Manchego Salad Dressing
Creamy Manchego salad dressing comes together in minutes and gives a rich and nutty flavor to your favorite salad! Ingredients include authentic Spanish Manchego cheese, sour cream, mayonnaise, buttermilk and a few other seasonings that make this uniquely flavored dressing a family favorite!
I got on a salad dressing kick a while back and have many more quick salad dressing and vinaigrette recipes. Low-sodium white balsamic vinaigrette, remoulade dressing, creamy buttermilk ranch, Medjool date vinaigrette and more! You can see all the sauces, dips and salad dressing recipes here.
FAQ’s
Authentic Manchego cheese is a semi-hard variety of cheese that is made from the milk of Manchega sheep in the LaMancha region of Spain. It boasts a distinctive creamy flavor that has a perfect balance of buttery, sweet, nutty and salty flavors.
Spanish Manchego cheeese is made specifically from Manchega sheep’s milk. It is PDO-certified, (much like Parmesan-Reggiano (Italy) and Roquefort cheese (France), is aged and firm with a distinctive herringbone rind. Mexican Manchego cheese is made from cow’s milk, is generally softer and younger and does not have a distinctive herringbone rind.
DOP stands for Denominación de Origen Protegida and PDO stands for Protected Designation of Origin. Both terms refer to the same European Union certification that guarantees a product is specifically from a specific region or geographic location.
Ingredients
The most important ingredient is obviously the Manchego cheese. It is a little pricey, but totally worth it in my opinion. You’ll find high quality Spanish Manchego cheese in the deli section of your grocer. Make sure it’s PDO/DOP certified and aged over 12 months.
- Manchego cheese – look for Spanish, aged over 12 months and PDO/DOP certified: Murray’s brand is all of these; if you cannot find aged Spanish certified Manchego in your grocery store, igourmet online store carries a wide and impressive selection.
- Sour cream
- Mayonnaise
- Buttermilk
- Green onion- finely minced
- Worcestershire sauce– just a smidged
- Apple cider vinegar
- Fresh lemon juice
- Onion powder
- Salt and pepper
Easy to make
Finely grate the cheese. The best way to do this is with a microplane or with a rasper-style grater. Combine all the ingredients into a mixing bowl or food processor and process or stir until the salad dressing is well blended. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later use.
A few notes about the Manchego salad dressing
- I used 3/4 cup of finely grated cheese; you can use more if you like
- Add the lemon juice in a few drops at a time; everyone’s palate is different, and when making this dressing, I’ve found too much lemon juice flushes out the rich, buttery and nutty flavor of the Spanish cheese.
Storage
Store in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. Freezing is not recommended because the texture changes.
Manchego cheese dressing can also be served as a dipping sauce with tapas or as an accoutrement on your charcuterie board.
If you make this recipe, please scroll down and leave a rating and comment. I love to hear from you!
Creamy Manchego Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ¾ cup grated Manchego cheese See recipe notes below
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons minced green onion
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½-1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice, to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- red pepper flakes (optional), to taste
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl or food processor; serve immediately or store in refrigerator for later use¾ cup grated Manchego cheese, ¼ cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup buttermilk, 2 teaspoons minced green onion, ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, ½-1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice, to taste, ⅛ teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper, red pepper flakes (optional), to taste
