11 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes full of flavor and easy to make with wholesome ingredients. From tangy, light and refreshing, to rich and creamy, you will find your healthy salad dressing here.
Table of Contents
- Why We Love to Make Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes?
- Ingredients for Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
- How to Make Healthy Salad Dressing
- Raspberry Vinaigrette
- Avocado Cilantro Dressing
- Poppy Seed Dressing
- Asian Salad Dressing
- Healthy Caesar Dressing
- Spinach Salad Dressing
- Peanut Sauce
- Balsamic Salad Dressing
- Healthy Ranch Dressing
- Healthy Honey Mustard Dressing
- Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
- How to Store Healthy Salad Dressings
- FAQs
- How to Serve Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
- 10 Healthy Salad Dressings: Poppy Seed Dressing Recipe
If you want a never ending supply of inspiration for fun, fresh, and interesting salads then having a few healthy salad dressing recipes in your arsenal is a must!
Honestly, I believe a lack of dressing ruins even the best planned salad, especially for those who are already weary of salads.
Luckily, making healthy salad dressing at home is ridiculously simple. Most rely on less than 10 ingredients, just a few minutes to prepare and can often be stored for between 1-2 weeks!
Why We Love to Make Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes?
There are many reasons to love homemade salad dressings:
- Lack of preservatives: Most store bought salad dressings, including low fat, are packed with sugars, chemicals and additives.
- Using good for you ingredients: You are in complete control of the ingredients in your healthy salad dressings.
- Taste delicious: Able to customize them to your individual taste and they taste way better than even healthy store-bought dressings.
- Budget friendly: 90% of the time, making your own salad dressing at home costs far less.
Ingredients for Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
The best healthy salad dressing contains the following perfect formula:
- Fat: Any salad dressing needs fat. My favorite is quality extra virgin olive oil, full fat yogurt or buttermilk.
- Acid: All tasty salad dressings contain some sort of acid. It can be balsamic vinegar, wine vinegar, white vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice or lime juice.
- Flavor: Usually salt and pepper are a must. Then finely chopped fresh herbs or dried herbs, minced onion or garlic, Dijon mustard, honey or maple syrup or soy sauce round out the flavors in healthy homemade salad dressing nicely.
How to Make Healthy Salad Dressing
Each recipe will have its own complete set of directions, but rest assured there is nothing complicated about making your own healthy dressing at home. Minimal ingredients, simple steps, a few kitchen tools and you are well on your way.
- Gather all ingredients.
- Add them in a jar and shake to combine, stir in ab owl or pulse in a food processor or blender.
- Refrigerate for 1-2 weeks.
Now let’s look at some of the best healthy salad dressing recipes!
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Raspberry vinaigrette is quick and easy to make, contains just 6 simple wholesome ingredients and has the perfect balance of sweet and sour!
Serving suggestion: It’s great for hot summer days and pairs well with spinach avocado salad and strawberry spinach salad.
Avocado Cilantro Dressing
Avocado cilantro dressing is creamy, fresh and zesty! With just 5 simple ingredients and no unnecessary sugars, preservatives, or other additives.
Serving suggestion: This dressing goes particularly well with Mexican and Tex-Mex salads, like Mexican bean salad, mango black bean salad, or Mexican kale salad!
Poppy Seed Dressing
This healthy poppy seed dressing is one of my favorite healthy salad dressings.
It’s light and creamy with a subtle sweet onion flavor and slight crunch from the poppy seeds. It requires just 8 kitchen staple ingredients and 2 minutes to prepare.
Serving suggestion: Try it with grilled chicken salad and sweet kale salad recipe.
Asian Salad Dressing
Asian salad dressing is ready in under 5 minutes and is sweet, tangy, and zesty with the addition of ginger, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds.
Serving suggestion: It pairs well with Asian chopped salad or Asian slaw. It doubles as good chicken marinade for grilled chicken breast.
Healthy Caesar Dressing
Made with Greek yogurt this lightened up healthy Caesar dressing has all the classic taste!
Serving suggestion: Use on any leafy greens or pair it with healthy Caesar salad and healthy croutons. Add grilled salmon for a meal idea!
Spinach Salad Dressing
Easy 10 minute spinach salad dressing made with simple ingredients is zesty and delicious.
Serving suggestion: Drizzle it on spinach salad or wilted spinach salad.
Peanut Sauce
If you’re a fan of peanut butter, then you have to try this 5 ingredient peanut sauce. It’s creamy, slightly sweet, slightly savory, and packed with umami flavor.
Serving suggestion: It pairs well with peanut slaw or Pad Thai zucchini noodles.
Balsamic Salad Dressing
This balsamic vinaigrette recipe will liven up your salad in 5 minutes. It’s the perfect balance of tangy and sweet!
Serving suggestion: Try it on spring mix salad and tomato mozzarella salad.
Healthy Ranch Dressing
Healthy ranch dressing has a Greek yogurt base combined with garlic, onion powder and fresh dill. It’s a thinner version of my Greek yogurt veggie dip.
Serving suggestion: Use it for BBQ chicken salad or healthy cobb salad, then save leftovers as a dip for veggies and the rest of the week!
Healthy Honey Mustard Dressing
This healthy honey mustard dressing is one of the first healthy salad dressing recipes I ever made and it contains just 5 ingredients.
Serving suggestion: Use it on leafy green salads, for dipping almond crusted chicken or marinating baked chicken breast!
Japanese Carrot Ginger Dressing
Carrot ginger salad dressing lies somewhere between the honey mustard and Asian dressing with added creaminess and nutrients from carrots. It’s zingy, bright, and super fresh.
Serving suggestion: Drizzle it over everything including salads or 30 minute meals like stir fries!
How to Store Healthy Salad Dressings
While each salad dressing may differ slightly with its storage recommendations, most often storing them in a glass mason jar with a lid or glass airtight container is your best option!
Store: Refrigerate oil-based salad dressing for 1-2 weeks, dairy dressing for 5-7 days and avocado based salad dressing for 2-3 days.
Freeze: I don’t recommend to freeze homemade healthy salad dressings. They taste best when fresh!
Separation: If it is an oil based dressing, the oil may separate during refrigeration. That is normal! Just bring it to room temperature and shake your jar, whisk or blend to combine it again.
Solidifying: It is normal for oil to solidify in the fridge. Place glass jar with the dressing in a bowl with hot water for 5-10 minutes, in a microwave for 1-2 minutes or on a kitchen counter for 30 minutes to warm up. Then shake vigorously to combine.
FAQs
I don’t think there one healthiest salad dressing. Sometimes it’s as simple as making a few healthy ingredient swaps. Think yogurt in place of mayo. Healthy fats come next, whether it’s using extra virgin olive oil or yogurt as the base while avoiding hydrogenated and unhealthy fats. Also, keep an eye on sugar and sodium levels, and use just enough to balance the dressing.
Use avocado oil instead of olive oil. Use any kind of vinegar you like including apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar. Honey, maple syrup or cane sugar can be used interchangeably.
How to Serve Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
- Of course with salad is an obvious answer! Use on green salads and vegetable salads.
- Use them as a marinade for chicken.
- Or even jazz up your brown rice or quinoa.
10 Healthy Salad Dressings: Poppy Seed Dressing
Ingredients
Healthy Poppyseed Dressing
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt I used 2%
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp white apple cider or rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
Grilled Chicken Breast
- 1 large boneless & skinless chicken breast cut in half lengthwise
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1/2 lemon zest and juice of
- 1 small garlic clove grated
- 1 tsp oregano dried
- Scant of 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
Grilled Chicken Salad
- Mixed baby greens
- 1 cup raspberries strawberries or blueberries
- 1 cup grape tomatoes cut in halves
- 1/4 cup feta or goat cheese crumbled
- 1/2 cup toasted mixed nuts unsalted
- 1/3 cup red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add yogurt, maple syrup, vinegar, mustard, poppy seeds, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Stir well with a fork to combine. Drizzle on a salad of choice or transfer to a jar with a tight lid and refrigerate for up to a week.
Always love a good dressing! The peanut sauce dressing have made multiple times for meal prep. Such good flavor!
Yeah! So happy to hear!
Privyet! I am looking forward to making these! I’ve made a couple of dressings this summer that I’ve never tried before. I love the ease of making them and the health benefits of not adding the salt or sugar that are in store-bought dressings. Do you happen to have a recipe for bleu cheese dressing? I made it recently using gorgonzola, but it did have mayo and sour cream. Need to try it with Greek yogurt next time!
Cpaceba for putting these all on one page. 🙂
Sorry no recipe for a blue cheese dressing, but enjoy these and can’t wait to hear what you make.