Top 5 Oil-Free Salad Dressing Recipes To Transform Your Greens (2024)

FAQs

What is a healthy choice for salad dressing? ›

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ranch Dressing

The ranch is hands down America's most beloved salad dressings. It is made from a number of ingredients such as buttermilk, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, onion, chives, salt, and pepper. A creamier and richer version often features sour cream or yogurt for enhanced taste.

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!

Lower in Fat and Calories: a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar only contains three calories and no fat so when it is combined with other healthy ingredients (including healthy fats) you have a salad dressing that tastes good, goes well with your salad, and doesn't add a lot of unhealthy fat and calories to your daily ...

White vinegar substitute: If you need a different vinegar to substitute for white vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar. You could also swap in lemon or lime juice, depending on your recipe. When you're canning or pickling, there are no comparable substitutes.

Proponents of apple cider vinegar claim that it has numerous health benefits and that drinking a small amount or taking a supplement before meals helps curb appetite and burn fat.

What can replace oil in salad dressing? ›

One of the easiest ways to replace oil in a vinaigrette is to switch it out for a mixture of water and seeds: specifically, chia, hemp, or ground flaxseeds. Commonly used as egg replacers in vegan baking, these three seeds create a thickened “slurry” when mixed with water.

May help protect your brain. Researchers studied 960 people with an average age of 81. They found that those who ate leafy green vegetables daily had better brain health. The rate of cognitive decline for those who ate the most leafy greens was equivalent to being 11 years younger.

There definitely are at least 2 reasons for using oil on salads: Many nutrients in salads actually dissolve better in oil, for example some vitamins. Like from spices, oil is able to extract flavor elements from salad ingredients. This serves to virtually enhance flavors of the salad.

The best substitute for canola oil? Olive oil is well known to be a heart-healthy cooking oil (source). If you're making something savory like a salad dressing or sauteing, you can use olive oil as a 1 for 1 substitute for canola oil.

Regular old vegetable oil or canola oil will do just fine. The health benefits are overblown and the flavor profile is only noticeable if you're making salad dressing—and even then it's minimal.

The most common emulsifiers in your kitchen are likely egg yolks, mayonnaise, prepared mustard (preferably Dijon), honey, and tomato paste (though I'm not a fan of raw tomato paste, the flavor works quite well in a vinaigrette). For a more neutral flavor, use mayonnaise.