Irresistible Homemade Blue Cheese Vinaigrette: Your Ultimate Buddy’s Copycat Recipe
Discover the secret to a truly exceptional salad with our **Blue Cheese Vinaigrette** recipe, a vibrant blend of rich olive oil, sharp blue cheese, two distinct types of vinegar, and a carefully curated medley of aromatic spices. This isn’t just any dressing; it’s a heartfelt homage to a beloved culinary masterpiece – the famous **Buddy’s salad dressing from Pocatello, Idaho**. Known for its perfect balance of tangy and cheesy notes, this homemade vinaigrette promises to elevate your greens to a restaurant-quality experience right in your own kitchen.
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🥗 The Culinary Quest: Recreating Buddy’s Famous Salad Dressing
For years, I’ve been on a mission to replicate the most exquisite blue cheese and olive oil-based salad dressing I’ve ever tasted. This legendary dressing hails from a charming Italian restaurant called Buddy’s in Pocatello, Idaho, a place that holds a special spot in my culinary memories. What started as a casual attempt to recreate a cherished flavor became a passionate, decades-long endeavor. The original recipe, passed to me years ago (which turned out to be inaccurate), only fueled my determination to crack the code. I’ve spent countless hours, and indeed, “gallons of olive oil and vinegar,” experimenting with various spices, blue cheese varieties, and vinegar combinations, tirelessly chasing that elusive, perfect flavor profile. The result is this copycat recipe, meticulously developed to capture the essence and magic of Buddy’s original. Scroll down for the full story of this delicious inspiration!
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🥣 Essential Ingredients for Your Homemade Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Crafting this **blue cheese vinaigrette dressing** truly became an art of balance. The longest part of the development process was finding that sweet spot for each seasoning and spice, ensuring no single flavor overpowered another but rather contributed to a cohesive, mouth-watering experience. Here are the key players in achieving that perfect symphony of taste:
- Extra Light Olive Oil: Opting for “extra light” olive oil is crucial here. While extra virgin olive oil has a wonderful robust flavor, its intensity can sometimes overwhelm the delicate balance of a vinaigrette. Extra light olive oil provides the necessary body and smooth mouthfeel without competing with the other vibrant ingredients, allowing the blue cheese and spices to truly shine.
- White Wine Vinegar: This contributes a bright, crisp tang that is essential to any great vinaigrette. Its milder acidity compared to some other vinegars ensures it provides a refreshing lift without being too harsh.
- Dried Oregano: A cornerstone of Mediterranean and Italian flavors, dried oregano brings a warm, earthy, and slightly peppery note that beautifully complements the savory cheese.
- Garlic Powder: For a foundational layer of garlic flavor that disperses evenly throughout the dressing, garlic powder is indispensable. It provides a consistent taste that fresh garlic alone might not achieve.
- (Affiliate Link) Tone’s Rosemary Garlic Seasoning Blend: This blend is a star ingredient, offering a unique depth of rosemary and an additional layer of garlic. Its convenience and flavor profile are hard to beat.
- Blue Cheese: The heart of this vinaigrette! For the best results, I wholeheartedly recommend the Danish Blue variety. Its creamy texture and distinctively pungent yet approachable flavor are ideal.
- Fresh Garlic: While garlic powder provides a base, fresh, crushed garlic adds a vibrant, sharp bite and aromatic complexity that only fresh cloves can deliver. It makes all the difference in the final product.
- Balsamic Glaze: This rich, sweet, and slightly tangy glaze is a secret weapon. Unlike balsamic vinegar, the glaze provides a more concentrated flavor and helps to mellow the sharper notes of the white wine vinegar, adding depth and complexity.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Essential for seasoning and enhancing all the other flavors.
- Sugar: A touch of sugar helps to balance the acidity of the vinegars and the sharpness of the blue cheese, rounding out the flavor profile.
- Dried Parsley: Adds a subtle herbaceous note and a touch of color.
🧂 The Secret to Our Flavorful Spice Blend for Salad Dressing
The magic in this recipe truly lies in its generous and thoughtfully combined herb and spice blend. We start with a hearty amount of dried oregano, a staple in many Italian-inspired dishes, providing a warm, slightly peppery, and earthy foundation. This is beautifully complemented by the bright, pungent kick of fresh garlic, which provides an undeniable aromatic vibrancy. The real standout, however, is the essence of rosemary, delivered through the (affiliate link) Tone’s Rosemary Garlic Seasoning Blend. This particular blend adds a layer of sophisticated herbiness that is both distinctive and incredibly harmonizing. The marriage of these herbs and spices creates a robust, aromatic profile that stands as the perfect companion to the creamy, distinctively pungent blue cheese, elevating the entire dressing beyond a simple condiment.
⭐ Pro Tip: Seasoning Alternatives for Tone’s Blend
While Tone’s Rosemary Garlic Seasoning Blend is highly recommended for its unique and consistent flavor, we understand it might not always be available. As a viable substitute, you can combine **½ teaspoon of finely chopped dried rosemary** with **½ teaspoon of granulated garlic**. This combination will give you a similar aromatic profile, though the nuances of Tone’s blend are truly exceptional. *However, for the most authentic and best flavor, I strongly encourage you to invest in a jar of Tone’s Seasoning—it lasts for months and months and will become a staple in your pantry for this and many other dishes.*
👩🏻🍳 How to Expertly Blend Your Homemade Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
Achieving the perfect creamy consistency for this blue cheese vinaigrette is surprisingly simple, especially with the right tools. My personal go-to kitchen appliance for this task, and many other liquid combinations, is an (affiliate link) immersion blender. It’s incredibly efficient for emulsifying the olive oil and vinegar while breaking down the blue cheese into a smooth, luxurious texture.
If an immersion blender isn’t part of your kitchen arsenal, a regular counter blender will work just as effectively. The key here is to exercise caution and avoid over-blending. We want to combine the ingredients into a smooth emulsion, but not aerate it too much or make it frothy. A few quick pulses of the blades are typically all that’s needed to fully integrate the initial portion of blue cheese with the olive oil, vinegars, and spices. Once blended, you’ll have a wonderfully creamy and fragrant base ready for the final touch of cheese.
📋 Choosing the Best Blue Cheese for Your Vinaigrette
The choice of blue cheese is paramount to the success of this vinaigrette. It’s important to understand that not all blue cheese varieties are created equal, and their distinct flavor profiles can significantly impact the final taste of your dressing. For this specific recipe, I highly recommend using Castello Danish Blue. Its remarkable creaminess, combined with a pungent yet not overly aggressive flavor, provides the ideal balance for this vinaigrette. You should be able to find Danish Blue Cheese in the specialty cheese section of most well-stocked grocery stores.
I have experimented with other types, including Gorgonzola blue cheese. While Gorgonzola is delicious in its own right, I found that its flavor profile in this vinaigrette was a little too tangy and didn’t offer the same rich, robust, and nuanced depth that Danish Blue provides. The goal is a dressing that is assertive but beautifully balanced, and Danish Blue delivers precisely that. Its semi-soft texture also blends wonderfully, creating a luscious mouthfeel that coats greens perfectly.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Balsamic glaze offers a significantly more intense and concentrated flavor profile compared to regular balsamic vinegar. Its syrupy texture and rich, almost sweet, robust taste add a depth that vinegar alone cannot. In this specific blue cheese vinaigrette recipe, I’ve discovered that just a ½ teaspoon of balsamic glaze works wonders to “soften” the sharper, more tangy notes of the white wine vinegar. It creates a beautifully rounded flavor, adding complexity without overwhelming. Don’t worry about having leftover glaze—it’s an incredibly versatile ingredient to keep on hand! It’s absolutely delicious drizzled over roasted brussels sprouts, fresh mozzarella with diced tomatoes, or even a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!
When stored in a sealed, airtight container in the refrigerator, this homemade blue cheese vinaigrette will stay fresh and delicious for up to 2 weeks. Always give it a good stir or shake before serving, especially if the olive oil has solidified slightly in the cold.
Unfortunately, the core of this recipe relies on blue cheese for its distinctive flavor and creamy texture, making a dairy-free version quite challenging to replicate authentically. While you could use a dairy-free oil and vinegar base, finding a suitable dairy-free blue cheese substitute that delivers the same pungent, tangy, and creamy characteristics would be difficult.
This rich and flavorful vinaigrette pairs wonderfully with crisp, sturdy greens that can stand up to its bold taste. Think romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, butter lettuce, or a mix of spring greens. For added texture and peppery notes, you could also include some arugula or radicchio. It’s also fantastic on a simple wedge salad!
⏲️ Enhanced Flavor: The Next Day’s Delight
While this blue cheese vinaigrette is absolutely terrific served fresh, immediately after you whip it up – perfectly tossed with those vibrant leafy greens – a little patience truly pays off. The flavors of this dressing have a magical way of blending and deepening after a day of resting in the refrigerator. The “cheesy” essence of the blue cheese becomes even more pronounced and harmonious, mingling beautifully with the herbs, spices, and vinegars. This allows the various elements to fully meld, creating a more complex and satisfying taste experience. So, if you can plan ahead, making this dressing a day in advance is highly recommended for an even more exquisite flavor. It’s truly so good!
⭐ The Full Story: The Inspiration from Buddy’s Italian Restaurant in Pocatello
This recipe is my personal **copycat version** of an incredibly famous and deeply beloved salad dressing from Buddy’s Italian Restaurant in Pocatello, Idaho. For over two decades, this particular dressing has been a culinary obsession of mine. My journey to recreate Buddy’s legendary dressing began about 20 years ago when I received what I believed to be an authentic copy of their recipe. As it turned out, that recipe was far from the real deal, sparking a relentless pursuit to capture its unique essence.
Since then, my kitchen has been a laboratory of flavors. I’ve experimented with countless variations of spices, debated the merits of different blue cheese types, and meticulously tested various olive oils and vinegar combinations, all in an effort to hit that perfect mark. It’s been a long and winding road, filled with many trials and errors, and indeed, I’ve gone through “gallons” of ingredients in my quest for perfection. Now, at long last, I believe I’ve come as close as possible to the original, short of actually working in their kitchen and learning their trade secrets directly!
This dressing is more than just a recipe to me; it’s a taste of nostalgia, a reminder of wonderful meals and cherished memories. **However, I implore you, if you ever find yourself in Pocatello, Idaho, make it a point to stop in at Buddy’s Italian Restaurant and experience the real thing for yourself!** It’s a culinary treat not to be missed.
The Crinkled Cookbook is not in any way affiliated with Buddy’s Italian Restaurant. This recipe is simply my best, most passionate attempt at reverse-engineering what their special, delicious salad dressing might be.
🥘 Delicious Pairings: What to Serve with Your Buddy’s Inspired Salad
A crisp, fresh green salad, especially one generously coated in this incredible **Blue Cheese Vinaigrette Dressing**, is the perfect accompaniment to a wide array of hearty and comforting Italian-American dishes. Its tangy and rich profile cuts through richer flavors, making it a fantastic palate cleanser. Here are a few ideas that would create a truly memorable meal when paired with your Buddy’s-inspired salad:
- Homemade Meatballs: The savory, robust flavor of classic Italian meatballs, simmered in a rich tomato sauce, finds a delightful counterpoint in the sharp and creamy vinaigrette.
- Creamy Tomato-Cream Sauce Pasta: A luxurious tomato-cream sauce clinging to your favorite pasta will be beautifully balanced by the bright, zesty notes of the vinaigrette, offering a refreshing contrast.
- Cheesy Baked Ziti: The gooey, comforting richness of baked ziti, loaded with cheese and savory sauce, is perfectly complemented by the crisp, tangy salad, preventing the meal from feeling too heavy.
- Garlic Bread: A simple yet essential side. The garlic and herbs in the dressing echo the flavors of freshly baked garlic bread, creating a harmonious meal.
- Grilled Chicken or Steak: For a lighter but still satisfying main course, consider serving this salad alongside perfectly grilled chicken breast or a tender steak. The vinaigrette can even do double duty as a marinade or a finishing sauce for the protein!
💬 Share Your Creations! Did You Make This Recipe?
If you’ve taken the plunge and made this **Blue Cheese Vinaigrette**, I would absolutely love to hear about your experience! Did it transport you back to Buddy’s? Am I on the right track with this copycat creation? Please take a moment to scroll down and leave a 🌟 star rating and a comment below. Your feedback is invaluable and truly appreciated! I’m eagerly looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
Blue Cheese Vinaigrette
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Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups extra light olive oil
- 1 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Tone’s Rosemary Garlic Seasoning Blend – Or, chop ½ teaspoon dried rosemary and blend with ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic – crushed, 2-3 cloves
- ½ teaspoon balsamic glaze
- 8.5 ounces blue cheese – divided
Instructions
Combine Ingredients
- Into a large glass container or a 4-cup measuring cup, carefully pour in the extra light olive oil and white wine vinegar. Add the dried oregano, garlic powder, Tone’s Rosemary Garlic Seasoning Blend (or your substitute), salt, black pepper, dried parsley, freshly crushed garlic, and balsamic glaze. Finally, crumble about 4 ounces (roughly half) of your chosen blue cheese into the container.
Blend to Perfection
- Using an immersion blender, carefully combine all of the ingredients until they form a smooth, emulsified dressing. If using a regular counter blender, pulse a few times until the mixture is well combined but avoid over-blending to maintain a good texture.
Add Remaining Blue Cheese & Serve
- Once the initial blend is complete, crumble in the remaining 4.5 ounces of blue cheese (this adds wonderful texture and bursts of flavor). Gently stir it in with a spoon rather than blending, ensuring there are visible pieces of blue cheese throughout the dressing. For the absolute best and most harmonious flavor, allow the dressing to chill and meld in the refrigerator overnight. However, it’s also wonderfully delicious served immediately after preparation.
- Refrigerate the dressing in a covered container until ready to serve. Toss generously with your favorite crisp salad greens and enjoy!
Store in the Refrigerator
- Store your homemade Blue Cheese Vinaigrette in a well-sealed container in the refrigerator. It will remain fresh and flavorful for approximately 2 weeks. Remember to stir or shake well before each use. Enjoy your delightful creation!
Notes
Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database, so they’re just a rough estimate not an exact science.