Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

This Best Blue Cheese Dressing recipe is so easy to make, all natural, and blows store-bought versions out of the water!

This Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe is tangy, rich, cool and creamy and makes everything 1000X better. It’s ideal for dressing salads, as a dip for veggies, chicken wings, pizza and more, or as spread for burgers, sandwiches and wraps (pictured). This Blue Cheese Dressing is made with any type of blue cheese you like, both mayonnaise and Greek yogurt for luscious creaminess, fresh and zingy ranch-style herbs, finished with a splash of lemon juice for vibrancy. It’s quick and easy to make, and most importantly, YOU customize the flavor, consistency and how aggressive you want to be with the blue cheese. Once you taste this homemade recipe, you’ll never go back to store-bought again!

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how to serve blue cheese dressing by adding to a chicken wrap

Why you’ll this Blue Cheese dressing recipe

My husband repeatedly awed, “This is so good, this is amazing!” This from scratch, real-deal Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing tastes nothing like the mass-produced bottled stuff on the grocery store shelves. It’s a hypnotic symphony of bright, herbaceous, tangy, perfection, laced with ranch-style herbs which beautifully balance the salty, pungent blue cheese.

It’s creamy yet light. By using both mayonnaise and Greek yogurt, this recipe is both luxuriously thick and creamy but not too heavy. You can also control the consistency by adding more or less milk.

It’s customizable! The beauty of making homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is you can make it EXACTLY how you like it. Choose which blue cheese to use (go as mild as Gorgonzola or knock-your-socks-off Roquefort), how much blue cheese to use, how tangy, thick, thin, chunky or herbaceous you want it.

It’s so quick and easy to make. Whisk together the Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, blue cheese, lemon juice, herbs and seasonings, and you have the best Blue Cheese Dressing in minutes – literally.

It can be made with fresh or dried herbs. Now there is no excuse not to make this recipe because you can keep everything stocked!

It isn’t just for salad. Blue Cheese Dressing is one of the best ways to turn ordinary dining into extraordinary! In addition to salad, you can add it to steak, baked potatoes, wraps, sandwiches, as a dip for wings, pizza, vegetables and more!

a spoon dipping into blue cheese dressing showing how creamy the recipe is

Blue Cheese Dressing Ingredients

Making Blue Cheese Dressing at home is ridiculously easy! Let’s take a closer look at what you’ll need (measurements listed in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

Blue cheese: Semi-soft, creamy, and pungent, blue cheese is a dream to flavor dressings! Your grocery store likely carries a wide selection that varying in sharpness, saltiness and overall pungent flavor – use whichever one you like! I’ve detailed the most common types below and how they differ in flavor.
Greek yogurt: Use plain Greek yogurt with any fat content. I use nonfat and the dressing is still delightfully rich and creamy. You may also substitute with sour cream.
Mayonnaise: This adds a depth of rich creaminess and binds all of the ingredients together. Even if you don’t like mayo, I don’t suggest skipping – your dressing will not taste like mayo! Please use real mayonnaise and not Miracle Whip.
Lemon juice: Lemon juice cuts through the creaminess of the dressing and highlights the rest of the flavors with its fresh, vibrant pop of citrus without tasting “lemony.” It also allows for the use of accessible regular milk instead of buttermilk. Freshly-squeezed lemon juice is always best, but you may use bottled in a pinch.
Fresh herbs: A combination of fresh parsley and chives add herbaceous flavor. You may substitute with dried.
Seasonings: Garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, salt and pepper round out the symphony of flavor.
Milk: No need for buttermilk in this recipe! Just a few tablespoons of milk work beautifully to thin the dressing to your liking.

Ingredient Substitutions

Mayo: You may also use avocado-based mayo, olive oil mayo or vegan mayo.
Greek yogurt: Sour cream is a great substitute.
Fresh herbs: May be substituted with dried. I’ve made it both ways, and both are delicious!

showing how to make blue cheese dressing by whisking blue cheese, mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, chives, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl

Types of Blue Cheese and WHich to USe

You will find a wide variety of blue cheeses at your grocery store, typically located with the specialty cheeses near the deli. They vary in taste depending on the aging technique, the types and amount of culture used, the temperature in heating of the curds, aging method, and the type of milk (cow, sheep, or goat).

At the end of the day, any kind of blue cheese will work in this Blue Cheese Dressing recipe, it all depends on personal preference. As a general rule, crumbly blue cheeses tend to be more piquant, the strongest being Roquefort, and creamier tend to be milder, the mildest being Gorgonzola. If you are not sure which one to choose, then I suggest going milder, like a basic blue cheese sold at most grocery stores, then adding more to taste.

I’ve broken down the most common blue cheese options below:

Blue Cheeses Ranked Strongest to Mildest

Roquefort: This blue cheese boasts a moist, crumbly texture, a sharp tanginess and is the strongest smelling and tasting of all the blue cheeses. It’s made from ewe or sheep’s milk in Roquefort, France, its namesake.
Stilton: This blue cheese is also very pungent, just a couple notches below Roquefort. It’s made from cow’s milk, and must be produced in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, or Derbyshire in England, where only seven dairies are licensed to make it.
Maytag: This is moist and crumbly semi-soft cheese with a mildly piquant flavor. It’s made from cow’s milk in Maytag Dairy Farms, located just outside of Newton, Iowa.
American Blue Cheese: There are several other American blue cheese companies (aside from famous Maytag) that usually fall somewhere in between a stilton and gorgonzola in pungency. If the blue cheese brand doesn’t specify a type of blue cheese, they likely fall into this category. These are great middle-of-the-road cheeses for Blue Cheese Dressing.
Danish Blue (Danablu): This is a semi-soft, creamy blue cheese on the milder end of the pungency spectrum. It’s made from cow’s milk in Rosenborg, Denmark.
Gorgonzola: This creamy blue cheese is softer and milder than most blue cheeses. It’s made from either goat’s or unskimmed cow’s milk or a combination of the two. Gorgonzola is an Italian cheese named after Gorgonzola, a small Italian city just outside of Milan, and is now also made in the regions of Lombardy and Piedmont, Italy.

how to make Blue Cheese Dressing

As long as you use the correct ingredients, this homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe is FOOLPROOF! The very recipe is truly as easy as:

Combine all of the recipe ingredients in a big bowl.
Whisk until creamy and evenly combined,
Taste, and add additional blue cheese for more pungent, additional lemon juice for tangier, and/or more milk as needed to achieve your desired consistency.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors mingle.

how do I make Blue Cheese Dip?

If you enjoy Blue Cheese Dip, simply omit the milk in the recipe, or add a tablespoon or so to reach your desired consistency. Your buffalo wings and carrot sticks will never be so happy!

showing how to make blue cheese dressing by whisking the ingredients until smooth in a bowl

Tips for the Best Blue Cheese Dressing

Use the blue cheese that’s right for you. Refer to the list of blue cheeses above and choose as mild or as pungent as you like. I suggest starting with less blue cheese then adding more to taste if you’re not sure.

Customize strength of blue cheese. If you have family members that like different strengths of blue cheese, separate out some dressing and add more blue cheese to one batch, now everyone wins!

Customize the consistency. Thicker Blue Cheese Dressing is great for dipping, otherwise, add additional milk to thin to desired consistency. You can even add the dressing to your blender if prefer a dressing without any chunks of blue cheese.

Chill the dressing. Chilling the dressing melds and marries all of the flavors so it tastes exponentially better. To ensure you have sufficient chilling time, always make the dressing before you begin prepping salad ingredients. If you only have 30 minutes, pop the dressing in the freezer and then transfer it to the refrigerator after 30 minutes.

Use both Greek yogurt and mayo. I don’t recommend using one or the other. The combination of the two results in a rich yet light, creamy, tangy homemade Blue Cheese Dressing. Too much mayo and you’ll have a gloopy dressing; too much Greek yogurt and you’ll have a thin, less creamy, overly tangy dressing.

Adjust to taste. Instead of taste testing your dressing with a spoon, the most accurate test is with whatever you’re going to be serving the dressing with; for example, dip in a lettuce leaf, carrot, etc. after the dressing has chilled. For tangier, add additional lemon juice, for more pungent, add more blue cheese, for more herbaceous, add extra herbs. If your dressing tastes a little flat, it likely needs more salt and/or pepper. Add a little at a time to avoid accidentally adding too much.

stirring the best blue cheese dressing in a jar

possible recipe variations

This Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe can be customized with different types of blue cheese, herbs, lemon etc. Here are a few ideas:

Play with ingredient quantities. Use more or less of any of the ingredients to make this recipe perfect for YOU! I love a bold, full-flavored dressing but you can tame the dressing by using less herbs, garlic, blue cheese, lemon etc.
Use a different blue cheese. Go as pungent as Roquefort or as mild as Gorgonzola depending on your mood, audience or what you’re serving it with.
Add cilantro: I love making Cilantro Blue Cheese Dressing like in my Buffalo Chicken Salad by adding a few tablespoons minced cilantro.
Vegan Blue Cheese Dressing: Use dairy free blue cheese crumbles, like the brand Follow Your Heart, sold at Sprouts, Whole Foods, etc. Use vegan yogurt or sour cream, vegan mayonnaise, and your vegan milk of choice.
Peppercorn Blue Cheese Dressing: Replace the ground pepper with loads of freshly cracked pepper to taste.
Spicy Blue Cheese Dressing: Add cayenne pepper, buffalo hot sauce, hot sauce, chipotle or sriracha to taste.
Jalapeno Lime Blue Cheese Dressing: Swap the lemon juice and some of the milk for lime juice and add one seeded, diced jalapeno.
BBQ Blue Cheese Dressing: Reduce the sour cream to ¾ cup and the mayonnaise to ⅓ cup. Add 1/3-½ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce.
Blackened Blue Cheese Dressing: Add 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, more or less to taste.

How to Make a Healthier Blue Cheese Dressing

If you want to make a healthier version, consider one of these mayo options:

Use olive oil mayo or avocado mayo: Instead of using regular mayo, try using mayonnaise made with olive oil or avocado (it will say right on the label). These mayonnaises traditionally have the same amount of calories but replace the polyunsaturated fat (in regular mayo) with monounsaturated fat which is considered a good kind of fat that we all need to function optimally. Of course, you can also use traditional nonfat and reduced fat mayo.
Use vegan mayonnaise: These types of mayonnaise don’t include eggs. You can choose from regular, avocado, soy, reduced fat, etc.

Ways to Use Blue Cheese Dressing

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing is fabulous for so much more than green salads – everything is a vehicle to inhale this dressing! Use it in wraps, on sandwiches, as a dipping sauce, and — yes! — you can even drizzle it over pizza! Here are some serving suggestions:

As salad dressing: The obvious use of this dressing is on a wedge salad or big leafy green salad with crisp veggies and croutons. Or, pair it with this Steak Salad or Buffalo Chicken Salad.
As potato salad dressing: Make my loaded potato salad with this homemade Blue Cheese Dressing instead.
On sandwiches, burgers or wraps: Use the dressing instead of mayonnaise on a chicken sandwich, burger, or wraps along with bacon, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce. It’s also delicious as a dip for grilled cheese or Buffalo Chicken Pull Apart Bread.
As a veggie dip: Dunk raw boring veggies such as carrot sticks, celery, broccoli, zucchini, bell peppers into the dressing for an instant lift or it’s fabulous on roasted veggies too like roasted broccoli!
On potatoes: Drizzle it over baked potatoes, roasted potatoes, smashed potatoes, or twice baked potatoes to instantly elevate the humble potato!
Chicken dip: It’s fabulous as a dip for chicken wings, popcorn chicken, chicken nuggets and Parmesan chicken.

HOW LONG DOES Blue Cheese DRESSING KEEP?

This Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe will keep for about one week stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator…if you can keep from inhaling it all before then! If you swap the fresh herbs for dried herbs, then it will last closer to two weeks. It is also a good idea to pay attention to the expiration date of the milk and yogurt so you know if the dressing is good for less time; as always, use your best judgement!

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to add buttermilk?

No. We are keeping this Blue Cheese Dressing recipe super accessible without the use of buttermilk. Instead, lemon juice is added for the tanginess. If you prefer to use buttermilk in place of the milk, then omit the lemon juice then add lemon to taste if you would still like a tangier dressing.

Is blue cheese dressing keto?

Yes, this recipe, as written, is keto.

Is blue cheese dressing gluten-free?

This recipe, as written, is gluten free.

Can blue cheese dressing be frozen?

No, this dressing recipe does not freeze well. The ingredients will make for a funky, grainy texture when frozen and thawed.

up close of sliced Buffalo Chicken in Buffalo Chicken Salad in a white bowl with blue cheese, celery, carrots, avocado, red bell peppers and lettuce

Looking for more homemade salad dressing recipes?

Ranch Dressing
Caesar Dressing
Italian Dressing
Avocado Ranch Dressing
Thai Peanut Dressing
Cilantro Lime Dressing

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Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

This Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing recipe is tangy, rich, cool and creamy and makes everything 1000X better. It's ideal for dressing salads, as a dip for veggies, chicken wings, pizza and more, or as spread for burgers, sandwiches and wraps (pictured). This Blue Cheese Dressing is made with any type of blue cheese you like, both mayonnaise and Greek yogurt for luscious creaminess, fresh and zingy ranch-style herbs, finished with a splash of lemon juice for vibrancy. It's quick and easy to make, and most importantly, YOU customize the flavor, consistency and how aggressive you want to be with the blue cheese. Once you taste this homemade recipe, you'll never go back to store-bought again!

Servings: servings (about 1 ½ cups)

Total Time: 10

Prep Time: 10

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Ingredients

1/2 cup Greek yogurt (nonfat is great) or sour cream
1/2 cup real mayonnaise
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese, more or less as desired
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tablespoon fresh chives or minced green onions (or 1 tsp dried)
1/2 tsp EACH dried dill, garlic powder
1/4 tsp EACH salt, pepper
2 tablespoons milk, more or less as needed

Instructions

Whisk all the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
Taste and add additional blue cheese, lemon juice and salt and pepper as desired. I add up to an additional ¼ teaspoon each salt/pepper depending on what I’m serving it with.
The dressing is best if chilled for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

Use the blue cheese that’s right for you. Refer to the list of blue cheeses in the post and choose as mild or as pungent as you like. I suggest starting with less blue cheese then adding more to taste if you’re not sure.
To serve as a dip: Omit the milk or add less to reach your desired consistency.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week. If you use all dried herbs, it can last up to 2 weeks, depending on the expiration of your milk and yogurt.