Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated: January 17, 2017
Instead of getting heavy-handed with the cheese, mayo or oil, try using vinegars and herbs to create super flavorful dressings. While indulgent dressings certainly can be satisfying, there are ways to create a dressing that is both healthy and packed with flavor. Whether you're looking for a light and tangy vinaigrette or a creamy twist on classic Caesar, here are our best healthy salad dressing recipes. 
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Citrus Vinaigrette

© John Kernick 

White balsamic vinegar is the magic ingredient in this tasty citrus vinaigrette from cookbook author Joanne Weir.

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Hummus Vinaigrette

Making this dressing is a great way to use up those half-empty containers of hummus. It has a thick, creamy quality thanks to the chickpeas and tahini but is totally dairy-free. Use this to dress a fattoush-style salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and feta with toasted pita wedges.

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Tomato-Shallot Dressing

This easy dressing for salads, pasta, fish or grilled chicken steals a technique from Spanish kitchens: grating a whole tomato for perfect skin-free pulp.

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Citrus-Poppy Seed Vinaigrette

Bobby Flay combines lime, orange and grapefruit juices for a dressing that's great on greens or fruit, especially honeydew.

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Miso, Ginger and Sesame Dressing

This simple dressing is perfect with spinach salad, or steamed broccoli, roasted carrots or grilled zucchini.

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Scallion Vinaigrette

Bobby Flay never met a chile he didn't like. Here, he uses jalapenos in a versatile dressing that's as good on delicate greens as it is on grilled vegetables, fish or meat.

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Honey-Lemon Dressing

This sweet, citrusy dressing is delicious with peppery greens. 

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Avocado-Tarragon Dressing

This multipurpose dressing makes a perfect dip for crudites and a great go-with for grilled steak, or swap it for the mayonnaise in chicken salad.

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Creamy Garlic Vinaigrette

For this lower-fat tribute to creamy Caesar dressing, Bobby Flayadds sweet roasted garlic puree instead of lots of mayonnaise.

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Basil Vinaigrette

This light, fresh dressing is great with Heirloom tomato salad, pasta salad, panzanella salad and grilled fish, chicken or lamb.

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Reinvented Russian Dressing

Bobby Flay's version of Russian dressing is tangier than the classic; made with nonfat Greek yogurt, it has just one-sixth the calories.

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