Top 6 Healthy Salad Dressing Alternatives

Originally published on: Jun 29, 2015

Salads are regarded as being healthy and usually, they are the first choice for lunches or dinners when people are trying to lose weight. While known for being nutritious and low in calories, a salad can also be quite the opposite if it’s served with a fatty dressing that is far from being diet-friendly.

Many restaurants will normally state how many calories come with your salad with just the vegetables, but they often leave the calories from the dressing away from your eyesight, and many do not state the amount of saturated fats contained per serving. 

For that reason, making a homemade salad with your own salad dressing is undoubtedly a safer option and allows you to maintain your healthy eating routine. Ditch a doggy store-bought dressing and make a healthy one at home!

The Top 6 Healthy Salad Dressing Alternatives

While a typical low-calorie salad is normally composed of leafy greens, fresh vegetables, and some type of light protein, the extra ingredients added to it can significantly increase its caloric value. Dressing, in particular, is one of the additions that can kill your salad’s healthy vibe if it contains, for example, trans fat or if there is added sugar.

If you enjoy tasty yet diet-friendly dressings, consider the following options below for a truly healthy salad dressing option.

Oil and Vinegar

This is a simple and effective way to add flavor and healthy omega fats to your diet, using only two natural ingredients – vinegar (such as rice vinegar) and oil. Mix two tablespoons of cold-pressed olive oil with as much vinegar as you desire for flavor. When making your dressing, always use more vinegar than oil to keep the calories low, which is particularly important if you’re on a weight loss diet.

If you like a little more flavor in your salad dressing, use some good balsamic vinegar and mix it with cold-pressed olive oil. Not only will your dressing be flavorful, but it will also have LDL-lowering qualities.

Creamy Avocado Dressing

If you enjoy creamy homemade salad dressings, this one will certainly bring the taste of your salad to the next level. This creamy avocado dressing contains avocado, plain Greek yogurt, red onions, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, a little dill, and some cayenne pepper for some additional spice. It’s also super easy to make – just throw all the ingredients into a food processor and blend to create a smooth paste.

The dressing is not only tasty but also incredibly nutritious. Avocado contains healthy fat, which helps to lower blood pressure and protect against heart disease.

Such a creamy homemade dressing can also work as a dipping sauce for oil-free chips or zucchini fries – a perfect treat if you’re craving some fast food but want to keep it healthy.

Tahini Dressing

If you enjoy Middle Eastern flavors, consider this tahini dressing as a way to jazz up your salad. To make this creamy dressing, you will need some tahini paste (which is made from toasted ground hulled sesame seeds), fresh lemon juice, minced garlic or garlic powder, olive oil, and sea salt. You can also add a little maple syrup to balance the sharpness of garlic and lemon.

Vegans and vegetarians love adding this thick dressing to their meals, such as Buddha bowls, as the healthy fats present in the tahini paste deliver all the necessary nutrients they need on a plant-based diet.

The dressing can be enjoyed with a variety of salads, and it tastes particularly well when drizzled over grilled vegetables and homemade falafels.

Stilton Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

If you fancy some cheesy notes in your salad, this blue cheese dressing is your best bet. The recipe uses blue cheese (you can use Stilton or any other type of blue cheese), onion powder, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Add salt and some black pepper to taste and mix all ingredients using a blender. It’s as simple as that!

Flavorful toppings like this one can really make a salad burst with flavor, all without adding the harmful saturated fat that most store-bought dressings have. It’s definitely worth a try!

Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

If you are a vinaigrette lover, give this alternative salad dressing a try, as it’s one of the best healthy salad dressings you can make at home. This maple-mustard vinaigrette dressing is made of coarse-grained mustard (you can also use Dijon mustard), maple syrup, low-sodium soy sauce, heart-healthy canola oil (or walnut oil), apple cider vinegar, as well as salt and pepper to taste.

The sweet and savory flavor of the dressing will add to the overall taste of the veggies in your salad. If you want to make your salad taste even more divine, you can also add a little hot sauce to the dressing and enjoy this unique flavor combo.

Any leftover dressing can be stored in the fridge in an air-tight container so you can enjoy it with your greens at a later time.

Ranch Dressing

Who doesn’t love a creamy and versatile ranch dressing? Unfortunately, store-bought ranch dressing labels usually feature a list of harmful ingredients, and many of them are even difficult to pronounce. Luckily, there’s a way to make your favorite ranch dressing much healthier and still keep its delicious taste.

This Greek yogurt ranch dressing can be made of low-fat Greek yogurt (you can also use low-fat cottage cheese), garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, dried dill, and salt. For even more flavor, add some fresh herbs, like fresh chives, to bring out the flavor of your salad.

This delicious dressing tastes just like the real deal but contains only healthy macronutrients, including good fat and valuable protein.

Drizzle it on your veggies or use it as a dip. You can be sure you will become obsessed with it once you try it!

The Bottom Line

If you are watching your weight and enjoy eating salads, consider the six options for healthy salad dressings listed above. They are all incredibly flavorsome and totally diet-friendly.

Are you up for a challenge? Over this next month, make a wholesome and healthy salad for dinner at least four or five nights per week. Using one of the healthy dressings, of course! Your body will thank you later.

A nutritious diet is a key factor when it comes to keeping a healthy lifestyle. However, physical activity is equally important. A mix of those two elements can guarantee you will not only look great but also feel great.

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