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This might be a pride thing, but I love making the menu items people usually outsource, especially dressings.

If I’ve gone to the trouble of making crispy baked wings, oven fries, and a full spread, I want to do one better and set out a homemade dressing too. That’s the difference between cooking a couple recipes and cooking as a way of life. It’s subtle, but people feel it. The extra care. The intention. The suble flex.

This blue cheese dressing is rich, punchy, and unapologetically from scratch. It’s the kind of thing that makes a platter feel finished and earns you easy bragging rights without breaking a sweat.

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Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Super simple to make
• Easy bragging rights
• Works as both a blue cheese dressing and a thicker blue cheese dip

What You’ll Walk Away Knowing

• How to balance richness, tang, and umami in blue cheese dressing
• How to adjust consistency for dressing or dip
• Why homemade dressing tastes better with a little time

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Ingredient List

Mayonnaise: This is the base, so I like to make it from scratch. I have a 5-minute avocado oil mayo recipe using pasteurized eggs if that’s a concern. That said, your favorite store-bought mayo works just fine.

Sour Cream: Thins the mayo slightly and adds tang. I use full-fat sour cream because anything less is a travesty

Fish Sauce: My secret weapon. It adds depth and umami that I haven’t been able to replicate any other way. If fish sauce isn’t your thing, just use a little extra Worcestershire.

Garlic: Raw garlic gives the dressing bite. I often use lacto-fermented garlic, which is milder and adds subtle complexity, but regular raw garlic works beautifully here too.

Blue Cheese: The star of the show. Use a blue cheese you genuinely enjoy eating. Some brands have a strange texture that won’t improve once mixed so start with a good one. Softer blue cheeses like Gorgonzola or Danish blue mash especially well.

Buttermilk: Used to thin the dressing. If you’re making this as a dip, you may not need any at all. Cream or milk also work in a pinch.

How to Make Blue Cheese Dressing

1. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire, and fish sauce until smooth.
2. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, then taste and adjust as needed.
3. Mash about half of the blue cheese with a spatula, then fold it into the dressing along with the remaining crumbles.
4. Add the lemon juice one teaspoon at a time, tasting between additions, until the flavor is balanced.
5. Add buttermilk a little at a time until you reach your desired consistency.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors come together.
7. Taste again before serving and adjust seasoning or lemon juice if needed.

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Expert Tips

1. Mash some of the blue cheese, not all of it
For the best texture, gently mash about half of the blue cheese into the dressing and leave the rest in crumbles. This gives you a creamy base with pockets of sharp, salty bite instead of a one-note sauce.

2. Add the garlic early, adjust the acid late
Garlic needs time to mellow and bloom in the fat. Lemon juice, on the other hand, should be adjusted at the end—too much too early can tip the dressing from bold to harsh.

3. Go lighter on salt than you think at first
Blue cheese, Worcestershire, and fish sauce all bring salt to the party. Season conservatively, let it rest, then taste again before adding more.

4. Let it rest before judging it
Freshly mixed blue cheese dressing will taste sharp and disjointed. Thirty minutes in the fridge gives the flavors time to knit together. Overnight is even better.

5. Thin slowly—you can’t undo enthusiasm
Add buttermilk a tablespoon at a time. The difference between “perfectly drizzly” and “soup” is shockingly small.

6. If it tastes flat, don’t add more cheese first
A splash of lemon juice or Worcestershire will usually wake everything up faster than piling on more blue cheese.

7. Stir before serving, always
Blue cheese releases moisture as it sits. A quick stir brings the dressing back into balance and smooths the texture.

Storage:
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5–7 days. Stir before using and you can also taste to adjust as needed.

Serving Suggestions

This blue cheese dressing earns its keep far beyond the salad bowl. Drizzle it over crisp greens when you want something sharp and satisfying, or serve it alongside crispy baked chicken wings with celery and carrots for a classic, unapologetically good spread. It’s also exceptional on a blue cheese burger—spooned generously over a hot patty so it melts just enough and turns the whole thing indulgent.

Don’t stop there. Use it as a dip for oven fries or potato wedges, swipe it onto sandwiches, or drizzle it over roasted vegetables and grilled steak when you want dinner to feel a little more intentional without doing anything extra.

If you enjoy this kind of from-scratch dressing, you should also try my homemade ranch dressing and Caesar dressing, three staples that upgrade almost anything you serve them with.

FAQs

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