As a kid, I would have been happy to drink Hidden Valley ranch dressing out of a sippy cup, and I didn’t discover that salad dressing could be homemade until a college summer abroad in Italy. Imagine my culture shock when server after server kept bringing me bottles of oil and vinegar instead of a salad smothered in creamy mayo and sour cream based ranch.

I adapted and in the 12 years since Italy, I haven’t purchased one bottle of dressing. It was just so much more fun making my own, and it freed me from worrying about expiration dates, ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce, and bottles cluttering precious fridge space. Instead, I started building a collection of vinegars which regularly consists of balsamic, red wine, apple cider and rice, which is plenty for a variety of homemade vinaigrettes.

To help you ditch the bottle salad dressings, we created this easy-to-use infographic to get you inspired. Use our cooking formula as a start, and then get creative from there! Just remember to taste, taste, taste until you get the mix of flavors that bring your salad to life!

For additional salad inspiration, check out these delicious salad recipes from Cook Smarts and some of our very own!