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This Parmesan peppercorn dressing is creamy, tangy, and ready in 5 minutes. Whisk it up for salads, veggie dipping, and wraps: no blender needed!
Here’s a salad dressing that’s both tasty and simple: making it a go-to I reach for every time I buy salad greens: Parmesan Peppercorn dressing! It’s tangy and savory, essentially a simplified version of Caesar dressing that’s just as bold with less ingredients.
You can whisk it up in 5 minutes: no blender, no zesting of lemons, and nothing fussy at all! When I serve this to guests, people often ask, “What’s in this dressing?”
5 Star Reader Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “This was so easy to make and is so delicious! Definitely beats any store bought salad dressing.” -S
Why You’ll Love This Dressing
- It’s quick to make, in about 5 minutes. One bowl, one whisk, and just a handful of ingredients.
- It’s lighter than most. Using Greek yogurt to add creaminess helps to cut some calories, making this a healthy dressing too.
- It’s endlessly useful. It works as a salad dressing or a veggie dip. I’ve even used it as a dip for tuna cakes and it was fantastic.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Parmesan peppercorn dressing is a creamy dressing made with Parmesan cheese and black pepper. There are several bottled versions from various brands on the market, but it’s easy to make at home. Even better, you can customize the spiciness of the pepper to taste when you make homemade. You’ll need:
- Mayonnaise: Mayo is the key to this dressing; I like using olive oil mayo.
- Greek yogurt: This keeps things creamy and cuts some of the calories of the mayo.
- Parmesan cheese: Grate it fine so it melts into the dressing rather than making it bumpy.
- Red wine vinegar: Adds acidity to give it a tangy flavor.
- Dijon mustard: A little sharpness and body.
- Garlic powder: Adds savory depth.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: The pepper adds just the right spicy flavor
How To Make Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
All you have to do? Whisk together the ingredients in a bowl. That’s it! No blender, no zesting lemons, no fancy moves. Taste, adjust the pepper, and you’re done. Head to the recipe card below for ingredients.
Customize The Pepper Flavor To Taste
The base level of pepper in this Parmesan peppercorn dressing is mild. The nice thing about this recipe is that you can customize it to taste! If you want a spicy pepper dressing, add more. Remember:
- Fine ground pepper is stronger than coarse ground. The recipe below calls for fresh ground black pepper from a pepper grinder. If all you have is fine ground pepper in a bottle, note that it will taste stronger than the same measurement of fresh ground pepper.
- Add pepper to taste. Taste and add more black pepper until you’ve got the spiciness of your choosing.
- Want it even spicier? Add a pinch of cayenne pepper to the mix.
Ways To Use Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
This Parmesan peppercorn dressing is a favorite of ours because of its versatility. A little like ranch dressing, it goes with just about anything! But the best types of salads are those with crunchy green lettuce that can stand up to the rich texture. You can also use it as a dip for veggies, just like ranch dressing! Here are a few ways to use it:
- Drizzle on a Butter Lettuce Salad
- Try it on a Romaine Salad
- Go for it on a Classic Wedge Salad
- Throw it on a Simple Spring Mix Salad
- Use as a dip for veggie sticks, pretzels or potato chips
Storage Information
Store this Parmesan peppercorn dressing in a jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Bring it to room temperature and give it a quick stir before serving, since it can thicken as it sits (you can add a ½ teaspoon of water or so if you need it to come to a creamier texture).
Dietary Notes
This Parmesan peppercorn dressing is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a creamy dressing made from mayonnaise and Greek yogurt (or all mayo), Parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, thinned with a splash of water.
Think tangy, savory, and cheesy with a kick of black pepper. It’s in the same family as Caesar and ranch; it’s like a Caesar dressing with spicy pepper finish.
As written, it’s mild: the pepper is more savory rather than hot. You can add more pepper if you’d like it spicier.
Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
This Parmesan peppercorn dressing is creamy, tangy, and ready in 5 minutes. Whisk it up for salads, veggie dipping, and wraps: no blender needed!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: About 1 cup 1x
- Category: Salad Dressing
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper*, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, grated Parmesan cheese, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, salt, black pepper and water until a creamy dressing forms.
- Taste and if you’d like a bolder pepper flavor, add more ground black pepper to taste. Store refrigerated up to 1 to 2 weeks.
Notes
*If all you have is fine ground pepper, keep in mind it has more volume than fresh coarse ground pepper and will have a stronger flavor.
Love this flavorful recipe! Thank you for sharing this delicious, low-fat salad dressing idea.
I just made this recipe and it was absolutely
How long does this dressing keep in the fridge? Embarking on an all home-made salad dressing adventure! No more store-bought or premade foods!
Hi! We keep the dressing up to two weeks for this one. Enjoy!
Hello. I was wondering how much sodium is in the peppercorn dressing. Wasn’t listed in the nutritional value
Thanks
Our calculator doesn’t do a great job on sodium, so it is omitted. Sorry!
This was so easy to make and is so delicious! Definitely beats any store bought salad dressing.
Any substitute if you have no Greek yogurt?
You could try whole milk yogurt and omit the water. Or, use another 1/4 cup mayo and omit the water, then add more mayo to taste if necessary.
This is late, but I use greek yogurt in place sour cream. It’s less fattening and provides more protein. So I image the reverse would be true in terms of taste and consistency. Try using sour cream as a 1 to 1 replacement for the yogurt and you shouldn’t need to adjust anything else.
This dressing was very good and super easy. Next time I might use slightly less yogurt, but that’s just my taste. For some reason, bottled Parmesan Peppercorn dressing disappeared from my local grocery shelves in the last year, but now that isn’t a problem!
So glad you enjoy it!
This dressing was so easy to make, and my husband LOVED it :)
Let us know if you have any questions!