It’s time to level-up your salads with this smart trick.

My fallback recipe for salad dressing isIna Gartens simple two-ingredient vinaigrette.

And thats when it hit me.

Close up of a salad with dressing being poured on it

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I can upgrade the vinaigrette with the umami powerhouse thats always stocked in my pantry: soy sauce.

I would have been on that boat, too, had I not tried it myself.

After making the vinaigrette, I mixed in a tablespoon of soy sauce.

A salad being tossed together in a bowl with tongs

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I recommend you start with a teaspoon and go from there, adding more to suit your palate.

For those of you who love sweet salad dressing, use a sweeter soy sauce.

I recommendLee Kum Kees sweet soy sauce, as it also has a bit of smoky caramel flavor.

My Tips for Making Salad Dressing