Salad dressing ideas?

weehah
weehah Posts: 81 Member
in Food and Nutrition
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!
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Replies

  • Lourdesong
    Lourdesong Posts: 1,492 Member
    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
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    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
    jessicagrieshaber Posts: 167 Member
    I normally use a blend of lemon juice and pepper. Super delicious and frankly 0 calories!
  • 257_Lag
    257_Lag Posts: 1,249 Member
    Look for Bolthouse Farms dressing in the refrigerated section near the vegetables. Lots of yummy choices for VERY reasonable calories!
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
    edited October 2014
    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
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Olive oil, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard for me. Sometimes I don't even use oil.
  • Jibby1017
    Jibby1017 Posts: 8 Member
    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
    Jibby1017 Posts: 8 Member
    And I use jarred or fresh salsa for my salad dressing all the time, with extra lime juice.
  • ActuarialChef
    ActuarialChef Posts: 1,413 Member
    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
    Krikit34 Posts: 125 Member
    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
    Dawmelvan Posts: 133 Member
    edited October 2014
    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
    Moonwillow1010 Posts: 5 Member
    I like to use either Herdez Green Salsa or Frank's hot sauce! Gives it a kick with little to no calories.
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 809 Member
    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
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
    Hot sauce
  • yankeedownsouth
    yankeedownsouth Posts: 717 Member
    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
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited October 2014
    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
    fruitysky Posts: 30 Member
    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
    aliciamarieeeeee Posts: 5
    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
    weehah Posts: 81 Member
    Such great feedback and ideas! Thank you - and keep 'em comin'!
  • jenniferchew2012
    jenniferchew2012 Posts: 31 Member
    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
    vamaena Posts: 217 Member
    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
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    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
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    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
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    the fat free western is super sweet, and complementary to apples raisins and carrots.
  • melbosa
    melbosa Posts: 1
    edited October 2014
    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
    Maryam2014mfp Posts: 174
    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
    starznholes Posts: 170 Member
    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
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    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
    grantwashere Posts: 171 Member
    I use Walden Farms Calorie Free - Bleu Cheese Dressing. Get it at WalMart. ZERO calories. Zero fat. Tastes okay.
  • enterdanger
    enterdanger Posts: 2,447 Member
    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.

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