Salad dressing ideas?

weehah

I often want to eat a huge salad (I'm talking a basic salad full of various greens, tomatoes, carrots, etc.) but get stuck when it comes to a tasty dressing that's not super high in calories. I don't want a bottle of chemicals, either.

I'd love to hear suggestions for homemade dressings or other alternatives.

Thanks in advance!

Lourdesong

I don't really use any official dressing. I just add some cottage cheese, greek yogurt, salsa, maybe some hummus. The salad gets plenty "dressed" enough with these sorts of things added.

blackcoffeeandcherrypie

Balsamic vinegar is tasty for very few calories, or honey and mustard dressing gives a lot of taste for a small amount.

Alternatively, cook some chicken in garlic and a dash of chilli powder and add to salad, the flavour of the chicken will go into the salad and make it tasty.

jessicagrieshaber

I normally use a blend of lemon juice and pepper. Super delicious and frankly 0 calories!

257_Lag

Look for Bolthouse Farms dressing in the refrigerated section near the vegetables. Lots of yummy choices for VERY reasonable calories!

blktngldhrt

One of my favorites is lemon juice, a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, and some chopped fresh mint leaves.

Red bull Inn Italian dressing is 25 calories per serving. I love that one, too.

Francl27

Olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard for me. Sometimes I don't even use oil.

Jibby1017

This one is fantastic, I don't know if it is in the database, but you can get info at CookingLight.com:
Vanilla Pear Vinaigrette
1 (15-ounce) can pear halves in juice, undrained
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of ground red pepper
Preparation
To prepare dressing, drain pears, reserving 1/3 cup pear juice. Combine pears, juice, vinegar, and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.

It's paired with this salad, also very good: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mixed-salad-with-vanilla-pear-vinaigrette-toasted-walnuts

Jibby1017

And I use jarred or fresh salsa for my salad dressing all the time, with extra lime juice.

ActuarialChef

Jibby1017 wrote: »

This one is fantastic, I don't know if it is in the database, but you can get info at CookingLight.com:
Vanilla Pear Vinaigrette
1 (15-ounce) can pear halves in juice, undrained
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of ground red pepper
Preparation
To prepare dressing, drain pears, reserving 1/3 cup pear juice. Combine pears, juice, vinegar, and remaining ingredients in a blender; process until smooth.

It's paired with this salad, also very good: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/mixed-salad-with-vanilla-pear-vinaigrette-toasted-walnuts

Wow, that dressing sounds so good!!

Krikit34

My favorite homemade vinaigrette. A lot of flavor, super simple to make. I didn't have lemon so I used lime and that worked great.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/no-salt-vinaigrette/

Dawmelvan

blktngldhrt wrote: »

One of my favorites is lemon juice, a little bit of extra virgin olive oil, and some chopped fresh mint leaves.

Red bull Inn Italian dressing is 25 calories per serving. I love that one, too.

I'm going to try the lemon, EVOO and mint! Yum!

Moonwillow1010

I like to use either Herdez Green Salsa or Frank's hot sauce! Gives it a kick with little to no calories.

njitaliana

I use a cruet that you can buy at the grocery store, the kind next to the Good Seasons dressings. Here is a dressing that I make:

Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

Fill cruet to appropriate lines with balsamic vinegar, canola oil and water.

Add 1 tsp McCormick or Mrs. Dash “Garlic and Herb Seasoning”

Add 1 tsp onion powder

Add 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Add 1/2 tsp McCormick “All Purpose Seasoning”

Add 1/2 packet of Splenda

Put lid on and shake

Refrigerate

jrline

Hot sauce

yankeedownsouth

257_Lag wrote: »

Look for Bolthouse Farms dressing in the refrigerated section near the vegetables. Lots of yummy choices for VERY reasonable calories!

This. You can have two tablespoons of the chunky blue cheese dressing for only 35 calories. And it tastes great!!

lemurcat12

Francl27 wrote: »

Olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard for me. Sometimes I don't even use oil.

This is mine, except I experiment with different kinds of mustard (I like spicy brown ones best) and often leave out the oil. Sometimes I include some olive juice for a little extra olive flavor, though. I also might add garlic or herbs.

fruitysky

Maple Grove Farms of Vermont has several fat free dressings that are VERY low in calories. Their FF Balsamic and Raspberry Vinaigrettes are awesome.
Panera Bread's Bottled Poppyseed Dressing rocks my world. It's my favorite dressing ever.
Also hummus or salsa make a good salad topping.

aliciamarieeeeee

I use 2 tbsp of dannon oikos dips either french onion or the cucumber dill & they are so good on my salads (I usually eat one per day) it seems to be a better option to dressing in my opinion & I prefer the taste.

weehah

Such great feedback and ideas! Thank you - and keep 'em comin'!

jenniferchew2012

I normally just use a balsamic and olive oil blend with some spices. But when I want creamy there are a couple variations I use with plain greek yogurt

Greek yogurt, bleu cheese, lemon juice, garlic powder

Greek yogurt, feta, lemon juice, mint

Greek yogurt, with a handful mixed fresh herbs and a garlic glove in food processor

Possibilities are endless!!

vamaena

I like mixing together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, dijon mustard, and 100% pure maple syrop. I try to do equal parts but I really just mix it all together and taste. If I find it's missing something I'll add more.

Sometimes I also crush garlic with salt. I'll then add some dried herbs with pepper, a little bit of lemon (or vinegar of somekind) with some oil.

avskk

This probably isn't tasty to everyone, but I love pickled beets and I've found that the juices from those make an awesome dressing -- I drizzle it over my salads with a splash of lemon juice and it's fantastic.

For bottled dressings, I like the Litehouse Opa line, particularly the feta-dill. No unrecognizable ingredients, low-calorie, delicious flavor selection.

melimomTARDIS

I like kraft fat free italian, and wishbone fat free western dressing alot! I also like using a tablespoon of hummus or salsa as a dressing.

melimomTARDIS

the fat free western is super sweet, and complementary to apples raisins and carrots.

melbosa

I love Girard's Chinese Chicken Salad. It has 6g sugar and 120 cal in 2 Tbsp, but a little goes a long way, I usually only use 1 Tbsp. And very natural ingredients!

Maryam2014mfp

I just use a little extra virgin olive oil mixed with some type of juice (lemon, lime, orange, etc) and some seasonings of your choice. Just play around until you find some seasonings you like. It will vary on what you are eating and your mood and what you have on hand that day. Take care

starznholes

The Bolthouse Farms dressings are delish and low-cal. Litehouse OPA dressings are probably my favorite right now. Both sold in the refrigerated section next to the produce.

Olive Oil/ Lemon juice

Vinegar/A little Olive Oil

Salsa

sofaking6

I just found out about the Litehouse OPA dressings from MFP a few weeks ago and I'm loving them. So tasty and flavorful and rich and no worries about the ingredients or calories.

grantwashere

I use Walden Farms Calorie Free - Bleu Cheese Dressing. Get it at WalMart. ZERO calories. Zero fat. Tastes okay.

enterdanger

I just like something a little acidic on my salad. squeeze a lemon or lime or if I'm doing an italian salad I'll add a little of the juice from the pepperoncini or olive jar.