These 5 healthy salad dressings will last in the fridge for up to 2 months! Try Italian, ranch, balsamic, honey mustard and ginger sesame.
Healthy Salad Dressings
- Italian: This dressing is light and slightly sweet, and can be used on pretty much any salad.
- Ranch: This is a healthier and low-fat version of your favorite store-bought salad dressing and dipping sauce.
- Ginger sesame: This vibrant dressing is bursting with flavor. You can even try using it as a marinade.
- Honey mustard: This dressing is a bit thicker, and can be used both as a salad dressing and a dipping sauce.
- Balsamic: This balsamic dressing is a classic for a reason, with just a hint of sweetness from the honey.
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 or whisk the ingredients.
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 simple salad dressings give you a great variety to choose from, you can start to make your own recipe 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 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. Minced garlic cloves, parsley, ginger, dill, chives – there are so many different possibilities!
If you're looking for flavor pairing ideas, make sure to read my Guide to Flavor Profiles to learn what ingredients go well together!
Frequently Asked Questions
Healthy salad dressing recipes are typically oil and vinegar based (also known as vinaigrettes) 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.
Making your own homemade dressing 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, sodium and calories, and contain chemical preservatives.
These salad dressing recipes should last in the fridge for up to 2 months in a mason jar or airtight glass container.
Mason jars are perfect for storing salad dressing. They're made of glass (so you don't have to worry about chemicals), are easy to wash and reuse, and you can give the jars a good shake before you use your dressing.
I like to use extra virgin oil oil, canola oil or avocado oil for my salad dressing recipes, because they contain less processed fats. Sesame oil is also a healthy option and adds additional flavor to your dressing!
Storing your salad dressing
These healthy salad dressing recipes 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.
Meal Prep Tools
- 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 Best Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes
Ingredients
Italian dressing
- 1/4 cup canola oil or olive or avocado oil
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar or red wine or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup or agave
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast (dairy-free)
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning or a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram
- 1 tsp onion powder or garlic powder
- 1 tsp garlic flakes or garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Ranch dressing
- 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp canola oil or olive or avocado oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh or bottled
- 1 tbsp garlic flakes or garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dried parsley or dried oregano or basil
- 1 tsp dried dill or dried tarragon
- 1 tsp onion powder or garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Ginger sesame dressing
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar or apple cider or white wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos or tamari
- 2 tbsp brown sugar or a combination of white sugar and molasses
- 1 tsp garlic flakes or garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried ginger or fresh ginger
Honey mustard dressing
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup or agave
- 2 tbsp canola oil or olive or avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Balsamic dressing
- 1/4 cup olive oil or canola or avocado oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar or honey and red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup or agave
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard or yellow 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
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