These 5 Healthy Salad Dressings will last in the fridge for up to 2 months! Try Italian, ranch, balsamic, honey dijon and ginger sesame.
Ingredients and substitutions
Italian dressing
- Canola oil – or another neutral cooking oil like olive oil or avocado oil.
- White wine vinegar – use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead.
- Honey – maple syrup or agave will also add some sweetness to your salad dressing.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great dairy-free substitute.
- Italian seasoning – use a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram.
- Onion powder – garlic powder would also be good.
- Garlic flakes – swap out for some garlic powder or even freshly minced garlic.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Ranch dressing
- Sour cream – you could also use plain Greek yogurt, but the flavour will be different.
- Canola oil – or another neutral cooking oil like olive oil or avocado oil.
- Lemon juice – freshly squeezed lemon juice is best but bottled lemon juice will work in a pinch.
- Garlic flakes – swap out for some garlic powder or even freshly minced garlic.
- Dried parsley – try using dried oregano or basil instead.
- Dried dill – tarragon has a similar flavour.
- Onion powder – garlic powder would also be good.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Ginger sesame dressing
- Rice vinegar – swap out for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Sesame oil – you can use a neutral oil like olive oil, but then your dressing won’t have the same flavour.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Brown sugar – make your own brown sugar using a combination of white sugar and molasses.
- Garlic flakes – swap out for some garlic powder or even freshly minced garlic.
- Dried ginger – fresh ginger would also be good.
Honey Dijon dressing
- Dijon mustard – yellow mustard can be used but has a milder flavour.
- Honey – maple syrup or agave will also add some sweetness to your salad dressing.
- Canola oil – or another neutral cooking oil like olive oil or avocado oil.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Balsamic dressing
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like canola oil.
- Balsamic vinegar – use a bit of honey and red wine vinegar instead.
- Honey – maple syrup or agave will also add some sweetness to your salad dressing.
- Dijon mustard – yellow mustard will work but has a milder flavour.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
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How to make healthy salad dressing
Step 1: Prep your ingredients.
Step 2: Pour everything into a mason jar.
Add ingredients of choice to a pint-sized mason jar and place the lid on.
Step 3: Shake to combine.
Shake jar well to mix up dressing.
Step 4: Add to your salad and enjoy!
Store in the fridge for up to 2 months!
The best salad dressing recipe formula
While these five salad dressing recipes give you a great variety to choose from, you can start to make your own combinations once you understand the basic formula for healthy homemade salad dressings.
Get creative with this standard formula:
- Two parts oil – I use canola oil in many of these recipes, but you can use sesame oil, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil and more.
- One part acid – vinegar, lemon juice or lime will all do the job here.
- One part sweetener or emulsifier – honey and maple syrup are great natural sweeteners. If you don't use a sweetener, make sure you add an emulsifier like mustard or Dijon mustard to ensure that the oil and acid blends well together.
- Salt and pepper – always add these, unless you're using a savoury ingredient such as soy sauce.
- Herbs – Your choices here are pretty much endless. Garlic, parsley, ginger, dill – there are so many different possibilities!
Frequently Asked Questions
Healthy salad dressings are typically oil and vinegar based because they contain the least processed fats and sweeteners. All the recipes in this post are super healthy and taste great so you have lots of options.
If you’ve taken the time to make a big healthy salad chock full of fresh veggies, you don’t want to ruin it with a salad dressing with questionable ingredients. Making your own healthy salad dressings is the best way to ensure your salad is fresh and nutritious. Store-bought dressings usually have a lot of refined sugar, are high in bad fats and calories, and contain chemical preservatives.
Mason jars are perfect for salad dressing recipes. With glass, you don’t have to worry about any nasty chemicals leaking into your food from unsafe plastics, and they’re easy to wash and reuse. They're also dishwasher safe. If you buy the mason jars with a wide mouth, you can even get a utensil down in the jar! Plus, the ring and lid seal tightly, so you can give the jar a good shake before using the dressing.
How long does salad dressing last in the fridge?
These healthy salad dressings will last in the fridge for up to 2 months. That means you can always have a few on hand. Just as you would buy a few varieties at the store, make several flavours and rotate to keep your salads fresh.
If you use just oil and vinegar in your dressing, it will be shelf stable. The vinegar is acidic enough to keep it fresh. However, if there are any fresh ingredients like garlic, dairy products or fresh herbs, it should be refrigerated.
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Meal prep tools for this recipe
- These are the jars I used in this recipe.
- You can get larger 32oz mason jars if you're looking to double these dressings.
- I also like this salad dressing shaker to make homemade dressings easier.
- These colourful mason jar lids are so fun and perfect if you lose your lids.
5 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
Ingredients
Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic flakes
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp garlic flakes
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Ginger sesame dressing
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic flakes
- 1 tsp dried ginger
Honey dijon dressing
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Balsamic dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Instructions
- Add ingredients of choice to a pint-sized mason jar and place the lid on. Shake jar well to mix up dressing. Store in the fridge up to 2 months and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Miryam says
Nice salad dressing recipes. Thank you 😊
Elisa says
Hands down the BEST ginger sesame dressing I’ve made 😍I used coconut nectar instead of brown sugar (it dilutes the texture by a bit 😂). But even then; the TASTE is perfect with just the right balance of everything. Thank you! Gonna try the other recipes foo
Emily says
I made the ranch tonight right before dinner to pair with some fresh veg. I was worried the flavors wouldn’t have time to meld but they were very pronounced. It was very salty so I added another 1/4 cup sour cream to make it more palatable. Will definitely whip this up again with small modifications.
David says
Great taste! never use canola or veg oils they are rancid and cause heart problems. Is there anything I can substitute in the ranch dressing for the sour cream (non dairy)
Kristi says
I’m going to try plain Greek yogurt. It usually works well for a sour cream substitute.
Natalie says
he did say non dairy tho lol… i would use soya yogurt or similar! same texture 🙂
Joan Khan says
Hi Taylor, I am very impressed with you bio, and I live in Scarborough. I love your website, and I have came across at least 5 recipes I would like to try.
I am a wife, a mother, and a grandma, I will be turning 60 in June, I cook a lot of Trinidadian food, and I would like more information on your meal preping, and to eat healthier. Can you send me more info on how to start meal preping for th future. Thank you, Joan Khan
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Joan! I recommend you sign up for my newsletter – the sign up box is located on the sidebar of the site 🙂
Sharon says
Loved it so much ! Any Caesar dressing you can recommend?
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you’ve been enjoying the dressings, Sharon 🙂 I have a homemade caesar dressing in this post: https://thegirlonbloor.com/chicken-and-kale-caesar-wraps/
Monique Visser says
Is fresh garlic seen as a herb? If fresh garlic is used will the dressing still lasts for about 2 months?
Andrea says
I had the exact same question. Many homemade salad dressing recipes say they last only 1 week. Wondering about ones with Fresh garlic. I just made the ranch one so I’ll see how long it lasts.
Fthomson says
Good info will try these dressings