Oil-Free Salad Dressing Formula

Expand Your Salad Dressing Options

Not many of us eat lettuce salads without dressing. It can be the highlight of the salad or even what gets us to eat more veggies! However, we know that salad dressing is USUALLY where all of the calories and fat are loaded. You’ve gone to the effort of making a beautiful salad with veggies and greens and then drowning it with anti-nutrients (things that have very little nutrition).

Let’s build a new habit of making your own salad dressing along with building gorgeous salads because those fat-free versions in the market just don’t cut it! (OK, there are a few that taste pretty good and they're getting better.)

The good news is that it usually takes no more than 5 minutes to make your own salad dressing and they’re budget-friendly, as well. With these staples, tips and instructions, it’ll be old hat in no time.

5 MINUTES AND BUDGET FRIENDLY

Once you master the basic oil-free salad dressing formulas, you are free to adjust them to your taste. Add a little more or less of this or that and keep tasting.

Then store your dressing in cute containers (see below) and your ready to rock your salads!

MINDSET WARNING: Keep in mind that you may be so use to the taste of oil or mayonnaise that you’ll find these dressing wanting. Yes, there’s a certain mouthfeel to oil, but I’m betting you find the substitutions of nuts, tofu and beans to your liking.

I’m now so use to salad dressings without oil that any addition just doesn’t taste right. I like mine to have punch so that helps. You really can adjust your taste buds to eat the healthiest foods.

THE SLOW METHOD: If you just can’t get around making a salad dressing without added processed oil, try lowering the oil each time you make one until you gain a new appreciation for the flavor.

If you'd like to have this FREE OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSING FORMULA, click on the blue box to get it now.

The OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSING formula

Let's talk about oil-free for a moment. In this case, I'm referring to a dressing without added processed oil, like olive, canola or sesame. As you probably know, nuts, avocado, tahini all have natural fat. Sooo, if you are cutting back on fat, you'll want to stick with beans as a base or go for a vinaigrette dressing, which is clear and not creamy, instead.

Dressings are made up of a base, acid, an optional sweetener, and flavorings or spices. Traditional dressings use oil as a base. For our oil-free versions we’ll be substituting nuts or nut butters, seeds, cannellini beans or avocado.

These will make your dressing creamy. For a vinaigrette, omit the “creamy” ingredients and stick with the acids such as vinegars or juices. Remember, sweeteners are optional...

Oil-free salad dressing formulas

Optional Oil Substitution: This will work if you'd like to just substitute it for the oil in any recipe. Mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot with 1 cup water over medium heat. Mix until thickened. Cool and use as an oil substitute. This gives the mouth-feel of oil and also helps the dressing stick to leaves.

1. Oil-free creamy salad dressing formula:

Creamy base + acid + flavorings + sweetener + S&P

Creamy Choices:

Tofu, cannellini beans, soaked cashews, soy yogurt, tahini, avocado, nut butters like almond, cashew or peanut.

2. Oil-free vinaigrette dressing formula:

Acid (vinegar or juice) + flavorings + sweetener + S&P

Acid Choices:

Vinegars: apple cider, balsamic, red or white wine, champagne, rice wine, sherry, or flavored like raspberry

Juice: lemon, lime, orange

Flavorings/spices:

Garlic
Onion
Mustard
Ginger
Dried or fresh herb: basil, dill, oregano, parsley, etc
Powdered spices: onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, curry, etc.
Miso (dark or light)
Nutritional yeast
Hot sauce
Chipotle (very spicy, but a lovely unique flavor)
Tamari (like soy sauce)
Sweeteners:
Maple syrup, fruit (like apple sauce, peaches or berries), Stevia.

I hope you're up for experimenting. Adjust these to your taste preferences, and you'll be a happy salad eater in no time!

Here's a couple of dressings to get you going:

VINAIGRETTES

Simple Vinaigrette

Whisk together:
3 tablespoons vinegar: balsamic, white wine, champagne, apple cider or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons mustard: yellow, brown or spicy
1 teaspoon maple syrup (or equivalent sugar substitute like Stevia)
1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
1 clove garlic, crush or minced
2 tablespoons water
Salt & pepper to taste

Sesame Miso Dressing

Whisk together:
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon miso
2 teaspoon tamari (like soy sauce)
1 shallot, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Mexican Chopped Salad

Mexican Lime Cilantro Dressing

Whisk together:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 small cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper (optional)
2 teaspoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste

CREAMY DRESSINGS

Creamy Caesar Dressing:

Whisk together:
1/4 cup hummus either homemade or store-bought (or use about 1/3 cup cannellini beans)
1/4 fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons maple syrup

Annie's Organic Vegan Worchestershire Sauce

Ranch Dressing:

1 cup soaked raw cashews (or 3/4 cup unsweetened, non-dairymilk + 1 Tbl chia seeds)
3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill weed, or 1 teaspoon dried
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Place the cashews (or non-dairy milk and chia seeds), water, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt in a high powered blender and process until smooth and creamy.
Remove to your container and add the minced basil and dill weed.
Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

See more salads and dressings here in the SALADs & Dressings.

NOTE:
¼ cup of dressing is usually enough for 4 servings of lettuce salad. For heavier vegetable salads, pasta or potato, you’ll need more as these tend to soak up more of the dressing.

Anchor Hocking 10 oz
Glass Cruet with Stopper

Capacity: 10.25 oz
Height: 6-1/2"
Top Diameter: 1-5/8"
Bottom Diameter: 1-1/2"
Maximum Diameter: 3-1/2"

Glass Bottles with Lids
8 oz. Glass Bottles

Opening
Dishwasher safe
Styled after retro milk jars and topped with removable metal caps

Square Glass Bottle

Hermetic closures that helps preserve the fresh taste of vinegars, dressing, sauces and beverages.
Clear glass allows you to instantly identify the contents