6 healthy salad dressing recipes to meal-prep for the week ahead. These Nutritionist approved, vibrant homemade dressings are easy to make, delicious, packed with nutrients and cost-effective.
I know that three of your biggest challenges when it comes to healthy eating are: time, budget, and fresh ideas in order to get variety in your diet.
Meal planning and prepping are the two easiest ways to create more space in your week, so you can power through prep time and get a meal on the table in a flash. Pick one or two of these recipes to make on a Sunday, and you’ve got a week’s worth of quick and delicious salads to look forward to.
Furthermore, homemade salad dressings are a ton healthier than what’s available commercially – we’re using real ingredients without the added sugars, excessive amounts of sodium, saturated fats, inflammatory vegetable oils, artificial colours, flavours, preservatives and other nasties.
And did I mention cheaper? Tick, tick, tick.
And so today, we have 6 healthy salad dressing recipes you absolutely must try!
May your salads never be the same again!
Jump to:
🥗 Salad dressing ingredients
On the menu: a lemony garlicky za'atar dressing, maple mustard two ways, a healthy green Goddess, the raspberry balsamic vinaigrette of your dreams, the creamiest vegan caesar and a drool worthy tangy almond butter sauce.
The core ingredients are:
- Organic extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
- Good quality vinegar, whether that be balsamic, or a Chardonnay wine vinegar (more expensive, but MAN does this take things to a new level of yum, 100% worth it)
- 100% pure maple syrup
- A variety of nuts (macadamia, cashew, almond)
- Lemon juice
- Garlic
Some of the more unique ingredients include mustard, fresh/dried herbs, raspberries, nutritional yeast, nori sheets.
All but one use organic EVOO – extra virgin olive oil. EVOO is without doubt a powerful functional food.
Different types of fats have different effects on the gut microbiome. More recently, saturated fats (both animal and plant-derived – yes – even coconut!) have been shown to have a negative effect, by increasing bacterial-derived inflammatory compounds, and contributing to increased gut permeability (you may know this as ‘leaky gut’).
EVOO however, is a heart-healthy monounsaturated fat, with unique polyphenols such as Oleuropein and Hydroxytyrosol, and has been shown to be potently anti-inflammatory, stimulating the growth of favourable butyrate-producing bacteria in the gut [1].
Not all olive oils are created equal! So do source a quality, organic, cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil from a reputable brand, in a dark glass bottle to protect from light.
💭Tips, tricks and good things to know
- All dressings have 5-8 ingredients, except for the last recipe – which is a ridiculously next level tangy almond butter sauce – thought I’d sneak in one fancy pants recipe!
- Most ingredients used are readily accessible from a supermarket, however a bulk bin store will be your best bet to source natural sun dried tomatoes (oil-free)
- Each recipe yields about 1 cup, or 250ml. There are 16 tablespoons in a cup, and a regular serving size is about 2 tablespoons
- One regular lemon yields just over 2 tablespoons of juice
- Dressings that are fat-based will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge
- Dressings with some water content and or fresh herbs are best used in about 3 days
- Shake each dressing vigorously before serving, as they may separate over time
- See individual recipe notes for further serving and storage info
🍋Lemon garlic za’atar dressing
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 teaspoons za’atar spice blend
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely minced
- ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt
Method: combine all ingredients in a 250ml / 8 oz glass jar and shake vigorously.
Serve with: Mediterranean dishes, lentil salads, over roasted vegetables, cooked grains. I’ve used this dressing before in both the Eggplant Salad and Quinoa Tabbouleh.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-microbial properties.
Storage: up to two weeks in the fridge.
Notes:za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix, containing ground dried thyme, oregano, marjoram, sesame and often, sumac. Herbaceous and a little lemony (thank you sumac), yum!
🍁Maple mustard dressing, two ways
One recipe uses balsamic, the other uses Chardonnay wine vinegar.
- 1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Ample freshly ground black pepper
OR
- 1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon Chardonnay wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup
- Ample freshly ground black pepper
Method: combine all ingredients in a 250ml / 8 oz glass jar and shake vigorously, or blend for smooth consistency.
Serve with: Mediterranean dishes, lentil salads, over roasted vegetables, cooked grains, salad greens. I’ve used this dressing over both my Beetroot and Asparagus Salads.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, much lower sugar content than traditional honey mustard dressings.
Storage: up to two weeks in the fridge.
Notes: Chardonnay wine vinegar is not the same thing as white vinegar. It’s also known as Forum, or Forvm – a flavourful Italian/Spanish vinegar made from white wine. It has a lower acidity than white or cider vinegars and can taste quite a bit sweeter.
Wine vinegars are commonly used in Mediterranean cooking. You may need to source from a specialty store, and trust me, it is 100% worth the little extra you’ll pay.
A little finely minced shallot goes REALLY well with either of these recipes too.
🌿Healthy green goddess dressing
- ¼ heaped cup raw cashews
- ¼ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup water
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 handfuls coriander leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 teaspoon 100% pure maple syrup
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- Ample freshly ground black pepper
Method: blend all ingredients until smooth.
Serve with: green salads, grain salads, Buddha bowls, or enjoy as a dip with raw vegetable sticks. I’ve used a variant of this in my Quinoa Salad with Quick Pickles.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, antimicrobial properties, source of folate and other nutrients due to the generous amount of coriander.
Storage: refrigerate and enjoy within 2-3 days. Shake well before use.
Notes: you don’t have to use coriander – I just prefer it, basil and parsley together are also great.
🍓Raspberry balsamic vinaigrette
- ¼ cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- ¼ cup frozen and thawed raspberries (pack the cup tightly)
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts (heaped cup)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 small pinches coarse sea salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon organic soy lecithin (optional, helps emulsify)
Method:
- Place frozen raspberries in a sieve, resting over a bowl to catch the liquid, and let thaw. Note – frozen raspberries work better than fresh in this recipe
- Dry toast the macadamia nuts in a pan, then add to a blender, reserving 1 tablespoon
- Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth – including lecithin if you choose to use it
- Add the remaining tablespoon of macadamia nuts and pulse to just break them up a little – the idea is to have some crunchy bits in there.
Serve with: a simple rocket salad – perhaps with sliced pear and cucumber. Or this summery Nectarine Salad. This dressing is to die for. My favourite. And a little sweet – so goes well with spicy rocket.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats.
Storage: refrigerate and enjoy within 2-3 days. Shake well before use.
Notes: organic soy lecithin can be found at supermarkets – try the health aisle. Optional, but does help emulsify and keep the dressing from separating.
🥗Vegan Ceasar dressing
- 2/3cupmacadamia nuts
- ½ cupwater
- 4teaspoonsEVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
- 4teaspoonsnutritional yeast
- 2garlic cloves, peeled
- 2teaspoons Dijonmustard
- 2gtoasted nori
- 2tablespoonslemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Method: blend all ingredients until smooth.
Serve with: a plain chopped cos salad, or this vegan Caesar salad. Delicious on roast vegetables - cold for lunch, thick enough to enjoy as a dip.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, B group vitamins and protein (via the nutritional yeast), antimicrobial properties, source of iodine (via the nori), plant-based - no cheese, raw egg or anchovy.
Storage: refrigerate and use within 2-3 days.
Notes: nori sheets can be found in the international aisle of supermarkets.
🥜Tangy almond butter sauce
- ½ cup naturally sun dried tomatoes, soaked in water until soft
- 4 tablespoons of the soak water reserved from the above
- ½ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup pulpy orange juice
- 2 tablespoons red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons 100% pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, sliced thin
- ¼ teaspoon coarse sea salt (omit if the almond butter is salted)
Method: add the soak water to a blender, then add remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth.
Serve with: massage a little into a simple salad of shredded green and white cabbage, serve with tofu, goes well with Thai / Indonesian-inspired dishes.
Key benefits:anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds (particularly, lycopene and quercetin), heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, antimicrobial properties, promotes healthy gut motility and circulation (due to the ginger).
Storage: refrigerate and use within 3 days.
Notes: naturally sun dried tomatoes look shrivelled and reddy-brown – they come loose and are not sold in jars filled with oil. You may get lucky and find them in the supermarket, if not, try a bulk bin store. Add a bit of heat with a few pinches of dried red chili flakes.
This is more of a sauce than a dressing, but you can thin it out by adding more of the soak water from your sun dried tomatoes. Because it is quite rich, you may want to halve the recipe if you’re only cooking for 1-2.
There you have it - 6 of the best! Enjoy - and remember to pin the images so you can save these ideas for later.
L.X.
