nesting mixing bowls (opens Amazon)
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- See price on Amazon: Silicone spatula (opens Amazon)
- See price on Amazon: Measuring cups and spoons (opens Amazon)
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Cleanup score 5/5 (very easy cleanup): 1 thing to wash, mixing bowl.
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