Low calorie salad dressing recipes?

SquirrelBrain
SquirrelBrain Posts: 58 Member
in Recipes
I just ate a chopped salad from a bagged kit and realized over 300 calories of the total 550 were from the dressing. Yikes! It was a sweet onion dressing and so good but likely lots of sugar given how sticky it was.

Anyone have any low calorie salad dressing recipes they love? My go to is apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a touch of mustard which is fine but I’d like to try something different.



Replies

  • NVintage
    NVintage Posts: 1,463 Member
    My favorite is oil, regular vinegar, and a little sugar...
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I make creamy salad dressings with a protein boost using flavored hummus and apple cider vinegar or basalmic vinegar. Usually the oil and sweetness of the hummus is enough, but I'll sometimes add just a sprinkle of Splenda
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,991 Member
    Classic vinaigrette is 3-4 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar or lemon.

    Lower calorie alternatives are classic ranch with the lowest quantity of sour cream and mayonnaise. Keep in mind that buttermilk is very low fat, being what is left after all fats have been removed to make butter.
    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ranch-dressing-recipe_n_3769342

    Another lower oil dressing I use is a vaguely asian one of 1 part soy, 1 part balsamic, 1 part nut oil (hazelnut, walnut or sesame).

    A totally oil free alternative that does contain quite a lot of sugar (could be replaced with Splenda) is classic Vietnamese drssing of nuoc cham, similar to other SE asian salad dressings.
    https://www.seriouseats.com/sauced-nuoc-cham-recipe
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,991 Member
    Also google classic creamy Japanese salad dressings where creaminess comes from blitzing silken tofu in the food processor.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,991 Member
    Here is an example of a Japanese dressing based on silken tofu. My Japanese cook book call these white dressings.
    https://www.food.com/recipe/japanese-tofu-salad-dressing-208650?utm_campaign=yummly&utm_medium=yummly&utm_source=yummly
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,991 Member
    Here's another one.
    https://www.oishi-washoku-recipes.com/tofu-dressing
  • SquirrelBrain
    SquirrelBrain Posts: 58 Member
    Thanks @acpgee , the silken tofu recipes look interesting and are new to me. I will have to experiment!

    @rosebarnalice - Using hummus is a great idea since I usually have it in the fridge anyway.
  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
    I often make silken tofu dressings as well. Since the tofu has no flavor on its own, I find I need a pretty heavy hand with the spicing :-)
  • MsMeeLaFi
    MsMeeLaFi Posts: 6 Member
    I use low fat mayo, add some water to make it thinner and then whatever spices - mustard, garlic is typically my go to but you could use anything you want.
  • ByteLily
    ByteLily Posts: 52 Member
    I use wishbone red wine vinaigrette often. It has 2.5 grams of fat and only 70 cals. It also uses stevia as part of the sweetness.
  • TravelingGuru
    TravelingGuru Posts: 23 Member
    edited September 2021
    G. Hughes asian miso is my go-to bottled. Yummy stuff.

    My creamy Italian:
    1C light olive oil
    1/3C red wine vinegar
    1T Italian seasoning
    1T Dijon mustard
    1/2t S&P
    Everybody in the pool (or mason jar). Shake like crazy. Serve.
    (throw a dollop of ff sour cream if you want creamier)
  • vegan4lyfe2012
    vegan4lyfe2012 Posts: 1,247 Member
    Super Easy and delicious:

    Marinate 3 chopped garlic cloves in 1/4 cup lemon juice for 10 minutes. Drain out the garlic. Mix infused lemon juice with 1/4 cup creamy tahini (I love Sahtein brand) and 2 T water. 8 servings (2T each).

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