September 27, 2026

A Top 10 NYTimes 2025 Salad Dressing

A Top 10 NYTimes 2025 Salad Dressing recipe with thousands of 5-star reviews? I had to try it! The genius is a simple trick: adding warm water to the shallots while they soak in vinegar. It takes the edge off the pungency of both the vinegar and shallots, resulting in a perfectly balanced dressing. And while the dressing is absolutely the star, the salad itself is a delicious combination of ingredients that really lets it shine.

Jump to Recipe

Dressing Ingredients

ingredients - 1/2 large shallot, champagne vinegar, warm water, extra virgin olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, thyme, garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper

Organize the dressing ingredients – 1/2 large shallot, champagne vinegar, warm water (not shown), extra virgin olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, thyme, garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper.

Making the Salad Dressing

Cut the shallot in half vertically and then finely dice. Combine shallots with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water in a bowl and let sit 2 minutes.

Combine shallots with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water in a bowl and let sit 2 minutes.

Combine shallots with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water in a medium-sized bowl and let sit couple of minutes. In that same bowl with the shallots, add 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, both mustards (1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon and 1 1/2 teaspoons whole grain), 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Slowly add the 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil and mix with a whisk or fork. Taste and adjust any seasoning as necessary. Set dressing aside. Re-mix when ready to use.

Suggested Salad Ingredients

ingredients - lettuce (mixed field greens, butter lettuce, etc), fennel, fresh herbs (dill, cilantro, parsley), cucumbers, and radishes.

Organize the salad ingredients – lettuce (mixed field greens, butter lettuce, etc), fennel, fresh herbs (dill, cilantro, parsley), cucumber, and radishes.

Making the Salad

Thinly slice the fennel, cucumber and radishes with the mandolin. If you don’t have a mandolin slice the ingredients as thinly as you can by hand. Either way is fine. Then finely chop the fresh herbs. Place 4-6 cups lettuce, 1/2 fennel bulb, 1 tablespoon dill, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon parsley, cucumber and radishes in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to incorporate.

A Top 10 NYTimes 2025 Salad Dressing

Mound salad onto a platter and serve immediately. Refrigerate any extra dressing in a jar or covered bowl for up to 1 week.

Print Recipe

A Top 10 NYTimes 2025 Salad Dressing

Prep Time20

Total Time20

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: black pepper, butter lettuce, champagne vinegar, cilantro, cucumber, dijon mustard, Dill, extra virgin olive oil, fennel, garlic, gluten free, honey, kosher salt, mixed lettuces, Parsley, radishes, shallots, thyme, whole grain mustard

Servings: 4 people

Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Equipment

Mandolin -if you don't have a mandolin, slice the fennel, cucumber and radishes as thinly as you possibly can. I've done it both ways.

Ingredients

Dressing

1/2 large shallot finely diced
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar sherry or white wine vinegar can also be used
1 tablespoon warm water
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil See NOTES below
1½ teaspoons honey
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard
½ teaspoon chopped thyme leaves (fresh)
1 clove garlic grated or presssed
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Salad

4-6 cups baby lettuces
1/2 bulb fennel cut in half vertically, and shave thin with a mandolin (refer to recipe photo) or slice by hand as thinly as possible
1 tablespoon dill chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves and tender stems chopped
1 tablespoon parsley leaves chopped
1 small cucumber peeled, ends trimmed, and sliced into thin rounds
4 radishes (multi-colored, preferably) trimmed and sliced into thin rounds

Instructions

Dressing

Combine shallots with 2 tablespoons vinegar and 1 tablespoon warm water in a medium-sized bowl and let sit for a few minutes.
Then add 1 1/2 teaspoons honey, both mustards (1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon and 1 1/2 teaspoon whole grain), 1/2 teaspoon thyme, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the bowl with the shallots. Use a whisk or fork to combine, taste and adjust seasoning accordingly if necessary.
Set dressing aside. Re-mix when ready to use. Refrigerate any extra dressing in a jar or covered bowl for up to 1 week.

Salad

Place 4-6 cups of lettuce, 1/2 fennel bulb thinly sliced, 1 tablespoon each dill, cilantro and parsley rough chopped, and 1 cucumber and 4 radishes thinly sliced in a large bowl.
These ingredients are suggestions. Feel free to modify ingredients as desired.
Add dressing and toss to incorporate.
Mound salad onto a platter and serve immediately.

Notes

I reduced the amount of olive oil in the recipe because I favor a more pungent dressing. If you prefer a milder dressing, feel free to add up to an additional 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil which is what the original recipe calls for.

Recipe from NYTimes with slight modifications made by me and FoodDiligence Instagram account.

If you like this recipe, you may also like these other GFchow recipes. Lettuce Medley with Crispy Shallots, Homemade Greek Dressing and Michelle’s House Salad.

GLUTEN FREE DISCLAIMER

The recipes you find here are considered by me to be gluten free. However, it is up to you to make sure the ingredients you use are gluten free. Whenever possible, I will list specific brands of ingredients that I use, but always be sure to check the labels yourself to verify the item is gluten free.