Restaurant-style creamy parmesan peppercorn dressing that is perfect for salads and dips! find out the secret ingredient that makes this a 5-star dressing!
So last weekend Mr. Fantabulous and I went over to a friend’s house to help him (okay the hubby did as I’m clueless when it comes to guitar stuff) replace some tube thing-a-ma-bob in his head (apparently that’s known as an amp) and do other boy stuff that required power tools (that I’m not allowed to play with), headlamps and all kinds of cool stuff. LOL
Actually, I was totally cool with that as I really like his wife and finally got to see their cats. Now see I’m HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY allergic to cats/dogs/horses – pretty much everything BUT I ♥ ’em (well okay, I don’t like mice or those other creepy things). Finally, the one cat let me pet him and play with him so life was good even though my eyes were swelling up, I was sniffling like a fool, starting to wheeze and itch all over. Don’t care – would totally do it all over again. And okay yeah, next time we are going there I’ll remember to take my allergy meds.
Well, Mr. Fantabulous was hungry and invited us along on their dinner (he has a way.. LOL) but they were cool with it (weren’t you guys???). Anyway, we went to this local restaurant by their house that they recommended. The food was good but they had this Parmesan peppercorn dressing that was TRULY sinful. Like so good!
Picking apart a dish
They got to talking amongst themselves and apparently, I spaced out as I got super quiet. See – I do this thing where I tend to stare off into space when I’m tasting something I really like. I’m not really daydreaming but rather I’m picking apart the ingredients.
I have a highly sensitive palate so I can easily pick apart dishes and figure out what’s in them. That’s the hardest part. The easy part is just figuring out how much of each. Well apparently they were staring at me so I explained what I was doing. I was then told that if I figured out the recipe that they were going to marry me. LOL Love it! Now for me.. that’s a challenge. I LOVE being challenged to figure out something but then make it better.
The very next day I decided to work on figuring out the recipe. I could pick out discernible parts of the recipe – buttermilk, mayo, garlic, spices, pepper, and cheese (duh… I know! It’s in the name!) and etc. When I made the initial batch, while good, it was missing something. Like a more stable base. I then added some other stuff and that made it better but it still wasn’t up to my standards.
So there I stood, fridge wide open (as my husband would say – cooling down the kitchen) just staring at the stuff in there. That’s when it hit me. AH HA! I knew what was missing. I make this other creamy/rich dressing and this is the pièce de résistance! Cottage Cheese! OH SHUSH! Quit making that face! Trust me, THIS is the secret behind almost any fantabulous creamy thick dressing. Swear!
Folks let me tell you what – this was so good that literally, I couldn’t wait to go to work on Monday to have my friend try it. I know… crazy! Impatient to go to work… on a Monday?! But that’s how good this dressing is!
I could not wait to have this on a salad. I’ve literally eaten this EVERY day since Sunday from having it on salads to using it as a veggie dip to crackers to… *my finger* LOL
I HIGHLY recommend making a salad consisting of the following ingredients:
Spinach
Raisins
Sunflower Seeds (Salted)
Shaved Carrots
Toasted Pecans
Grilled Chicken, Tuna, or Grilled Turkey
Use this dressing on top and you will never, EVER use another dressing!
Now the bad news about this dressing – it’s fattening. Like really, REALLY fattening. I did try to lighten it up but hated it. There are some things in life that you can’t make ‘healthy’. So my best advice to use is to eat this in moderation, adjust your daily intake and work out!
So to our new dear friends, Alan and Teresa, thank you for the challenge. This one is for you guys ♥
PrintCreamy Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 5
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Category: dressing, dips, condiments, salads
- Method: blender, food processor
- Cuisine: dressing, dips, condiments, salads
Restaurant-style creamy parmesan peppercorn dressing that is perfect for salads and dips! find out the secret ingredient that makes this a 5-star dressing!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
- 1/3 cup whole fat cottage cheese
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 3/4 cup super fine grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon garlic (2 whole cloves)
- 3 teaspoon white wine vinegar (has to be white wine)
- 1/2–1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1–2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a blender add in the cottage cheese and blend until smooth.
- Add in the mayo, sour cream butter milk, cheese, garlic and vinegar.
- Blend until well combined.
- Pour into a bowl and add in the salt & pepper.
- Stir to combine.
- Taste and adjust pepper to liking.
- Transfer to a glass lidded jar and chill for at least 1 hour.
Keywords: Creamy Parmesan Peppercorn Dressing, restaurant dressing, creamy cheese dressing, parmesan pepper dip, salad dressing, veggie dip
Made it. LOVED it! In addition to using it as a salad dressing, we put it on sliced avocados, sliced tomatoes, as a dip for cucumbers and carrots, and lasts but certainly not least – as a sandwich spread!!!!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Jo! So happy you loved it; thank you!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
One of our favorites!
Forgot to give it the 5 stars it deserves!
This is definitely good stuff! Maybe one of my alltime favorite salad dressings. MUST try!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Brenen! So happy you love it as much as I do!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
I tried this recipe, which was very creamy and thick. I didn’t know what, but something seemed missing. I tried a little dill, then basil, then cilantro. I settled on a little tarragon, added a pinch of cayenne and a teaspoon of lime juice with a few bits of lime zest and local buckwheat honey, and, viola!, the missing something was gone.
★★★★
Hi there!!
Might I ask how long this will keep in the fridge?
I just found your recipe today after searching parmesan peppercorn. I just recently had a salad from Harris Teeter that used a peppercorn caesar but it definitely tasted parmesan-y… I’m not a fan of the anchovies idea, so I thought I’d just search parmesan peppercorn and here we are!! Planning to make it this weekend. Thanks
Hi Jennifer!
It should last refrigerated ~7 days in the fridge.
This is one of my FAVORITE dressings!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
OMG!!! This is so easy and absolutely delicious. From this day forward I will never buy pre made again!!!! I have also found another fantastic website!! Keep them coming!!!! This will be dressing a freshly grilled steak salad tonight, on a hot Summer evening!!! A glass of cabernet too!
★★★★★
Thank you so much Caroline! I actually have an Asiago Peppercorn version of this too (it’s almost identical but you need to tweak it slightly for the Asiago cheese portion). This dressed on grilled romaine… EPIC! Try that and top the grilled romaine with some sliced grilled steak and this dressing. Talk about having your mind blown!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
This year I’ve been making blue cheese, ranch and other white dressings, I wanted to give this one a shot since I love Parmesan peppercorn chicken wings and plan to make them during the college bowl game playoffs. So i made this recipe as a sample with 8 wings. Its really creamy and thick. I think maybe a drop of lemon and a touch of honey may help. My recipe was a bit sour and I added some honey to offset the sourness. But this could be due to the sour cream i bought.
Overall I liked the sauce, and want to perfect it, what do you add to give it just a touch of sweetness? Honey or sugar?
★★★★★
Cy,
Yeah the recipe is definitely thick and cream. The recipe is on the tangy side due to the sour cream, vinegar and buttermilk each all having a higher acidic taste. To make it less tangy you could add a little less vinegar. Before you add the sugar/honey, try reducing the vinegar and then taste. If you still want it slightly sweeter go with the sugar. Honey will just make it thicker – especially when it chills.
Let me know what you try!
Best Kitchen Wishes for a blessed new year!
★★★★★
Ponderosa Steakhouse had a Parmesan Peppercorn dressing…I will be trying this recipe to see if it reminds me of it. Even if it doesn’t, this dressing looks fantastic regardless
I don’t recall that dressing of theirs Robbb. We actually have one left here in the Pittsburgh area. It’s about a 1.5 hour trip though. I’ll have to check it out next time I’m in that area.
This is my favorite dressing so I do hope you like it. Let me know what you think.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
Well Mr. Robbb MI, I remember the parmesan peppercorn dressing (parmesan pepper, as I remember it) being one of the best dressings I have ever topped a salad with. Being the idiot I admit myself to be, I have bought store brands of parmesan pepper dressing. I love my salads. I must have been desperate or just plain stupid, cuz nothing came close to the taste I REMEMBER. I just wanted to taste that again, but they didn’t even come close to what I expected. Lesson #1 and every lesson after that: Enjoy what you have while you have it. It will not last forever. If you are in your 80s or older, smoke if you want, drink if you want. Hell, have unprotected sex, if you want, but try to get Deb that recipe for Parmesan Pepper dressing. lol
Excited to try this recipe, it’s the best one I’ve found on the web. And I love the name of your blog.
Well thank you so much! Love the name of yours as well! This is an AMAZING recipe (if I do say so myself) as it’s honestly my absolute favorite dressing!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★
GOOD DRESSING SOUNDS SO GOOD. GRANNY
Thank you Granny!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
★★★★★