Reader Stephanie emailed me asking about which salad dressings I use.
And we know I eat a butt ton lot of salads.
I like to use different dressings for different salads to keep it interesting so I don’t get sick of them, but these are three of my favorites that I always have in my house. and sometimes my hope chest:
Trader Joe’s Greek Style Feta Dressing, Farmhouse Originals Southwest Chipotle, and Ken’s Steak House Lite Poppy Seed.
My all-time favorite type of dressing is a spicy ranch. I want to sing lullabies to it, swan dive into it and carry a spoonful in a locket around my neck.
I buy a couple bottles at a time of this Southwest Chipotle from Walmart, I think it’s around $3.
100 calories and 10 grams of fat per serving.
It also has a really short, natural ingredient list:
But it tastes so good.
I use it on my Mexican-style salads: throw lettuce, avocado, black or pinto beans, tomatoes, salsa, corn, grilled chicken, and whatever else tickles your salad fancy in a bowl.
You can also make your own healthy tortilla strips by cutting up small corn tortillas into small strips, mist with Pam or olive oil and salt and bake until crispy.
And while on the boat yesterday, I found this Lite Southwest Ranch dressing; it’s the Fred Meyer brand which is like a Pacific Northwest Target/Walmart/grocery store-type store.
For my self-proclaimed “summer salads” I like to use a sweeter dressing like the Ken’s Lite Poppy Seed. There’s other brands of poppy seed dressing that are also good, like Brianna’s (my older bro and SIL love it), but I bought the Ken’s brand because it was a little cheaper.
I think you can get this dressing at pretty much any grocery store.
It has 100 cals and 6 grams of fat per serving.
Again, it’s not natural – it has high fructose corn syrup in it and a bunch of other unpronounceable things.
On my summer salads I use whatever fresh fruit I have in the house (blueberries, strawberries, cut up apple) and add feta cheese, sliced almonds, dried cranberries or cherries and sliced deli turkey meat.
The last dressing that I always have in my fridge is Trader Joe’s feta dressing. This stuff is really good and I’ll put it on any salad. or anything… my computer, my Barbie dolls, cut up vegetables.
It has 110 cals and 11 grams of fat per serving, but you can only get it at Trader Joe’s.
Like I said, none of these dressings are all natural and have crappy ingredients in them so it’d be healthiest to make your own dressing with red wine vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, etc.
I’ve made dressings a couple times and haven’t liked any of them enough to even remember the recipe.
Does anyone have an easy, simple homemade salad dressing recipe?
What’s your favorite dressing?
*Also, when I go out to a restaurant, I always ask for the dressing on the side and then I dip my fork into it so I control how much I use.
*At home I usually put some dressing in a small Tupperware container and do the same thing so I’m not absentmindedly drenching my salad with liquid fat because then your “healthy” salad now becomes the calorie equivalent of a burger and fries.
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{ 42 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m such a weirdo – I actually don’t use salad dressing. When I was a kid I was really weird about sauces so I’ve grown up never using dressing or dipping sauce (not even ketchup). I like the taste of plain garden salads – I usually have 1 a day.
i use renees spring herb italian pretty much religiously.
my boyfriends mom makes the most ridic salad dressing… soo good but well, its a mix of mayo, lemon juice, dill, braggs liquid aminos, and celery salt. how that turns out so delicious is beyond me.
I make a really good “taco ranch” dressing with plain Greek yogurt, taco seasoning, garlic salt, pepper and lime juice to thin it out. SO GOOD. I usually just eyeball the ingredients.
My favorite right now is a mix of two dressings. Half Marie’s Poppy Seed and half Girards Champagne.
I usually make my salad in a 1.5 quart size bowl with a total of two tablespoons of dressing, put a lid on and shake it all up. This really helps the dressing go a long way!
I like to make my own. I buy the Good Seasonings packets at Walmart and use way more red vinegar than it calls for.
mix 3 parts EVOO with 1-2 parts red wine vinegar; add a splash of lime or lemon juice; season with salt/pepper to your fancy; sweeten with honey/agave nectar until you are happy.
sometimes i add dried basil/parsley/fresh anise feathers/or dill would be good too.
6 T EVOO + 2-3 T vinegar
+ splash of citrus
+couple grinds of salt/pepper
+1-2 T honey/nectar
seriously – i never measure. just pour more oil than vinegar and add however much other junk you want. use your immersion/blender and add raspberries for fun. shake like crazy to emulsify and pour all over yo’self.
I like creamy or peanuty or spicy stuff. At the moment, I’m enjoying Nayonnaise (soy based and egg free vegan version of mayo). Southwest and Ranch are good too.
I usually make my own— I mix EVOO and Braggs Liquid Amino Acids. It’s pretty bomb
Well, these are not the best salad dressing recipes, but I’m lazy and someone told me to eat more ACV so I came up with mixing it with mustard and mixing it with a sweet habanero hot sauce. Um, yum. Here’s the link to my less than mediocre post about them that will probably make this comment go to spam. Ha ha. http://stuftmama.com/2012/06/30/snapshots-and-spinach-salads/
I made up a spicy brown honey mustard one that I also love for marinades, but I’m always too lazy to measure anything, so it usually comes out differently every time – its just any type of white vinegar, canola or olive oil, lemon juice, s&p, dehydrated onion and a bunch of spicy honey mustard – love it:)
I usually just stick with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, in addition to making sure the salad is seasoned with salt and pepper. And I’m totally with you about ordering the dressing on the side. There is nothing worse then having every intention of a light healthy salad, then receiving something completely coated in dressing! Once I sent a salad back because I forgot to ask for the dressing on the side, and the salad was drenched when I got it. I felt bad, but I thought it was poor form by the kitchen staff to use that much dressing.
My personal favorite that is my “go-to:” 4 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp honey mustard or dijon mustard, 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper. So good!!
My mom taught me the best way to make salad dressing. When I’m making a side salad for dinner {a pretty hefty side salad portion}, I put the lettuce {torn or cut up} in a big plastic bowl that has a lid, add salt, pepper, and a mixed herb seasoning. Then I use a large spoon {like the soup spoon size in our flatware} and add 2 spoonfuls of olive oil and 1 spoonful of vinegar {either balsamic, apple cider, or my mom’s homemade chive vinegar}. A lot of times, I’ll add 1 spoonful of a store-bought bottle dressing – poppy seed, balsamic vinaigrette, whatever’s in my fridge – just to give it a different flavor. Put the lid on the bowl and shake it really well till it’s all mixed. Taste it, then add whatever you think it needs more of till you’re happy with the flavor. I like adding chopped onions or green onions too. Enjoy!
For some reason though, when I make salad, it’s never quite as good as when my mom makes it.
I try to stay away from salad dressings because of all those processed ingredients and whatnot. I usually throw something “wet” in the salad so it’s not too bad, like pickles or some veggies sauteed lightly in olive oil. I also like to leave some of the juice from the beans in there, or throw salsa on top.
I’m going to try some of the ones posted on here though!
I will drench anything in ranch dressing. Which is probably why I don’t eat salads at home. I can’t keep the ranch in the house without overeating. I do want to try the “mason jar salads” that I saw on Pinterest.
The Kidless Kronicles
Kraft makes a really good Asian sesame that I love; it’s a sweeter dressing and has 90 kcal/6 g fat per serving. I actually prefer plain pepper and vinegar (not a big fan of oil on my salad because of mouth feel!). My favorite vinegar is white balsamic, but vinegar wilts lettuce, so if I am packing my lunch salad I can’t use it or I’d be eating mush for lunch.
I’ve never made my own dressing because I just don’t think about it. I don’t eat salad often enough to worry about it. That should change – I really need more veggies. But I love pretty much anything vinaigrette. My favorite is the raspberry vinaigrette, hands down.
Have you seen the Bolthouse Farms yogurt & olive oil vinaigrette dressings? They have some great flavors for about half the fat & calories as the ones you listed. And the best part is they have no preservatives, no artificial colors or flavors, or MSG. I sound like a paid commercial but I always felt like I was eating my days worth of calories on my salads & this find has helped.
The Bolthouse bleu cheese and honey mustard dressings are two of my favorites!
When it’s on sale, I like to stock on Paul Newman’s salad dressings. The ingredient list is pretty minimal and I think they donate part of their proceeds.
Also, I like to mix any non-creamy salad dressing (like Italian), with Greek yogurt for creaminess and extra protein.
I’m with you on the spicy ranch – I wish they had a pool of it that I could bask in.
Salads with fruit are the bomb dot com. I think I will head to Panera for a fruit salad for lunch today. Genius.
Two of my fav dressings are Paul Newman’s Own Light Balsamic and also, Lite Honey Mustard! Both are low in fat and sugar & have a short list of natural ingredients, plus, a large portion of the proceeds go to many charities! Boathouse Farms has a yummy low fat, yogurt blue cheese, it’s awesome on a wedge salad!!
That’s Bolthouse Farms, not Boathouse
I keep it old school with some Olive Oil and Vinegar! Extra on the vinegar soo good! And lots of goat cheese.
I make my own with EVOO and lemon juice (2 to 1 ratio when mixing), add a little bit of cracked salt & pepper and Italian seasoning. It’s easy and delicious!
I like any brand of ranch and Ken’s Steakhouse Honey Mustard. On the side is so much better–you eat so much less and still get the full taste of the dressing.
When buying dressing in the past, I tried to make sure HFCS wasn’t the first or second ingredient, but those dressings just don’t always taste good and I would tend to not eat them, so they would sit in my fridge until I threw them away and felt like I was wasting money. Now I buy what I know I’ll eat and just use less of it.
I would say that 90% of the time I don’t use any dressing…I’ve never been a big fan (of any type of condiment actually). There is one salad that I make that I will put some balsamic vinegarette on it but just a little dollup of it.
I’ve given up on dressing in a bottle and have become obsessed with truffle oil and a drizzle of balsamic. So yummy!
I make my own dressing, and I actually use it for a healthy stir fry as well. I don’t measure the amounts of ingredients. I just wing it. But I use honey, a tad of soy sauce, lemon juice, dijon mustard, and organic peanut butter. It is delish!
We like to do homemade ranch. For variety, I’ll blend in an avocado or chipotle peppers(a little goes a long way). So yummy, and way better than the store bought kind. We found a good seasoning mixture on pinterest, so we don’t even buy the ranch packets anymore.
I love the salad dressings from Trader Joe’s! I also get the dressing on the side at restaurants because I really don’t like over-dressed salad
When I am trying to be really good I love to use Pomegranate Red Wine Vinegar. That’s it! It is delicious!!
For my Mexican style salads, I like to mix Greek yogurt and salsa together. It’s delicious, easy, and doesn’t require an extra container in the already overfull fridge.
Mmmmm Spicy Ranch! You’re hilarious- I Lol’d when you said on a Barabie Doll!
My mom made the most amazing salad on the 4th. It was spinach, corn, black beans, tomatoes, etc. And for the dressing, she mixed ranch and salsa. SOOO good!
I have two I love to make – one healthy, one not.
Health(ier)- Balsamic, olive oil, grate some shallot or garlic, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper & shake. I usually have this on hand at most times.
Not so healthy but yummy:
-1 part ranch
-1 part Ken’s vidalia dressing
-1 heaping scoop of pesto.
Yumtastic.
If I’m doing a southwest salad I’ll just mix salsa with sour cream or greek yogurt. It’s cheap, we always seem to have it on hand, and it really does have a short ingredient list!
This is my favorite homeade dressing.
1 packet of Italian salad dressing mix
1/4C balsamic vinegar
3Tbsp water
Mix contents together until well blended so there are no dressing mix chunks
add 1/4 oil (olive or vegetable)
1/4 honey or molasses (depending on how sweet you want it)
mix again until everything is combined.
My mom always makes this dressing, and I put it on every salad I eat. SO GOOD!
All of those dressings sound awesome, actually. Will have to try. I always think I will be the kind of girl who aspires to only using homemade dressing, but it never pans out. Sometimes when I’m feeling classy, I’ll do a balsamic reduction and add some olive oil, basil and garlic and call myself “gore-met”.
favorite dressings: newman’s own lite balsamic vinaigrette, sesame ginger, and raspberry walnut.
Simple dressing recipe: equal parts white vinegar and water, mrs. dash seasoning of choice and a pinch of splenda. it’s delicious!
I usually don’t use dressing and if I do I dip my fork as well. My favorite is also, spicy ranch. How could you not love that stuff? Too good! I always try to add something that is juicy to my salad. Tomatoes, fruit, olives, and sometimes a little blue cheese because it’s creamy enough to coat the lettuce.
Thanks for the dressing post!
Since I asked, my fave is Hendrickson’s Sweet Vinegar and Olive Oil. Not sure if you can get it outside the midwest, but it is fabulous and fat free! And not one of the fakey fat free brands. Ingredients seem decent. But it is also not of the creamy type for those that like that….
http://www.hendricksons.com/index.php?page=Facts
thanks again!
I have to do the measure out serving size “drizzle and shake” for some reason cannot come to terms with the side dipping and dressing.. feel like I will get a tablespoon on each dip if I do!!!!!!!