Homemade Marinade With Salad Dressing

Often, the most satisfying, tastebud-tickling food creations are the ones we ever so carefully create in our very own kitchens. With a wide array of sweet, savoury, spicy and saucy staples on standby in your pantry, you can rest assured that the secret ingredient for food with unforgettable flavour, lies in your kitchen.

One pantry staple that doesn’t get enough love but is super versatile and adds intense flavour to any dish, is the delightful salad dressing. Don’t let the name deceive you, because Knorr’s wide selection of scrumptious salad dressings is for more than just salads.

Boasting a variety of bold flavours including the classic Knorr Creamy Ranch Salad Dressing and tangy Knorr Italian Salad Dressing with our salad dressings as your main ingredient, your taste buds are in for a tantalising treat!

While salad dressings are most commonly used to add some saucy flavour to salads and veggie dishes, if that’s all you are using this delectable ingredient for, you’re missing out. Salad dressings can be used to make delicious dips and creamy pasta sauces, but perhaps one of its most exciting applications is in creating mouth-watering marinades.

Using Salad Dressing As a Marinade

On those hectic days, while hosting a last-minute braai, many a cook has eyed their bottles of salad dressing and glanced back at their braai foods wondering, “Can I use salad dressing as a marinade?”. To which our answer is a resounding yes! Ideal for giving grilled veggies an exciting hit of herbaceous flavour, and perfect for adding a punch of tantalising taste to any meat, our salad dressings are the missing ingredient for masterful marinades.

Salad Dressing for Marinade

What Are The Best Ingredients For a Homemade Marinade?

A marinade typically consists of three main components:

1. An oil - such as olive oil

2. An acid - such as vinegar and citrus juices

3. Seasonings - such as herbs and spices

So to create a flavourful homemade marinade recipe, make sure one of our delicious salad dressings is in the mix. Made with bold herbs and spices, beautiful acids for a tangy flavour, and fine oils - if you’re looking to add robust flavour, reach for our salad dressings.

The acid breaks down and tenderises the meat, allowing the delicious, fragrant herbs and spices to infuse the meat with flavour. With vegetables, the oil (or fat) base coats the veggies in the delightful flavours of the herbs and spices, while the acid adds a zesty zing.

Marinating is one of the best ways to add amazing flavour to your meals. So, here are 3 recipes where you can use your salad dressing marinade to elevate easy, everyday dishes into robustly flavoured, mouth-watering meals.

Griddled Brinjal (Eggplant) Rolls with a Herby Quinoa Stuffing Have you considered what a flavourful marinade could do for your Meatless Mondays? Delicious marinades aren’t just made for meat. The right marinade will add depths of delectable flavour to your veggies, like our Knorr Creamy Garlic and Herb Salad Dressing. Eggplants are the perfect plant to soak in all the robust garlic and herb flavour of your dressing-inspired marinade. The slight sear from the grill will serve to seal in the delightful marinade flavour, for a juicy, full of flavour eggplant roll.

Polenta and Prawns

If rich, creamy seafood is your thing, use our Knorr Creamy Sweet Chilli Salad Dressing in this polenta and prawn recipe for a sweet and spicy meal that will leave you salivating. Before cooking, marinate the prawns in our Sweet Chilli dressing for at least 30 minutes, for added layers of sensational flavour to your dish.

BBQ Spare Ribs on the Braai

Sauced-up spare ribs that leave you with deliciousness smeared all over your hands and cheeks are certain to satisfy, whatever the occasion. To add a flare of bold, balanced flavour to your spare ribs, mix in a healthy swirl of our Knorr Creamy Honey and Mustard Salad Dressing. The honey harmoniously blends with the warm heat of the mustard and our delicious mix of herbs and spices, creating a marinade so flavourful, that you’ll add it to all your meals.

Make Salad Dressings To Your Own Unique Taste

Salad dressings are so much more than a simple salad companion; they’re a key ingredient to unlocking rich, exciting flavours in your everyday cooking. Whether you're marinating meat for the braai or adding depth to a plant-based dish, Knorr’s range of dressings offers endless possibilities. From the zesty tang of Italian to the creamy sweetness of Honey & Mustard, each dressing brings its own unique flair to the table.

The next time you are thinking of making that trek to buy some marinade, remember the yumminess you can produce by making your own with our exciting range of salad dressings. Get inspired to make the most of your pantry staples by visiting What’s For Dinner today, for mouth-watering meal inspiration.