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Salad Dressing Shakers
We tested seven salad dressing shakers to see if we could find one worth buying.
Top Picks
WinnerOXO Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Buy at Amazon
Prepworks Dressing Shaker
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
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What You Need to Know
At home, many of us use a lidded jar to mix and emulsify vinaigrette—often with messy results because the seal isn’t good. But the kitchenware market abounds with funny-looking salad dressing shakers and mixers that promise to emulsify, dispense, and store vinaigrette more easily than that repurposed jar. To find out whether these gadgets were worth buying, we pitted seven BPA-free plastic dressing shakers and mixers, priced from about $10.00 to $16.00, against a 2-cup Ball jar with its lid. We wanted to see how well they emulsified, contained, and poured two dressings with different ingredients and volumes (our Make-Ahead and Foolproof Vinaigrettes); whether or not they stained or retained odors; how easy they were to fill and clean; and how durable they were.
Most of the gadgets were a waste of money: too large or too small and marred by design flaws that impaired performance. And although it’s unlikely that you’ll ever use the shakers’ volume lines alone to make your dressing, it’s worth noting that more than half of the containers’ measurements were inaccurate. While some of the shakers and mixers made emulsions just as quickly and as stably as the Ball jar and were just as durable and as easy to fill and clean, almost none of them were better—except one.
Our favorite shaker has a short, wide, 1 1/2-cup canister that makes it a breeze to fill, clean, and whisk sticky ingredients by hand if necessary. It made large- and small-scale emulsions that were comparable in quality to those made by the Ball jar, and in about the same amount of time. The shaker has one significant advantage over the jar: It’s much tidier, featuring a pour spout that dispensed dressing without a drip and sealing tightly so that no dressing flew out while shaking. If you make salad dressing regularly, the OXO Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker is a good investment.
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Everything We Tested
Recommended
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
WinnerOXO Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker
Built like a cocktail shaker, this container was just the right size, easily emulsifying both small and large volumes of dressing. The wide mouth of the canister facilitates filling, whisking, and cleaning; the top screws on easily, creating a tight seal. Best of all, its pour spout dispenses vinaigrette with a nice even flow. And after we put it through 10 dishwasher cycles and disassembled and reassembled it 50 times, the shaker was still as good as new.
Model Number: 1188500
Capacity: 1.5 cups
Materials: Tritan, TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)
Dimensions: Canister Height, 5.5 in; Total Height, 9 in; Widest Circumference, 10 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $14.99
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Built like a cocktail shaker, this container was just the right size, easily emulsifying both small and large volumes of dressing. The wide mouth of the canister facilitates filling, whisking, and cleaning; the top screws on easily, creating a tight seal. Best of all, its pour spout dispenses vinaigrette with a nice even flow. And after we put it through 10 dishwasher cycles and disassembled and reassembled it 50 times, the shaker was still as good as new.
Model Number: 1188500
Capacity: 1.5 cups
Materials: Tritan, TPE (thermoplastic elastomer)
Dimensions: Canister Height, 5.5 in; Total Height, 9 in; Widest Circumference, 10 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $14.99
Recommended with reservations
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Mastrad Quik Wisk Universal Mixer
Resembling a mini milk frother, the wide-mouthed Quik Wisk created good emulsions with both big and small volumes of dressing, and in just a little more time than the OXO or the Ball jar. But the canister was a bit tall, making it hard to get a fork in to whisk sticky ingredients, and it had no dedicated pour spout, forcing us to remove the agitator wand in order to dispense the dressing.
Model Number: A26908
Capacity: 1.5 cups
Materials: SAN (styrene acrylonitrile resin), silicone, polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.75 in; Total Height, 7.25 in; Widest Circumference, 13 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $9.98
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Resembling a mini milk frother, the wide-mouthed Quik Wisk created good emulsions with both big and small volumes of dressing, and in just a little more time than the OXO or the Ball jar. But the canister was a bit tall, making it hard to get a fork in to whisk sticky ingredients, and it had no dedicated pour spout, forcing us to remove the agitator wand in order to dispense the dressing.
Model Number: A26908
Capacity: 1.5 cups
Materials: SAN (styrene acrylonitrile resin), silicone, polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.75 in; Total Height, 7.25 in; Widest Circumference, 13 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $9.98
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Prepworks Dressing Shaker
The Prepworks shaker had a tight seal and a good pour spout, and it was easy to fill and clean. But it was on the large side, making it unwieldy to grip and shake, and while its wagon wheel–shaped agitator quickly emulsified a full batch of Make-Ahead Vinaigrette, it couldn’t fully emulsify smaller portions of vinaigrette.
Model Number: SAL-102
Capacity: 2 cups
Materials: Tritan, polypropylene, silicone, and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene)
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.75 in; Total Height, 8 in; Widest Circumference, 10.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $12.31
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
The Prepworks shaker had a tight seal and a good pour spout, and it was easy to fill and clean. But it was on the large side, making it unwieldy to grip and shake, and while its wagon wheel–shaped agitator quickly emulsified a full batch of Make-Ahead Vinaigrette, it couldn’t fully emulsify smaller portions of vinaigrette.
Model Number: SAL-102
Capacity: 2 cups
Materials: Tritan, polypropylene, silicone, and ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene)
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.75 in; Total Height, 8 in; Widest Circumference, 10.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $12.31
Not Recommended
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Tupperware Quick Shake Container
Although the Quick Shake had a wide mouth and a good pour spout, its large size made it difficult to fully emulsify small volumes of dressing, taking longer to make a vinaigrette that broke quickly after being blended. It was also awkward to grip and to store in the refrigerator. A strainer fit into the canister but often prevented the lid from latching on tightly, spraying dressing all over as we shook the canister.
Model Number: 10111572000
Capacity: 2.5 cups
Materials: Polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 7.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 12 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $16.00
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Although the Quick Shake had a wide mouth and a good pour spout, its large size made it difficult to fully emulsify small volumes of dressing, taking longer to make a vinaigrette that broke quickly after being blended. It was also awkward to grip and to store in the refrigerator. A strainer fit into the canister but often prevented the lid from latching on tightly, spraying dressing all over as we shook the canister.
Model Number: 10111572000
Capacity: 2.5 cups
Materials: Polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 7.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 12 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $16.00
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
PopSome Flavour from VacuVin
The PopSome Flavour had a tight seal and emulsified larger batches of vinaigrette in a respectable amount of time, but it was too big to make smaller volumes quickly or stably—the emulsion broke within minutes after being formed. The widest of the containers, it was hard to hold; a hollow spindle in the middle retained oily residue after five washes and made the canister awkward to fill and to get a fork into. Finally, it had no pour spout, making it messy to dispense dressing.
Model Number: 2833660
Capacity: 2 cups
Materials: TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), SAN (styrene acrylonitrile resin), polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 5.5 in; Total Height, 6.5 in; Widest Circumference, 13.5 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $9.99
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
The PopSome Flavour had a tight seal and emulsified larger batches of vinaigrette in a respectable amount of time, but it was too big to make smaller volumes quickly or stably—the emulsion broke within minutes after being formed. The widest of the containers, it was hard to hold; a hollow spindle in the middle retained oily residue after five washes and made the canister awkward to fill and to get a fork into. Finally, it had no pour spout, making it messy to dispense dressing.
Model Number: 2833660
Capacity: 2 cups
Materials: TPE (thermoplastic elastomer), SAN (styrene acrylonitrile resin), polypropylene
Dimensions: Canister Height, 5.5 in; Total Height, 6.5 in; Widest Circumference, 13.5 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes
Price at Time of Testing: $9.99
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Chef’n Emulstir 2.0 Salad Dressing Mixer
With a spiral-shaped wand that twirled when we squeezed a lever in the lid, the Emulstir shone when it came to quickly emulsifying small amounts of dressing. But its small, 1-cup capacity meant it couldn’t handle large volumes of vinaigrette, leaving a floating layer of oil that never made contact with the agitator and thus refused to emulsify. Worse, its lid—which popped up for easy pouring—tended to leak when the closed canister was flipped upside down.
Model Number: 104-555-011
Capacity: 1 cup
Materials: Acrylic
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 10.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes, top rack only
Price at Time of Testing: $11.95
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
With a spiral-shaped wand that twirled when we squeezed a lever in the lid, the Emulstir shone when it came to quickly emulsifying small amounts of dressing. But its small, 1-cup capacity meant it couldn’t handle large volumes of vinaigrette, leaving a floating layer of oil that never made contact with the agitator and thus refused to emulsify. Worse, its lid—which popped up for easy pouring—tended to leak when the closed canister was flipped upside down.
Model Number: 104-555-011
Capacity: 1 cup
Materials: Acrylic
Dimensions: Canister Height, 6.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 10.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: Yes, top rack only
Price at Time of Testing: $11.95
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
Norpro Salad Dressing/Sauce Mixer
The Norpro mixer’s dinky, ladder-shaped agitator struggled to emulsify small and large batches of dressing. It was a pain to operate, its top constantly threatening to fly off as we rotated the agitator, and you could only dispense vinaigrette through the mixer’s tiny, beak-like pour spout if you removed the agitator wand first. Finally, with a tall, narrow canister, it was hard to fill and to fit a whisk inside and even harder to clean by hand—as a result, it was the only container to retain odors after 10 washes.
Model Number: 805
Capacity: 1 2/3 cups
Materials: Acrylic
Dimensions: Canister Height, 7.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 8.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: No
Price at Time of Testing: $11.36
- Cleanup
- Ease of Use
- Seal TIghtness
- Ease of Filling
- Emulsion Stability
- Measurement Accuracy
- Speed of Emulsification
The Norpro mixer’s dinky, ladder-shaped agitator struggled to emulsify small and large batches of dressing. It was a pain to operate, its top constantly threatening to fly off as we rotated the agitator, and you could only dispense vinaigrette through the mixer’s tiny, beak-like pour spout if you removed the agitator wand first. Finally, with a tall, narrow canister, it was hard to fill and to fit a whisk inside and even harder to clean by hand—as a result, it was the only container to retain odors after 10 washes.
Model Number: 805
Capacity: 1 2/3 cups
Materials: Acrylic
Dimensions: Canister Height, 7.5 in; Total Height, 8.5 in; Widest Circumference, 8.25 in
Dishwasher-Safe: No
Price at Time of Testing: $11.36
*All products reviewed by America’s Test Kitchen are independently chosen, researched, and reviewed by our editors. We buy products for testing at retail locations and do not accept unsolicited samples for testing. We list suggested sources for recommended products as a convenience to our readers but do not endorse specific retailers. When you choose to purchase our editorial recommendations from the links we provide, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices are subject to change.
Reviews You Can Trust
The mission of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews is to find the best equipment and ingredients for the home cook through rigorous, hands-on testing. We stand behind our winners so much that we even put our seal of approval on them. Have a question or suggestion? Send us an email at atkreviews@americastestkitchen.com. We appreciate your feedback!
Reviews You Can Trust.
See Why.