This is my classic Blue Cheese Dressing, a great all-rounder that I use for “everything”. It’s a dip, it’s a dressing, it’s a sauce! It’s loose enough to toss through your favourite salads, yet thick enough to cling to anything you dip into it. I can’t wait to show you how I make a big steak salad with this!
Blue Cheese Dressing
I know blue cheese is a little divisive but I’m firmly in the love-it camp! Especially in dressing / dip form. Not because the bold blue cheese flavour is mellowed, but because it becomes endlessly useable, beyond just cutting off huge hunks of cheese to balance on bread.
In this dressing form, it is thick enough so it clings to anything you dip in it (veggie sticks, buffalo wings, wedges), creamy enough for tossing through salads, and saucy enough for spooning over steak and drizzle over pizza.
Just give me an excuse to use it and I will!
Ingredients in Blue Cheese Dressing
Here’s what you need to make this. If you’re a seasoned blue cheese eater, I recommend roquefort for its bold, beautiful blue cheese flavour. If you’re a newbie feeling a bit nervous, start with Blue Castello. Blue cheese training wheels!
Blue cheese – Any creamy blue cheese will work, just don’t use the hard crumbly sort as they won’t melt into the dressing. As for strength of blue cheese flavour, here’s a list of common ones from the strongest to mildest:
Roquefort – Sharp, tangy, salty, creamy and complex. My favourite!
Stilton – strong, rich and savoury, but rounder and less sharp than Roquefort.
Danish Blue / Danablu – classic blue-cheese flavour. This is a good value easy to find choice.
Gorgonzola Piccante – fairly strong and spicy, though creamier and less salty.
Bleu d’Auvergne – medium-strong, creamy and earthy.
Gorgonzola Dolce – mild, creamy, sweet and buttery with gentle blue flavour.
Blue Castello – most mild, good one for beginners! This is also easy to find, sold at grocery stores an suburban corner stores here in Australia. We love a Blue Castello!!
Buttermilk – This is the main liquid in the dressing that thins it into a dressing consistency. Thicker than milk, thinner than sour cream, with a lovely tangy flavour. 🙂 If you’d rather not get a whole carton just for this recipe, you can use a 50/50 mix of milk and yogurt instead.
Mayonnaise and sour cream – These add richness and keeps the dressing a nice thick, creamy consistency. Whole-egg mayonnaise is best, the flavour is smoother and not as sweet or tangy as regular mayonnaise can be. Kewpie is also great here!
Garlic powder – This is the only flavouring I use in blue cheese dressing, I personally feel that anything more is unnecessary as the blue cheese already adds so much flavour. I prefer using powder to fresh as it’s more earthy and suits the blue cheese flavour better. If you substitute with fresh, leave the dressing for a few hours to let the flavour mellow.
Apple cider vinegar – Just a touch of acidity. We don’t need too much as the buttermilk already provides some. You can substitute with lemon juice.
Worcestershire sauce (OPTIONAL) – Just a small 1/2 teaspoon (do not want to taste it), I personally feel it’s not needed if using a blue cheese with strong flavour but I’d add it if using a mild blue cheese (like blue castello).
How to make Blue Cheese Dressing
Blue cheese dressing is supposed to have some little lumps of blue cheese in it. But if you prefer to make it completely smooth, you can use a stick blender instead.
Mash the blue cheese with a fork until it sort of becomes crumbly. Best to use a fork rather than fingers as it’s creamy (unless you’re just looking for an excuse to suck your fingers clean of blue cheese!).
Whisk with the remaining ingredients until it becomes a thick creamy dressing. Whisk vigorously for 10 to 15 seconds until most of the blue cheese blends into the dressing. As mentioned above, it won’t be completely smooth, there will be some little lumps of blue cheese which is normal – everybody loves the little pops of blue cheese!
And that’s it. Your blue cheese dressing is ready to use!
What to use Blue Cheese Dressing For
Its uses extend far beyond the basic role as a salad dressing! Here are just a few ideas:
Salad dressing – Toss it through salads or drizzle over iceberg lettuce wedges, like pictured above!
Dipping sauce – Buffalo wings, veggie sticks, crackers, potato chips (plain), potato wedges, chicken fingers, Fish Fingers, Popcorn chicken, bread.
Drizzle – on pizza (especially Buffalo chicken pizza!), fries, baked potatoes, roasted potatoes, smashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, a big show-off Tomahawk Steak (or a regular one)
Fellow blue cheese lovers, tell me – what are some other ways to use blue cheese dressing?? I wanna know! – Nagi x
PS No video today because this is a quick-flick recipe. 🙂
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Blue Cheese Dressing
Ingredients
- 120g / 3 oz Roquefort, or other creamy blue cheese – about 1 lightly packed cup when crumbled (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup whole-egg mayonnaise (Note 2)
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk , plus more as needed (Note 3 for substitute)
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Optional extra flavouring:
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (good to add if using mild flavoured blue cheese)
Instructions
- Mash – Put the blue cheese in a bowl and mash with a fork until it's crumbly (blue cheese is soft so it's easy).
- Whisk – Add the remaining ingredients and whisk vigorously for about 15 seconds so the blue cheese blends in. There will be some little lumps – this is normal. Desirable! Lovely little pops of blue cheese (for completely smooth, see Note 4 ).
- Thickness – This dressing is pretty thick, ideal for dipping, and clings well to leafy greens. To loosen, add a little bit more buttermilk.
Recipe Notes:
- Roquefort – Sharp, tangy, salty, and complex *My favourite!*
- Stilton – strong, rich and savoury, but rounder and less sharp than Roquefort.
- Danish Blue / Danablu – classic blue-cheese flavour *good value easy-to-find choice*
- Gorgonzola Piccante – fairly strong and spicy, though creamier and less salty.
- Bleu d’Auvergne – medium-strong, creamy and earthy.
- Gorgonzola Dolce – mild, creamy, sweet and buttery with gentle blue flavour.
- Blue Castello – Most mild, good one for beginners! *good value, easy-to-find choice*
Nutrition Information:
Life of Jaffle
Apparently, the one toy he desperately needs is buried under the other 47.
Oh wait, no. He wasn’t actually looking for a particular toy. Turns out the toy basket WAS the toy. And the game is called “Empty the Toy Basket”. A game we play every single day!
Delicious sauce Nagi and so versatile. Love it!
This is a soup I make regularly. I’m sure Nagi or JB could make it better. Maybe add Brandy or Calvados (Apple brandy)
Stilton, Celery & Apple Soup
25g butter
1 onion chopped
3 celery sticks chopped
1 tbs plain flour
150ml (1/4 pt) dry white wine
600ml (1 pt) veg stock (cube)
300ml (1/2 pt) milk
Bay leaf
2 cooking apples
150g stilton cheese
Gently fry chopped onion and celery in butter, stir in flour.
Add wine and veg stock stir until thickened.
Add milk, bay leaf, chopped apple, salt and pepper. Bring to boil.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Crumble in stilton and stir until melted.
Hand blend and adjust seasoning to taste.
Quantities are not critical and neither are some of the ingredients. I’ve
just made some using any white wine, self-raising flour, regular eating apples and always blue stilton. Delicious!
Thanks Ali for your comment and for sharing your recipe! ♥️
I will make this for my next dinner party. This speaks fabulous!
Oooh THANK YOU! I am so going to try this! – N x
This sounds delicious definitely going to try this recipe, I love to put a few dollops of blue cheese in a homemade steak pie… yummy
My dog Gino does exactly the same thing as Jaffle, such fun emptying toy baskets! How old is Jaffle? Xx
Hi Elaine, yes it’s perfect on a steak pie too! Jaffle is 6 months old now 🙂
I 🧡🧡🧡 blue cheese. Usually I get the Saint Agur, but I’m tempted to go full Roquefort for this recipe! As for where to use it — besides all your suggestions — I’d use it (1) with all wilted greens for Better-with-Blue Creamed Greens, and (2) as a dip for sandwiches! I’m a sandwich aficionado, and lately I’ve been using dips instead of risking soggy bread in, e.g., patty melts, salad sandwiches, burgers and hot dogs, deli chicken and roast beef sandwiches; basically, anything savory. How good will this be with that grilled cheese sandwich + tomato soup meal?!
If I want to devise any dessert-ish sandwiches, I’d make this dip with, say, the Gorgonzola Dolce, for a yummy Roasted Fruit — grapes, persimmons, rhubarb, peaches, etc. — on Toasted Brioche, Challah, or Croissant, or as a dip for plain or toasted fruitcake “sticks.” I’m thinking of a few slices of Tongue crisped in a beurre noisette, on lightly toasted sourdough or seeded rye, with thin-sliced gherkins, roasted grapes (or peaches), caramelized walnuts (and perhaps shallots), and watercress that’s been tossed in the beurre noisette. Now THAT’s a dessert-ish sandwich begging for a blue cheese dip!
Kewpie is my go-to tangy, rich mayo-of-choice, but as for buttermilk: instead of the 50/50 mix you suggest, I just add ~1 T. ACV or lemon juice to a scant cup of whole milk and give it a few minutes to turn into cheater’s buttermilk.
Oooh yes I adore blue cheese with roasted fruits! Such a gorgeous combination!
Delicious, no more store bought ones for me. Jaffle is like my 2 greyhounds, separate toy boxes but they both think all the toys belong to them individually, constantly thieving from each other. Does provide a lot of entertainment for all concerned 😊
Thanks Anne! Yes, I’m sure it does bring a lot of entertainment!
Hi Nagi, I looking for a recipe for stilton soup that includes brandy.
Every winter Bob from work, would bring in a huge pot of stilton soup to share with us – and it was lip smacking delicious!
WOW that sounds amazing!! I want to try it myself!! Thanks for the idea Marianne 🙂 – N x
OMG, yes! 💯 YES! Awesome idea, Thanks to Marianne and Bob. Please, Nagi and JB, give it a go!
Oh please do make this. I promise to make it the first day it drops!
Yum. PS Jaffle needs more toys Nagi
I know, he’s so deprived 😁
Looks like a keeper, looking forward to trying it out
Hope you get a chance Russell!! I’m a little obsessed with it….
Blue cheese is my favourite dressing..I add a bit of Worcestershire Sauce and fresh or dried chives. And I rarely have buttermilk on hand so I think it with a bit of Greek yogurt.
Yes! Worcestershire is something some people add, and I am with you on the chives! I tend to sprinkle it onto whatever dish I’m using the blue cheese dressing on, though stirring it in is always great! – N x
I use this blue cheese in my cauliflower, pear and blue cheese soup! Love blue cheese!!!!
Oh WOW now THAT is an amazing sounding soup!
Cauliflower + pear + blue cheese sounds AMAZING. Recipe, please!
i love Jaffle. he make me smile and laugh
Me too (after the fact 😂)
Blue Cheese – nothing better. In Victoria we have Tarago Cheese Blues – Blue Orchid, Shadows, Shades and Gippsland Blue all creamy and all fantastic.
Your Blue cheese dressing is superb by itself on toasted Rye or sourdough any time of day. No butter about it!
YES! I’ve tried them all!
Yummy but very runny! Can’t use it for dip. Great for dressing. Next time (and there will be a next time!) I won’t add the buttermilk. Love Nagi, don’t get me wrong.
Glad you liked the flavour!! What type of blue cheese did you use?? If anything I find it errs on the too-thick side for a dressing and I add a touch of extra buttermilk to make it runnier! – N x
I used a creamy blue, mild!!!Thsts all I had. It’s yummy. Will use on steak and/ or on salad😊
I don’t have to make this dressing before I rate it if it involves blue cheese I’m fully in!!
It will become my favourite one & second is the sesame dressing from your chicken soba salad (from your Dinner cookbook)
OOOH YES! JB invented that dressing 🙂 I should use it for somethign else!
I’m so happy that you have Jaffle in your life., I’m going to enjoy reading about him on your posts. As for blue cheese dressing my very favorite., enjoy all your recipes.
Thanks Mary! He certainly keeps me on my toes…😂
I mean, I love the recipes, but it’s your description of Jaffle that makes me laugh. Cheers
😁 I can’t tell you how much I love sharing Jaffle stories!! Kind of the cherry on top for this thing I call work 🙂 – N x
I am OBSESSED with the wedge salad so make this often. I am hanging for your mega steak salad recipe! Hope you will share. Love to Jaffle xx
Mega Steak Salad coming up!! PS I know, how good is that wedge salad?? – N x
Previously not a blue cheese lover. Then I made your recipe and now I am a convert! Thank you!!
Aww love hearing that Karole! – N x
Emptying the toy box is my 4 year old Aussie Shepherd’s favourite game too. Although in his case he empties the toys throughout the day and leaves them all over the garden for the staff to pick up;-)
Ha ha and I bet you have a big garden too 😂
In case it hasn’t crossed your palate yet, as a blue cheese lover let me tell you about my latest find: Port Salut. It is soooo creamy and rich and strong! Cheers, Pam
*She immediately adds to The List*
For people who don’t use a lot of buttermilk, you can buy buttermilk powder and mix small amounts when needed. Blue Cheese Dressing is superb on a baked potato!
I honestly can’t recall if I’ve ever seen it here in Australia! And um, baked potato? HELLO, YES!
Hi Nagi, I’m in Australia and I have bought powdered buttermilk online from health food stores.