Salad dressings are great!
They enhance the vegetables, meats and add-ins on our favorite salads and often entice kiddos to eat their greens. I love Ranch dressing on carrot sticks, raw broccoli, snap peas and cauliflower!
Salad dressings also add valuable nutrition to our diets, especially when they include healthy fats. We need fats in order to absorb and utilize the vitamins and minerals in vegetables.
We certainly do ourselves no favor by leaving salad dry and boring!
But commercial salad dressings are NOT our friend!
They are full of rancid, processed vegetable oils that lead to inflammation in our body, genetically modified ingredients (GMOs) that are bad for our health and our environment and tons of preservatives, additives like MSG and artificial colors and flavors. No thanks!
Luckily, it’s beyond simple (and super frugal) to make your own salad dressings at home.
Here are over 20 links for ideas, with over 45 recipes among them. There is definitely something in here to please everyone- salad lover or not!
Easy Real Food Salad Dressings Recipes:
Beyond Easy Homemade Ranch Dressing (or dip!) from Real Food Whole Health
Creamy Parmesan Dressing from Intoxicated on Life
Homemade Ranch Dressing, from Fresh Bites Daily
Citrus Vinaigrette, from Fresh Bites Daily
Easy Asian Inspired Salad Dressing from Real Food Whole Health
Cilantro Salsa, from Fresh Bites Daily
Spicy Mango Vinaigrette from A Happy Healthnut
Creamy Cucumber Dressing, from Healing Cuisine
Easy Ranch-ish Dressing from Raias Recipes
Cool Cucumber Ranch Dressing by jarOhoney
Seven Fast and Healthy Salad Dressings from Wellness Mama
Creamy Herb Cucumber Dressing by jarOhoney
Arugula Salad with Lemon Dressing by Real Food Whole Health
Coconut Taziki Sauce by jarOhoney
Easy Cucumber Salad from LittleOwlCrunchyMomma
Italian Dressing from Real Food and Real Fitness
20+ Paleo Salad Dressings from Life Made Full
Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing from With Food+Love
Avocado Salad Dressing from Health Extremist
Healthy Salad Dressings to Make As Frugal Gifts from Kitchen Stewardship
Simple Homemade Caesar (Gluten Free) from Real Food Whole Health
Thanks so much for posting!!!
You are welcome!! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for posting!!!
You are welcome!! Thanks for sharing!
I totally agree that dressing is where it’s at. And I love that you mentioned that they go way beyond salads. Great collection of ideas.
Thanks, Katie! 🙂
I totally agree that dressing is where it’s at. And I love that you mentioned that they go way beyond salads. Great collection of ideas.
Thanks, Katie! 🙂
We have a delicious salad dressing we make, passed on from my Lebanese mom, grandma, great aunt, etc.
Start by making a big bowl of salad – greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, celery, peppers, really whatever you want in there. Pour some olive oil on the salad, enough to lightly coat. Then get a big palmful of dried mint leaves and rub them between your palms over the salad. Sprinkle garlic salt and either pepper or lemon pepper to taste, then pour some lemon juice over all and toss. My kids love this! It’s also delicious to sop up with bread and butter once you’ve eaten your salad.
Sorry I don’t have any measurements. I tried making it separately once, so we could have it on hand, and it just didn’t work.
Ooh, Sharon- that sounds AMAZING! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
We have a delicious salad dressing we make, passed on from my Lebanese mom, grandma, great aunt, etc.
Start by making a big bowl of salad – greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, celery, peppers, really whatever you want in there. Pour some olive oil on the salad, enough to lightly coat. Then get a big palmful of dried mint leaves and rub them between your palms over the salad. Sprinkle garlic salt and either pepper or lemon pepper to taste, then pour some lemon juice over all and toss. My kids love this! It’s also delicious to sop up with bread and butter once you’ve eaten your salad.
Sorry I don’t have any measurements. I tried making it separately once, so we could have it on hand, and it just didn’t work.
Ooh, Sharon- that sounds AMAZING! Thanks for sharing with us 🙂
What a great list! Thanks for putting it together Amy, and thanks for sharing my Ranch-ish Dressing. 😉
Thanks for sharing, Raia! 🙂
What a great list! Thanks for putting it together Amy, and thanks for sharing my Ranch-ish Dressing. 😉
Thanks for sharing, Raia! 🙂
I dont see 45 recipes listed.
You have to click the individual links listed above to go to the individual recipes (though some links have more than one, like the one that lists 7 and the one that lists 20+)
I dont see 45 recipes listed.
You have to click the individual links listed above to go to the individual recipes (though some links have more than one, like the one that lists 7 and the one that lists 20+)