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This weekend I was in the mood for Caesar Salad, but sadly my fridge was lacking in the most important part, the dressing!  I began to think about what I had in my house and how I could make something that seemed similar, but had its own unique flavor.  I pulled out my mini food processor and created my new favorite salad dressing, Creamy Basil!

I tossed the dressing with parmesan cheese, romaine lettuce (from my garden, I love that!), and freshly cracked pepper, it was delicious.  The kids love Caesar Salad and definitely noticed this dressing was different, but gobbled it down just the same, score!  The following day I made a deluxe green salad topped with grilled salmon and served this as the dressing, it was a hit again!

All this to say, this is a versatile dressing, use it as you wish.  It is simple and quick to throw together and lasts in the fridge one to two weeks, but mine was gone in 3 days!  With all the fresh basil in season you have no excuse to wait, whip this together today.

Creamy Basil Salad Dressing

  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • 15 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2-1 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1/4 cup parmessan cheese
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

Place the yogurt in the bowl of a food processor or blender.  Roughly chop the basil leaves and add them to the yogurt.  Pour in the pepper, salt, olive oil, cheese, and garlic.

Pulse the dressing until combined and the basil leaves are broken into small pieces, but not completely puréed (it looks pretty like this, but if you accidentally purée the basil, don’t worry, it will still taste great!)

Taste the dressing and adjust salt or pepper.  If it is too thick add a touch more olive oil.

Serve on a salad and store the left over in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.