Quick and healthy salad dressings in 3 minutes

Salad dressings needn’t be tricky to make and are much healthier than ready-made dressings. Try one of these six simple ideas to get you started.

1. Classic lemon and olive oil

This is a very easy dressing that is good with strong-flavoured leaf salads, such as rocket or kale. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Black pepper to taste

Whisk ingredients together. If you want to make it thinner then add a teaspoon of water. Add pepper to taste and store in the fridge. 

2. Lime and chilli dressing

This Mexican-inspired dressing is easy to make and gives salads some spice.

Ingredients:

• Zest and juice of 1 lime
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 deseeded red chilli, chopped finely

Mix all the ingredients together and store in the fridge.

3. Simple balsamic vinaigrette

Balsamic vinegar is full of flavour and olive oil is full of unsaturated fats which, when consumed in moderation, are good for your heart health.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together; add pepper to taste, and store in the fridge.

4. Raspberry vinaigrette

This light fruity dressing is perfect for summer salads.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients together; add pepper to taste, and store in the fridge.

5. Creamy cucumber dressing

A light low-fat creamy dressing delicious drizzled over salads and in wraps. Using fat-free natural yoghurt makes this homemade dressing much lower in saturated fat than pre-packaged options.

Ingredients:

• 125g fat-free yoghurt
• ½ cucumber, chopped roughly
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a food process or blender, and store in the fridge. If you don’t have a food processor or blender, then chop the cucumber finely instead and mix the ingredients together for a chunkier dressing or dip, like the one pictured below.

6. Creamy mint dressing

This low-fat mint dressing is delicious served with beetroot or bean salads.

Ingredients:

• 125g fat-free yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic
• Freshly chopped mint (use as much or as little as you like)

Blend all ingredients together and store in the fridge.  

• Read our 20 easy ways to get your 5-a-day.
• Learn more from our dietitian about how to make salads healthier.
• Get more inspiration for delicious salads.

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• Myths about 5-a-day
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15 Healthy Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes « Running in a Skirt

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Look no further for Healthy Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes! This is the ultimate guide to making healthy salad dressing at home and 15 of my favorite healthy salad dressings.   You’ll find the best low calorie, low carb, and low fat salad dressings ever!

Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing

You just can’t beat the fresh flavor of a Healthy Homemade Salad Dressing.  They are surprisingly simple to make and taste so much better than most bottled salad dressings.  Plus you can control the ingredients and make them as healthy, sugar free, low carb, and low calorie as you’d like!

I’ve been making and posting healthy salad dressings on Running in a Skirt for years and wanted to give y’all a place where you could easily find them all in one place.  In all, I’ve created 15+ healthy salad dressing recipes covering a huge spectrum of tastes and cuisines.  There is something for everyone!  If you are looking for the healthiest salad dressings… start here!

I’ve got the basics covered like a Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch, Healthy Greek Salad Dressing, Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing, and Healthy Red Wine Vinaigrette.  You’ll also find some unique options like an Apple Cider Vinaigrette and Creamy Thai Peanut Dressing.

In fact, I feel like this is the ultimate resource for making your own healthy salad dressing!

Low Calorie Salad Dressing Recipes

On top of being healthy salad dressing, these recipes are all low calorie salad dressing recipes that are much healthier than the bottle!  I used less oil and no sugar to make these dressings healthy.  In my creamy dressings like my Ranch, Caesar, and Poppyseed I used a base of greek yogurt so they would still taste amazingly creamy AND have some health benefits.

What makes a salad dressing healthy?

I consider a salad dressing healthy if it is made with fresh ingredients, low oil, and has a reasonable amount of calories.  Some bottled dressing has 100+ calories per serving which is too high in my opinion! All of these salad dressings meet that criteria and can be considered healthy.

What’s the healthiest salad dressing?

Often a light vinaigrette or olive oil and vinegar-based salad dressing is the healthiest.   I have several light vinaigrettes below to choose from if that’s what you are looking for.

But because even my creamy salad dressings are based on greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise, they are all pretty darn healthy!

You can drizzle all of these healthy homemade salad dressings knowing they taste amazing and are good for you!

What salad dressing should I put on my salad to lose weight?

All of these healthy salad dressing recipes are great for weight loss!  The lightest ones tend to be the ones made with simple olive oil and vinegar like the Red Wine Vinaigrette, Zesty Italian Dressing, or Healthy Greek Salad Dressing.

How to Make Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing:

I have full instructions for each salad dressing recipe in my individual recipes but here’s a basic idea of how to make them.

1. Gather your healthy ingredients like oil, vinegar (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar) greek yogurt, and seasonings.
2. Measure and mix or whisk together.
3. Use a mason jar to store and shake the salad dressing before serving.
4. You can also use a blender or food processor to mix up the creamy dressings.
5. You can keep them in your fridge for up to a week!

What is the best extra virgin olive oil for salads?

Before you start making these salad dressings it would help to have a pantry of some quality oil and vinegar!  Here are a few of my favorites.

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil <—I consider this the best widely available olive oil for salads.
• Red Wine Vinegar
• White Wine Vinegar

These Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing recipes are super tasty and can brighten up so many salads! I hope you enjoy making them and now finding them in one easy-to-find resource.  They are so much better than store-bought dressings.

15 Homemade Healthy Salad Dressings to Love

Healthy Homemade Greek Salad Dressing

This classic Greek Salad Dressing is inspired by the salad at my favorite Greek restaurant.   It’s made with zesty lemons, lemon juice, and familiar greek style herbs like oregano.  It has a slightly higher vinegar to olive oil ratio making it a bit lighter in taste and calories.  It goes great on everything from a classic greek salad to a summer pasta salad.  You can also use it as a marinade for fish, vegetables, or meat.

You can also serve this dressing with so many things including my Greek Tortellini Pasta Salad.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing

This twist on classic Ranch dressing tastes so good you’ll never realize it’s good for you!  Instead of being made with mayo, the base is greek yogurt making it a rich and creamy dressing without the calories.  It’s even filled with probiotics from the yogurt.  This healthy ranch dressing is dreamy.

The Healthy Homemade Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing can be used as a dressing or a dip and is great on any salad you’d normally serve with ranch.  Try it with my Vegetarian Cobb Salad. It’s also great as a dip for my Baked Zucchini Fries.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing

Love Ceasar salad but not the unhealthy dressing on top?  Try my version!  My Healthy Greek Yogurt Caesar Dressing is so tasty that you’ll never know it’s better for you.  The flavors are the same and it’s just a bit lighter and brighter.

Serve it with my Kale Caesar Salad or Kale Ceasar Pasta Salad.

Healthy Zesty Italian Dressing

Looking for another healthy salad dressing?  Try my Healthy Zesty Italian Dressing with bright herbs from a homemade Italian Seasoning and parmesan cheese.

This traditional dressing is perfect on so many salads but especially my Italian Chopped Salad or Zesty Italian Pasta Salad.

Healthy Honey Mustard Dressing

Honey Mustard is often filled with sugar but my version is not!  It’s light, bright, and creamy thanks to the mustard and greek yogurt.  My Healthy Honey Mustard Dressing does have honey but no added refined sugar.   It uses yummy dijon mustard too.

Serve it with my Fall Harvest Salad or any other salad you’d normally like Honey Mustard with.  It also works great as a dip!

Healthy & Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing

This healthy salad dressing is nothing short of dreamy!  My Healthy & Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing features all the flavors of guacamole but in a healthy salad dressing package.  If you love avocado, lime juice, and cilantro… this is for you.

Serve this dressing with any salad or even as a drizzle on top of tacos.  It’s also great with my Vegetarian Taco Salad.

Healthy Red Wine Vinegar Dressing

Here’s another classic salad dressing you need to have in your recipe book.  My Healthy Red Wine Vinegar Dressing is a bit heavier on the vinegar to keep the calorie count lower.  It gets lots of flavor from lemon and more herbs.

Serve in almost any salad where you’d use a vinegrette.  It’s also the perfect addition to my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad.

Homemade Healthy Greek Yogurt Poppyseed Dressing

Poppyseed dressing is often filled with mayonnaise and refined sugar making it a not great choice.  My Healthy Homemade Greek Yogurt Poppyseed version once again uses greek yogurt to get the creamy base and is sweetened by a touch of honey.  If you like a sweet salad dressing, this is it!

Serve it with your favorite fruit salad or my Copycat Panera Strawberry Poppyseed Salad.

Healthy Basil Vinaigrette

This one is unique!  My Healthy Basil Vinaigrette features only 5 ingredients including fresh basil, bright citrus lemon, garlic clove, and olive oil.  I love it in the summer to bring out the flavors of fresh greens and tomatoes.

It’s also the perfect dressing for a Caprese salad.  Serve it with my Grilled Peach Caprese Salad.

Healthy Homemade Lemon Tahini Dressing

This salad dressing is SO addictive.  My Healthy Homemade Lemon Tahini Dressing is one you’ll want to make again and again.   It’s great on any salad greens OR the ideal topping for a Buddha Bowl.

I love it with my Baked Salmon Kale Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing.

Healthy Homemade Green Goddess Dressing

This is another unique salad dressing!  My Healthy Green Goddess Dressing features a bright combination of fresh green herbs, olive oil, and greek yogurt.  The combination of chives, parsley, basil, and garlic is simply dreamy.  It’s also great on any bowl of salad green, as a dip, as a buddha bowl sauce, or as a drizzle on fish or vegetables.  This very versatile sauce is one you have to try!

Serve it with my Greenest Green Salad or as a topping for my Grilled Cauliflower Steak.

Creamy & Healthy Thai Peanut Dressing

Do you love that peanut sauce at Thai restaurants?  This salad dressing tastes JUST like that but in a salad dressing form.  My Creamy and Healthy Thai Peanut Dressing is so good you’ll want to drink it out of the bottle!  It’s great on any Asian-inspired salad, as a dip, and even as a pasta sauce.   It’s a great blend of ginger, peanut butter and soy sauce.

Serve it with my Thai Peanut Noodle Salad.

Homemade Apple Cider Vinaigrette

This healthy salad dressing is inspired by the apple orchards near where I live.  The apples are bright and fresh and so is this Homemade Apple Cider Vinaigrette.  It uses a combination of apple cider and apple cider vinegar and a touch of maple syrup for a super light dressing.  Serve it on a fall-inspired salad or buddha bowl.

I love it with my Fall Harvest Farro.

Healthy Greek Yogurt Chipolte Lime Ranch

What’s better than a healthy ranch? How about a Healthy CHIPOLTE Lime Ranch! I used my Greek Yogurt Ranch dressing base and bring in more Mexican-inspired flavors with lime and canned chipotle.  This is SO good!  Serve it with any Southwest-inspired salad, as a dip, or even with pasta salad.

I love it with my Tex Mex Pasta Salad.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

Love Mexican flavored dishes but want a lighter healthy salad dressing?  This Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette is for you!  It’s also great on any Mexican-inspired salad bowl.   You’ll love the fresh herbs like cilantro in it.

Serve it with my Shrimp Avocado and Lime Salad.

The Easiest Healthy Salad Dressing

My last salad dressing is the salad dressing you can make when you really don’t have much time!  This is what I do when I’m making a fast lunch just for myself and don’t have any other dressings on hand.  It’s basically the perfect combination of lemon, olive oil, and vinegar over fresh greens.

Click over to see my demonstration video to make it.

Make These Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes at Home!

I hope you’ll give some of these Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings a try at home.  They are all so tasty and unique.  With this variety, you’ll never have to buy the bottle again.

If you make these healthy salad dressing recipes, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment and a star rating ★ below. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook too!

Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing

Julie Wunder

There are SO many Homemade Healthy Salad Dressing recipes! Here’s a template recipe to make your own at home.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 10 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Servings 8

Calories 86 kcal

• ⅓ cup olive oil
• ½ cup white wine vinegar
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 teaspoon fresh or dried herbs
• salt and pepper to taste

• Get out your ingredients and measure them.

• Put the healthy salad dressing ingredients in a bowl and whisk together or put in a mason jar and shake.

• Serve immediatly or store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

This is a basic recipe to make any type of healthy salad dressing! 

Calories: 86kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 2mgPotassium: 25mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 3IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Healthy Homemade Salad Dressing, Healthy Salad dressing

Tried this recipe?Mention @Julie_Wunder or tag #RunninginaSkirt!

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5 healthiest salad dressings

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Nutrition

Olive oil

Salad is a favorite of adherents of proper nutrition, and it seems to be considered a healthy dish by default. It would seem that fresh herbs, vegetables rich in fiber and vitamins, and dressing. The latter can often turn a healthy dish into a real carbohydrate-fat bomb, which will quickly affect both weight and health. How to season a salad, so as not only not to make it harmful, but also to increase its benefits, we tell in our material.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The most obvious item on this list, but it’s impossible not to mention it. Extra virgin olive oil (or extra virgin) is the healthiest of all existing ingredients for your salad. It is rich in omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, vitamins A and E, and a host of other nutrients with positive effects on everything from skin to heart health. In addition, despite the fact that olive oil is a pure fat, not only does it not lead to weight gain (in moderation, of course), but also helps to reduce and maintain it. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil with balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and Italian herbs for the perfect salad dressing. Important: do not buy ready-made dressings based on olive oil – in order to save money, manufacturers often use low-quality oils, which can lead to weight gain and negatively affect heart health.

Tahini

One of the most popular salad dressings in Mediterranean cuisine. Despite its appearance and creamy texture, it is 100% plant-based. Tahini is made from crushed sesame seeds with the addition of garlic and pepper. Sesame is rich in vegetable protein, fiber, vitamins A and E, as well as potassium, calcium, manganese and iron. As with olive oil, we do not recommend buying ready-made dressing from the supermarket, as the ingredients may not be as perfect as you would like. Tahini is easy to make yourself by grinding raw sesame seeds in a blender with a pinch of dried garlic and cayenne pepper. Sour lovers can add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice – this will not only spice up the taste, but also make the dressing even healthier.

Guacamole

We are more accustomed to seeing guacamole as a sauce for nachos or other Mexican dishes, but it will be just as good in a salad. Avocado is a real star in the world of healthy nutrition. This oily fruit is unusually rich in healthy fats, vitamins A, E and K, and trace elements. It, despite its high calorie content, allows you to maintain a healthy weight, has a beneficial effect on skin condition, heart and brain health. In addition, avocados perfectly reduce appetite, which will allow you not to get hungry for a long time, which means it will eliminate the risk of overeating. As in the points above, we do not recommend buying ready-made guacamole in the store. Making homemade guacamole is extremely simple: grind one peeled avocado in a blender, adding lemon juice, salt, pepper and herbs to taste.

Hummus

Another dairy-free creamy dressing. Hummus can be eaten on its own or used as a dressing, which will significantly increase the nutritional value of the salad. Hummus is rich in vitamins A, E and K, vegetable protein, fiber, healthy fats and minerals. The active substances in the composition of the product increase the level of good cholesterol, have a beneficial effect on the health of the heart and blood vessels. Buy hummus from health food stores or make your own. For this you will need chickpeas, a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil, spices, salt and pepper.

Pesto

For most people, pesto is more like an addition to a sandwich than a salad, although it works just fine as a dressing. The main ingredient of the sauce – basil – is extremely rich in antioxidants and vitamins, which protect the body’s cells from free radical damage and slow down the aging process. In addition, pesto contains olive oil (enough has already been said about it), cashew nuts and spices. If you find a sauce that contains nothing but these ingredients, feel free to buy it, although it can be easily prepared on your own. Nutrition experts recommend using pesto as an accompaniment to “hearty salads”: toss your favorite greens with a serving of quinoa, boiled sweet potatoes, and dress it all up with a fresh basil dressing. This tasty and satisfying dish will provide the body with everything necessary and allow you to forget about the feeling of hunger for a long time.

Easy salad dressing: 4 recipes to keep your waistline down

Dressing is what binds together all the components of a salad, what turns the ingredients into a dish. And, of course, it is important that the dressing does not “kill” such a light dish as a salad with its calorie content, so that it does not dominate, but only emphasizes the taste of the products.

We have collected 4 of the lightest and healthiest dressings that will go well with many salads and will not affect your figure at all.

Yogurt dressing

You probably know about the benefits of yogurt for the digestive system, so if you’re counting calories, feel free to season your salads with a delicious and refreshing yogurt dressing. To prepare it, you will need 100 ml of natural Greek yogurt (you can buy it in a store or cook it yourself), 2 tbsp. mustard, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, and salt and pepper.

Mix yoghurt with mustard and lemon juice until smooth, salt and pepper to taste. Other ingredients can be added to the yogurt dressing, depending on the salad: finely chopped cucumbers, dill, parsley, all kinds of herbs.

Honey dressing

This dressing, like no other, will give your spring salad its own “zest”, and also perfectly emphasize its taste. Honey dressing turns out to be a little spicy, but with a slight sweetish aroma.

See also: In a hurry: Italian spring salad olive oil – 50 ml, salt – a pinch, ground black pepper – to taste. To prepare honey dressing, garlic must be finely chopped or passed through a press. Mustard is best taken in grains. Mix all ingredients into a homogeneous mass.

Ginger and soy dressing

Soy dressing is a good substitute for salt in a vegetable salad, so you probably don’t want to dress your salad with ginger and soy dressing and add more salt afterwards. And this dressing also gives salads a touch of Japanese cuisine, which will certainly appeal to all fans of sushi and rolls.

See also: How ginger helps to lose weight

Ingredients for soy dressing: soy sauce – 50 ml, olive oil – 200 g, ginger root – a small piece, lemon juice – 2 tbsp, garlic – 1 tooth , pepper – to taste. The dressing is prepared as follows: peel the ginger and garlic – chop with a knife. Mix all ingredients. Shake well before serving and dress the salad.

Olive dressing

Olive oil is good for the body and if you dress a vegetable salad with just olive oil, you will also get a good dish. But there is a way to turn olive oil into a savory dressing with bright notes.

You will need the following ingredients: olive oil – 150 ml, wine vinegar – 3 tbsp. l., mustard grains – 1 tbsp. l., honey – 1 tbsp. l., garlic – 1 clove.

And the olive dressing is prepared like this. Add wine vinegar, honey and crushed garlic clove to the olive oil. Mix everything well. Add grainy mustard and close the jar with a lid.