16 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

These Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes are simple, easy to make, and do a lot more than just dress salads! They come together in minutes with mostly pantry ingredients, and it’s an easy way to skip store-bought products in favor of more home-cooking.

 

Meggan’s notes

Whether you’re dressing lettuce leaves, drizzling grilled veggies, marinating your favorite protein, or seeking a dipping sauce for appetizers, you’ve come to the right place. As a classically-trained chef, I’ve created 16 healthy dressings to help you navigate meal times with ease. These homemade salad dressings are packed with flavor and so easy to make, you might never open a store-bought bottle again.

And honestly, you don’t need to. I’m not a food snob, and I don’t mind convenience products or cutting corners, but I draw the line at store-bought dressing. If you have the ingredients, making dressing from scratch is always the best way to go. You’ll get the best, freshest taste and have all the control to make exactly what you want.

Beyond that, everyone has a different definition of “healthy.” Here, as much as possible, I’m focusing on whole-food ingredients instead of store-bought convenience. Your definition may vary.

Simple Vinaigrettes

These are the dressings I turn to again and again, day in and day out. They transform veggies in your fridge into a wholesome salad, and you can drizzle them over roasted, air-fried, and grilled veggies, too.

These vinaigrettes follow a ratio of 2:1 olive oil to vinegar (or lemon juice or other acid), but you can adjust to your own taste. Emulsify them with the mustard of your choice and add whatever dried or fresh herbs and spices you have on hand.

1. Red Wine Vinaigrette

This is my own personal daily dressing. If I’m making salad, I’m probably making this vinaigrette. It’s 5 pantry ingredients (including salt!) and you can mix as much or as little as you need. I love it on antipasto salad, Mediterranean lentil salad, and Fattoush (Lebanese bread salad).

2. Balsamic Vinaigrette

A super simple, absolutely delicious homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe. It’s ready in 2 minutes or less with just 4 pantry ingredients (plus salt and pepper). Or, customize it with your favorite herbs or a pinch of spicy red chili flakes. Try it on apple walnut salad, fennel orange salad, or on caprese salad. It’s also great as a dipping sauce for a caprese sandwich.

3. Homemade Italian Dressing (Olive Garden Copycat)

This Homemade Italian Dressing is quick, easy, and works delicious magic on anything from baby greens to a plate of homegrown tomatoes. It is so much better than Olive Garden, and there is no filler or artificial ingredient in sight. Enjoy it on an arugula salad, easy cold pasta salad, or California pasta salad.

4. Dijon Vinaigrette (CPK Copycat)

This all-purpose Dijon Vinaigrette recipe is delicious on green salads, pasta salads, and sandwiches alike. It’s a standard red wine vinaigrette with the dial turned up on the Dijon, so it’s packed with punchy mustard flavor. It’s also the dressing they use at CPK for their Italian chopped salad (a personal favorite of mine). I also love it on panzanella salad and asparagus salad.

5. Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Dress up salads, sandwiches, and vegetables with this punchy Apple Cider Vinaigrette. It’s easy to make with just pantry ingredients, yet packed with apple cider flavor. It’s tangy and delicious on broccoli slaw, apple fennel salad, and beet salad. It’s great on my harvest bowl, too!

6. Lemon Vinaigrette

This simple Lemon Vinaigrette is absolutely wonderful on salad greens or drizzled over roasted vegetables. Add lemon zest if you want even more lemon flavor (just be sure to zest the lemon before cutting it in half for juice). This is my go-to dressing for orzo pasta salad, Niçoise salad, and arugula salad.

7. Greek Salad Dressing

This Greek Salad dressing is easy and delicious, and made from just a handful of common pantry ingredients. Try it on your next Greek salad, chickpea salad, or Mediterranean chopped salad.

Wholesome Creamy Dressings

These dressings are made with full-fat dairy such as Greek yogurt, buttermilk, and sour cream, so they don’t have that artificial “cheesy” flavor of store-bought dressings. Use herbs and spices for optimal taste and texture without all the preservatives.

Try them on salads, as a dip for a fresh veggie platter, or as a sauce for appetizers. Store these dressings covered in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to 4 days.

8. Ranch Dressing

This made-from-scratch Ranch Dressing Recipe is thick, creamy, and packed with fresh herbs, just the way you and your vegetables want it. Use it on your next garden salad or BLT pasta salad, or use it as a dipping sauce for appetizers like cheese curds, jalapeño poppers, and pizza sticks.

9. Caesar Dressing

Learn how to make the Best Caesar Dressing from scratch in 5 minutes or less. Then drizzle it on your next Caesar salad, of course, but also try it on sandwiches, Caesar wraps, and with vegetables.

10. Blue Cheese Dressing

This made-from-scratch recipe for Blue Cheese Dressing is from an old-fashioned Kansas City steakhouse that has long been closed. It’s simple, delicious, and perfect on your next wedge salad or with buffalo wings.

11. Green Goddess Dressing

Loaded with fresh herbs and ready in 5 minutes, this easy Green Goddess Dressing recipe is so much better than store-bought. The homemade salad dressing is dreamy on a cobb salad or as a dipping sauce for fried okra, hush puppies, and smashed potatoes.

12. Cilantro Lime Dressing

Greek yogurt makes this easy Cilantro Lime Dressing rich and creamy with a pop of protein to boot. The 5-ingredient homemade salad dressing is so tasty, you’ll want to drizzle it over everything from chicken kabobs to grilled shrimp and farro salad. It’s also delicious on a chicken burrito bowl.

Dressings Sweetened with Honey

These dressings are sweetened with honey, but you can substitute maple syrup or your own preferred sweetener. You can also reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe.

Start by making it without any honey, taste the dressing, and add sweetener to taste. You may find that you need less sweetener or none at all.

13. Chipotle Vinagrette (Copycat Recipe)

Make the smoky-sweet Chipotle Vinaigrette you love and crave at home (a copycat recipe from the restaurant of the same name). It comes together in minutes with easy pantry ingredients, and it tastes exactly like it should. Try it on a mango chicken bowl or Chipotle copycat sofritas salad.

14. Strawberry Vinaigrette

This fruity Strawberry Vinaigrette is made with loads of fresh strawberries, so you taste them in every bite. Drizzle over simple greens or any salad with fruits and nuts, and celebrate your decision to eat more vegetables. I love it on kale salad, strawberry spinach salad, and burrata salad.

15. Thai Peanut Dressing

This easy, delicious Thai Peanut Dressing is made from mostly pantry ingredients and is delicious on salads, grilled chicken, or for dipping your favorite appetizers. It’s my go-to dressing for this rainbow Thai salad, Thai chicken salad, and Vietnamese spring rolls.

16. Fruit Salad Dressing

This easy Fruit Salad Dressing recipe is a delicious way to elevate your next seasonal berry bowl or summery fruit salad. It’s a simple blend of orange juice, lemon zest, and honey, and it really makes the flavors of fresh fruit pop.