6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (2024)

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By: Author Samantha Rowland

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These 6 healthy salad dressing recipes are my favorite way to add flavor to salad! These recipes are easy to make, are full of healthy ingredients and are packed with flavor! Never have a boring salad again!

6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (1)

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Why you are going to love these recipes

  • These healthy salad dressing recipes are all so simple to make! All you need is a blender and about 5 minutes for each recipe!
  • These homemade dressing recipes are vegan, gluten free, dairy free, paleo and Whole30 friendly!
  • There is a salad dressing for every cuisine you might be craving! It’s going to be tough to pick a favorite!
  • Making your own salad dressing at home helps you save money! If you have ever bought a bottle of salad dressing that has good, quality ingredients, it will likely cost you about $6 per bottle!

Why should you make salad dressing at home?

Many of the store bought salad dressings on shelves are full of low quality ingredients. Many have artificial ingredients (colors, dyes, flavors), high fructose corn syrup, canola oils and other less than ideal preservative agents.

There are some great high quality salad dressing options now, however they are often very expensive per bottle. You can make homemade dressing for a fraction of the cost with ingredients you likely already have on hand!

6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (2)

How many servings do these make?

Each of these recipes as written makes between 1 and 1.5 cups of dressing, the perfect amount for a week of salads!

If you want to be able to enjoy 2 or 3 salad dressing recipes in a week, you can always cut the recipe in half!

How much is a serving of dressing?

The typical salad dressing serving size is 2 tablespoons, so that is the serving size of these recipes as well. One cup of dressing is 16 tablespoons, which is about 8 servings.

Storage

Most of these recipes are good for about a week in a tightly sealed glass container. NOTE: many of these dressings will separate a bit in the fridge. Just shake the dressing well to mix everything back up before serving!

6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (3)

Almond Butter Turmeric Dressing

This dressing is just like the almond butter turmeric dressing that you can buy at Trader Joe’s! I became a huge fan of this dressing pretty quickly, but I don’t always remember to pick up a bottle when I’m out shopping, so I had to learn how to make it at home! It’s bright and has a slight kick from the fresh grated ginger and turmeric.

What it’s good on: Salads, dip for fresh or roasted veggies (these roasted brussels are so good dipped in this dressing), vegetable wraps, pasta salad dressing.

Notes: Best texture if you blend this together in a high-speed blender! Store this almond butter turmeric dressing in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks. To make this recipe Whole30 friendly, be sure to use 1-2 medjool dates instead of maple syrup!

  • TIP: Turmeric stains everything, so be careful when measuring it out and blending this up. Clean your blender immediately so it doesn’t stain your blender.
6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (4)

Creamy Balsamic Dressing

Balsamic dressing is a classic! This creamy balsamic is my go-to dressing for my weekly salads! It’s thicker than traditional balsamic vinaigrette and it is great as a dip as well!

What it’s good on: Salads, sandwiches, as a dip for fresh or roasted veggies, pasta salad, tuna salad, dipping for pizza

Notes: This creamy balsamic dressing is best when blended in the blender for about 10 seconds. Store in a well-sealed glass container for about a week! Pour extra on your pizzas or take to work to dip your veggies in!

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Creamy Italian Dressing

This zesty Italian dressing recipe is perfect for green garden salads or pasta salads! You are not going to believe how much flavor you get from this dressing!

What it’s good on: Salad, pasta salad, tuna salad, marinating shrimp or chicken, antipasto salads

Notes: This dressing can be made in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid, it doesn’t need to be blended! Store in the fridge for a week! The dressing continues to get more flavorful as it sits in the fridge! Great as a marinade as well!

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Sesame Ginger Asian Salad Dressing

Sesame ginger Asian salad dressing is going to give the ginger dressing you get at your favorite Japanese steakhouse a run for it’s money! This sesame ginger dressing is packed with flavor! The sesame oil and fresh ginger are really important to the overall flavor!

What it’s good on: Salad, Asian salads, Asian slaws, tuna salad, marinating shrimp or chicken or as a dip for fresh or roasted veggies!

Notes: Best texture if you blend this together in a high speed blender! I buy fresh minced ginger in jars, since that is easier to use and measure in recipes. You can find fresh grated ginger in most grocery stores in the Asian cuisine area. You can buy it online as well! This sesame ginger dressing will last about a week in the fridge in a well sealed jar. This dressing will quickly separate in the fridge. Shake well before use!

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Chipotle Ranch Dressing

This spicy chipotle ranch dressing is my favorite southwest salad dressing or dip! It’s thick, creamy and completely dairy free! You are going to love the kick from the chipotle chili powder in this recipe!

What It’s good on: salads, taco salads, drizzled on tacos or burrito bowls, as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or salmon bites, on slaw.

Notes: This dressing has to be made in the blender since the base is cashews! This dressing is thick, so feel free to add extra water once you test the consistency! Store in an airtight container for 1 week! If you have extra, this is really good on burrito bowls!

  • TIP: This recipe requires that the cashews are softened. The easiest way to do this is to soak cashews in clean water for 3-4 hours or to boil the cashews in water for 3-4 minutes. Rinse the cashews of the water they soaked in and use new water in the recipe!
6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (8)

Creamy Avocado Cilantro Dressing

This avocado cilantro dressing is bright and fresh and makes any dish instantly pop! You will not want to use any other kind of dressing on your next taco salad after you try this dressing!

What it’s good on: salads, taco salads, burrito bowls, tacos, tuna salad, as a dipping sauce for chicken nuggets or salmon bites, as a dipping sauce for veggies (fresh or roasted), or on breakfast hash!

Notes: This recipe needs the blender to break up the cilantro! You can use the leaves and the stems from the cilantro! The avocado may start to go brown after 4-5 days in the fridge. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to a week.

If you love these healthy salad dressing recipes, you should also try these homemade dressing recipes

  • Honey Mustard Dressing
  • Dairy free ranch dressing
  • Avocado Ranch Dressing
  • Vegan French Dressing
  • Greek Dressing (with kalamata olives)
  • Mango Lime Vinaigrette
  • Lime Tahini Dressing
  • Cilantro Tahini Dressing
  • Lemon Herb Tahini Dressing

What equipment do you need?

Most of these salad dressing recipes could be made with just a mason jar and a tight-fitting lid (all but the chipotle ranch and avocado cilantro). However, I have discovered that a quick spin in a high-speed blender (I love my Ninja Bullet Blender), creates the best-emulsified salad dressing, making it more like store-bought!

★ Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!

6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (9)

6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

Average Cost: $3.04 Recipe/$0.38 Serving

These healthy salad dressing recipes take any salad from boring to flavorful! These salad dressing recipes are easy to make, packed with flavor, vegan, dairy free, paleo and Whole30 friendly!

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Save Rate

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: healthy salad dressing, vegan salad dressing, Whole30 salad dressing

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Servings: 48 servings

Author: Samantha Rowland

Guided Recipe Video

Ingredients

Almond Butter Turmeric Dressing ($3.11 Recipe/$0.39 Serving)

  • 1/4 cup almond butter - $0.92
  • 1 cup water - $0.00
  • 2 lemons, juiced - $0.84
  • 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger - $0.36
  • 2 tsp turmeric - $0.20
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup (or 2 dates for Whole30) - $0.62
  • 1 tsp salt - $0.05
  • 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper - $0.02

Creamy Balsamic Dressing (2.26 Recipe/$0.28 Serving)

  • 1/4 cup tahini - $0.82
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar - $1.25
  • 1/4 cup water - $0.00
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard - $0.06
  • 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
  • 1/2 tsp salt - $0.03

Creamy Italian Dressing (3.75 Recipe/$0.46 Serving)

  • 1/3 cup avocado oil (or olive oil) - $1.94
  • 1/2 cup dairy free milk - $0.29
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar - $0.75
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustarrd - $0.12
  • 2 tbsp Italian seasoning - $0.50
  • 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
  • 3/4 tsp salt - $0.05

Sesame Ginger Asian Dressing (2.73 Recipe/$0.34 Serving)

  • 1/3 cup tahini - $1.13
  • 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar - $0.24
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar - $0.12
  • 3 tbsp coconut aminos - $0.53
  • 1/3 cup water - $0.00
  • 2 tbsp fresh grated ginger - $0.36
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil - $0.30
  • 1/2 tsp salt - $0.03
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper - $0.02

Chipotle Ranch Dressing ($3.30 Recipe/$0.41 Serving)

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked - $1.86
  • 1 cup water - $0.00
  • 2 tbsp olive oil - $0.44
  • 2 tbsp dried chives - $0.50
  • 1 tsp Chipotle Powder - $0.10
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika - $0.10
  • 1 tsp dried parsley - $0.10
  • 1/2 tsp dried dill - $0.05
  • 1 tsp garlic powder - $0.10
  • 1/2 tsp salt - $0.05

Creamy Avocado Cilantro Dressing (3.10 Recipe/$0.39 Serving)

  • 2 small avocado - $1.25
  • 2 limes, juiced - $0.66
  • 1/2 cup dairy free milk - $0.29
  • 1/2 cup water - $0.00
  • 1/4 cup cilantro - $0.65
  • 1.5 tsp garlic powder - $0.15
  • 1 tsp salt - $0.05
  • .5 tsp cumin - $0.05

Instructions

  • Add the ingredients for the recipe to a high speed blender

  • Blend on high until fully incorporated

  • Store in a glass container in the fridge for 1 week.

Equipment

  • High speed blender

Notes

Serving Size: The serving size is 2 tablespoons of salad dressing. Each recipe makes about 8 servings (16 tablespoons).

Budget friendly tip: Substitute the avocado oil for olive oil and the Italian Dressing cost is $3.02 Recipe/$0.38 Serving.

Dairy free milk suggestions:

  • Unsweetened Almond milk
  • Unsweetened Cashew Milk
  • Oat milk
  • Coconut milk (in the refrigerated section)

How to soak cashews:

  • Soak in filtered water for 3-4 hours at room temperature
  • Boil in filtered water for 3-4 minutes until softened.
  • Drain the cashews after soaking. Use fresh water in the recipe.

Storage: Store the dressing in the fridge in mason jars or other easy to seal glass containers.

See how I calculate food cost.

Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Amount per Serving

Calories

87

Fat

7

g

Carbohydrates

5

g

Fiber

1

g

Sugar

1

g

Protein

2

g

Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.

DID YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE?Let others know by rating and leaving a comment below!


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6 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the healthiest dressing to put on a salad? ›

8 Simple and Healthy Salad Dressings
  1. Sesame ginger. This simple salad dressing doubles as an easy marinade for meat, poultry, or roasted veggies. ...
  2. Balsamic vinaigrette. ...
  3. Avocado lime. ...
  4. Lemon vinaigrette. ...
  5. Honey mustard. ...
  6. Greek yogurt ranch. ...
  7. Apple cider vinaigrette. ...
  8. Ginger turmeric.
Jul 27, 2023

What is the healthiest oil for salad dressing? ›

Extra-virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest oils varieties, but it has a low smoke point; therefore, we recommend using it for raw food preparations (i.e. salad dressing) rather than cooking.

What is the healthiest salad you can eat? ›

10 Nutrient-Dense Salad Recipes
  • Low-Carb Asian Chopped Salad.
  • Spicy Shrimp, Avocado, and Arugula Salad.
  • Tofu and Kale Salad.
  • Pear, Grape, and Feta Salad.
  • Mediterranean Chicken Salad.
  • Blood Orange and Quinoa Kale Salad.
  • Golden Beet and Pomegranate Salad.
  • Roasted Chickpea and Kale Salad.
Jul 20, 2021

What dressing to put on salad for weight loss? ›

Harris-Pincus explains, "Those looking to follow a lower-carb plan or people watching added sugars would do better avoiding sweeter dressings like Honey Mustard, Thousand Island, French or Catalina, and choose oil and vinegar or a balsamic vinaigrette."

What can I put on my salad instead of dressing? ›

Add herbs and spices to give your salad bold flavors of the world. Mix in different combinations of fresh and dried herbs and spices to achieve different flavors. Try fresh oregano, basil, and thyme for an Italian-style flavor, or cumin, coriander, and sumac for a Middle Eastern vibe, for example.

What is the unhealthiest salad dressing? ›

And at the top of that list? Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

What salad dressing has the most fat? ›

Finally, Italian, Caesar, bleu cheese, French, and thousand island all have the most saturated fat. For a zippy alternative to heavy dressings, add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice to your salad.

What to avoid in salad dressing? ›

Pick an oil-based vinaigrette over creamy options. Creamy salad dressings are usually made with mayonnaise, sour cream, egg yolks, and added sugar. As a result, they are high in saturated fat and calories. These are the types of dressing that are going to sabotage your otherwise healthy salad.

What is the best vinegar for salads? ›

White wine vinegar

This vinegar has a much mellower flavor than red wine vinegar and lacks the sharp tang of its sister vinegar. White wine vinegar is best used with more delicate salads and any situation where you want to add a hint of vinegar, but do not want that flavor to overwhelm the dish.

What is a cheap alternative to olive oil? ›

Canola (Rapeseed) Oil

Thanks to its worldwide production, rapeseed oil is affordable and accessible. One gallon of rapeseed oil costs less than half the price of one gallon of olive oil.

What's the healthiest salad dressing? ›

Generally speaking, the healthiest salad dressing will be a vinaigrette like balsamic or oil and vinegar, while Caesar, ranch or anything with the word “creamy” will be the unhealthiest. The exception? We like products made with healthy swaps—think Greek yogurt in place of mayo or heavy cream.

What is the healthiest lettuce to eat? ›

Romaine lettuce: This lettuce is high in nutritional content. A traditional salad base, romaine lettuce contains healthy amounts of the minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, and phosphorus. It also has high amounts of beta-carotene and vitamin K.

What is the most unhealthy salad dressing? ›

Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.

Is it better to eat salad with dressing or no salad at all? ›

Plus, adding salad dressing helps our bodies absorb the fat-soluble nutrients (Vitamin A, D, E, K) that are found in the vegetables. Salad dressings also help us feel fuller for longer as fat is more satiating… This might mean you're less tempted to overeat or pick at foods afterwards.

Which is healthier, balsamic vinegar or vinaigrette? ›

So the next time you're dressing a salad, reach for the balsamic vinegar–in the long run, not ingesting that extra fat and sugar makes a big difference!

Is Italian dressing healthier than ranch? ›

Lower-Calorie Alternative to Creamy Dressings

Italian dressing makes a better alternative than many other higher-calorie options. It adds taste to salad and offers good fat. Though many calories come from fats, it is better than primarily cream-based dressings like ranch, a thousand island, or blue cheese.

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