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Our Favorite Healthy Salad Dressings (GF)

By Kelly · 15 Comments

Ditch the store bought salad dressings and make your own healthy homemade ones instead. It’s so easy, and so delicious!

Even “healthy” bottled salad dressings are often filled with unwanted and unhealthy ingredients like soybean oil, sugar, “natural” flavors and fillers. So why not do your taste buds (and body and bank account) a favor by chucking those expensive bottled salad dressings, and making your own healthy homemade ones instead. It’s so easy, and so delicious!

Here are two of our favorite vinaigrette dressings and if you’re looking for a terrific ranch dressing, may I recommend Cavan’s famous “Healthy Valley Ranch Dressing” – it’s not only great on salads, but also makes a delicious dip for raw veggies!

Mmm!! Time to go make a salad!!

Raspberry Vinaigrette

3 tbsp filtered water
1/4 cup raw apple cider vinegar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp raw honey (omit for Whole30)
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 heaping cup of fresh (or frozen) organic red raspberries
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients, except the olive oil to your blender and blend on low until smooth (about 30 seconds). Remove cover (or lid plug) and slowly add in the olive oil, while blending on low, until combined. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to one week.

 Balsamic Italian Vinaigrette 

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp filtered water
1/2 tsp raw honey (omit for Whole30)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove minced garlic
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp basil
1/8 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp oregano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Add all ingredients, except the olive oil to your blender and blend on low until smooth (about 30 seconds). Remove cover (or lid plug) and slowly add in the olive oil, while blending on low, until combined. Serve immediately, or refrigerate up to one week.

You Might Also Like:

Strawberry Chia Jam {5 ingredients, just 15 minutes!}
How to Make Honey Sweetened Fruit Preserves {using natural pectin}
Peach Mango Salsa (GF)

Filed Under: Condiments ·

Comments

  1. Andrea says

    April 17, 2012 at 7:06 pm

    Kelly,

    I made the Raspberry Vinaigrette tonight for our dinner salad. VERY GOOD! Knowing it is healthy for us makes it even better. Thanks for the great recipe.

    Andrea

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      April 17, 2012 at 7:27 pm

      Awesome! So glad you enjoyed it – that one is almost like having a salad dessert! So sweet and tangy! Great to meet you, Andrea! Thanks for taking the time to leave a kind comment! Blessings, Kelly

      Reply
  2. GIgi says

    May 9, 2013 at 10:46 am

    Hello Kelly,

    I’m looking for a good homemade Ceasar dressing, because the one salad I can get my picky eater to eat is Ceasar salad. I haven’t found a bottled dressing that doesn’t have corn syrup in it, and I would like to make one. I know most of them have either Romano or Parmesan cheese, and for us, that isn’t a problem, as no one here is allergic to dairy. Suggestions?

    Thanks,
    Gigi

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      May 9, 2013 at 11:25 am

      Hi, Gigi. A friend of mine has a nice one: http://thecheapskatecook.com/2010/09/10/a-salad-guys-will-eat/. I do think a little anchovy paste though is a must – just my personal preference! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Jennifer M says

    August 14, 2013 at 2:05 pm

    What does the adding oil after the other ingredients step do, in the raspberry dressing? I added it all at once by accident.

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      August 14, 2013 at 7:15 pm

      Hi, Jennifer. Good question. The reason I like to add the olive oil last (you’ll see many recipes that recommend slowly blending in the oil as the last step) is because it allows me to get the other ingredients nicely blended without over blending the oil (can make the dressing too thick). But it’s really no big deal, especially with this recipe, since nothing needs to be finely chopped. What I mean is, if I were using shallots for example, I’d definitely add the shallots and other ingredients to the blender (except the oil) and get everything nice and finely blended, then slowly drizzle the oil in until blended. Hopefully I’m making sense here. 🙂 Blessings, Kelly

      Reply
      • Jennifer says

        August 15, 2013 at 3:43 am

        That makes total sense. Thanks so much, Kelly!

        Reply
  4. Kelly H says

    September 27, 2013 at 8:09 am

    Would you have to do anything different if you’re planning on freezing some of it? I ask because I’d like to try this, but I’d be the only one eating it. I’d hate to waste any of it, especially since it really sounds delicious!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      September 27, 2013 at 8:13 am

      Hi, Kelly. I haven’t tried freezing these, but I am sure they would be fine. 🙂 Blessings, Kelly

      Reply
      • Kelly H says

        September 27, 2013 at 8:33 am

        Thank you for your prompt response! I look forward to making the raspberry vin dressing this weekend. 🙂

        Reply
        • Kelly says

          September 27, 2013 at 8:39 am

          my pleasure to help 🙂

          Reply
  5. Stefanie says

    May 21, 2014 at 3:13 pm

    Thank you for these recipes (and all your meal plans for that matter. They have really blessed my family) I made the raspberry vinegarette a few weeks ago and we loved it! I goofed and added a TBS of salt instead of a tsp so tripled the recipe. I’m glad I goofed! I was able to share some and my family ate delicious healthy salads for 2 weeks!rave reviews from my friends too. Today I made it again with strawberries instead of raspberries. Absolutely delicious! Thank you for helping us eat salads more often!

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      May 21, 2014 at 3:45 pm

      You are so welcome. Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind note. And what a great idea! I’ll have to try it with strawberries! Thank you!! 🙂

      Reply
  6. home grocery delivery says

    May 27, 2014 at 1:26 pm

    I love that this is a healthy salad dressing. I have a hard time trusting packaged foods.

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 52 Surprising Things to Make in a Vitamix - Perfect Your Lifestyle says:
    January 17, 2015 at 1:05 pm

    […] with basic vinaigrettes or get creative with dressings like ginger scallion, Caesar, and fresh avocado […]

    Reply

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