Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings
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Published May 25, 2017, Updated Jan 08, 2025
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Healthy homemade salad dressing recipes that are super easy to make — from a basic balsamic vinaigrette to peanut, honey mustard and cilantro lime. All dressings are gluten-free and vegan-friendly.
Regular readers know that I could practically live on salads because I love them so much. They’re such an easy option for healthy eating because you can literally toss a protein and healthy fat over a bed of greens with a ton of veggies or a whole grain and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal. (Check out my tips here –> how to build a meal-sized salad.)
And honestly salads are all about the toppings! Yes, the greens are important, but if you have a ton of flavorful toppings you might not even need a dressing. A drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, a scoop of hummus or even hot sauce will do the trick. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I put hot sauce on everything… even salad.
That said, there are definitely times when I’m in the mood for a salad with actual dressing. For times like this I like to whip out one of my homemade salad dressing recipes. The six I’m sharing are my go-tos. I make them all the time, but they’ve never really been featured on the blog because they’re all hidden within different salad recipes. Now they’re all are in one spot for easy reference.
Why Make Homemade Salad Dressing?
Many store-bought dressings are loaded with processed ingredients, preservatives and sugar so making your own dressing is much healthier. Plus, it’s cheaper! And once you get started making your own you’ll figure out what ratios you like best and it becomes so easy to whip up different variations.
As you’ll notice most of these healthy homemade salad dressings I’m sharing have recurring ingredients — garlic, apple cider vinegar, tamari, maple syrup, sea salt and pepper. So once you have these items in your pantry/fridge you can make a bunch of different dressings!
All of the dressings are made with whole ingredients and yield about 3/4 cup, which is about 12 Tablespoons and 6 servings. Each serving size is 2 Tablespoons. Oh, and if you’re looking for sugar-free options, check out the zesty tahini and the apple cider vinegar dressings.
How to Make a Salad Dressing
Each of these recipes are made with minimal ingredients. There are a few ways to mix up homemade salad dressings:
- Put all of the ingredients in a mason jar and shake it up! I like using this method for oil-based dressings like vinaigrettes.
- Put all of the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend! I like using this method for creamier dressings that use ingredients like avocado but it also works great for vinaigrettes!
How to Store Salad Dressings
I recommend storing your homemade dressing in a glass container in the refrigerator. I like to use mason jars! One thing to note: homemade dressings made with olive oil tend to harden and separate when stored in the fridge. This is completely normal! Take the dressing out of the fridge about 20 minutes before using so it can come to room temperature and then give it a quick shake to recombine the ingredients.
What’s the Best Salad Dressing Container?
I store all of my favorite homemade salad dressings in Ball jars. The 8-ounce capacity is just the right size for holding several portions of dressing, and they’re dishwasher-safe and reasonably priced at about $12 for 12 jars. I also like these Kinto Glass Salad Dressing Bottles because you can use them to shake and store dressings, but they look pretty for serving, too. A set of two costs around $35. For an all-in-one option, the OXO Salad Dressing Mixer is a good choice, and costs about $23
How Long Does Homemade Salad Dressing Last?
When stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, your homemade dressing will last about two weeks.
Garlic Tahini Dressing
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 84 calories, 5g fat, 5g carbs, 0g sugar, 2g fiber, 6g protein, 30mg sodium
Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing
My go-to apple cider vinegar salad dressing recipe. If EBF has a house dressing, this would be it! Get all the health benefits of apple cider vinegar with this delicious dressing! Use it for this Brussels Sprout Chopped Salad or as a marinade for grilled chicken.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 163 calories, 18g fat, 1g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 434mg sodium
Cilantro Lime Dressing
One of my favorite zesty dressings to use for Mexican themed salads. Try it on my Deconstructed Guacamole Salad or as a marinade for grilled shrimp.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 87 calories, 9g fat, 2g carbs, 1g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 394mg sodium
Basic Balsamic Dressing
Everyone needs a go-to balsamic vinegar dressing and this one is absolutely delicious and works on just about any salad imaginable. Try it on my Detox Salad or for a Salad in a Jar.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 103 calories, 9g fat, 5g carbs, 4g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 217mg sodium
Honey Mustard Dressing
One of my favorite salad dressings growing up was honey mustard and I still love it to this day. This version is lighter than regular honey mustard but still just as flavorful! Try it as a dipping sauce for my Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 106 calories, 9g fat, 7g carbs, 6g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein, 219mg sodium
Peanut Dressing
The most amazing peanut dressing to use for Asian salads! Try it on my Kale Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing, Kale Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowls and as a dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 107 calories, 7g fat, 13g carbs, 6g sugar, 0g fiber, 3g protein, 345mg sodium
Everything You Need to Make Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings
OXO 3-Piece Angled Measuring Cup Set
Buy Now →
Mini Tulip Jelly Jar with Glass Lids, 6 Count (Pack of 1)
Buy Now →
Spring Chef Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons Set of 7
Buy Now →More Salad Dressing Recipes?
- Mexican Goddess Dressing
- Maple Dressing
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Turmeric Tahini Dressing
- Avocado Caesar Dressing
- Chili Almond Dressing
- Blueberry Tahini Dressing
- Raspberry Vinaigrette
My Best Salad Recipes
No time to make your own dressing?
Be sure to check out all of my healthy salad dressings as well as my favorite healthy store-bought salad dressings.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below.
Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings
Ingredients
Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more if needed
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more if needed
Zesty Tahini
- ¼ cup tahini
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce, or coconut aminos
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Peanut
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari , or soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- Pinch cayenne pepper, optional
- water, to thin
Honey Mustard
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons honey, or maple syrup for a vegan version
- 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ground pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup olive oil
Cilantro Lime
- ¼ cup olive oil
- juice of 2 limes
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Balsamic
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil and/or thyme, optional
Instructions
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Equipment
- 8-ounce Mason Jar (the 8-ounce size is perfect for storing dressings)
What’s the point of using sea salt? It lacks iodine, so I prefer to use iodized salt.
Can you recommend salad dressings without vinegar?
it causes me to choke sometimes, so I avoid it.
You can totally use iodized salt instead of sea salt in any recipe, Susie. I have tons of dressings on my site, but most of them contain vinegar, are there any specific flavors you are looking for? You could try my Avocado Ranch Dressing which is great for a salad dressing or veggie dip!
Hi Brittany, I have multiple food and medication allergies. I use a lot of Coconut products. Allergic to Almonds, need a substitute for flour. Rice flour is too dense. No chocolate, I can use butterscotch or peanut butter chips, no Black pepper, I use cayenne.
No Red meat, No Seafood. I use Coconut milk on almost all of my dishes that call for dairy. I don’t know how to sub Coconut Flour, less flour more liquid.
Hi Helen! What specific recipe are you referring to? I am happy to help, just let me know!