Best Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

A tangy and funky accompaniment to an iceberg wedge salad, or any other.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Editorial Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated February 24, 2023

Why It Works

  • Buttermilk adds a lactic tang to offset the richness of mayonnaise and cheese, and allows the finished dressing to flow freely.
  • A tablespoon of lemon juice brings the flavors into balance.

Making your own blue cheese dressing at home is worth the extra effort. For this one, we combine a not-too-aggressive blue cheese with sour cream, mayonnaise, and buttermilk, plus a touch of lemon juice to brighten it up. The buttermilk may seem superfluous, but it absolutely makes the dressing, both for the great lactic flavor it adds and also because it thins the dressing just enough for it to cascade down the face of your iceberg wedge without clotting and clumping.

Close-up of a iceberg wedge salad drizzled with buttermilk blue cheese drssing and garnished with bacon, chives, diced tomato, and pickled red onion.

Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

June 2017

Recipe Details

Best Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing Recipe

Prep 5 mins
Active 5 mins
Total 5 mins
Serves 12 servings
Makes 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces (60g) mild blue cheese

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) mayonnaise

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) sour cream

  • 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk

  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) fresh juice from 1 lemon

  • Freshly ground black pepper

  • Kosher salt (if needed)

Directions

  1. In a medium bowl, mash blue cheese with a whisk. Whisk in mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and lemon juice until a smooth, slightly lumpy dressing forms. Season with pepper. (The blue cheese will likely make the dressing salty enough, but taste and add salt if necessary.) Serve.

Special Equipment

Whisk

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
103Calories
10gFat
1gCarbs
2gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12
Amount per serving
Calories103
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 10g13%
Saturated Fat 3g15%
Cholesterol 13mg4%
Sodium 139mg6%
Total Carbohydrate 1g0%
Dietary Fiber 0g0%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 1mg3%
Calcium 48mg4%
Iron 0mg0%
Potassium 43mg1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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