ROCK YOUR SALADS THE HEALTHY NATURAL WAY!
If you’re anything like me, dressings are often the best part of the salad – or at least it’s what I most look forward to! The right dressing can be the highlight of the salad or even get us to eat more veggies!
Unfortunately, though, those commercial salad dressings we’ve come to love are usually loaded with calories, oils, artificial colors and flavors, preservatives, and many other unhealthy ingredients… but not anymore!
With my oil-free, worry-free, quick, and easy salad dressing formula, you’ll have the best, most delicious, and healthiest salads of your life in no time at all.
After all, why go to all the effort of making a beautiful salad with veggies and greens only to drown it with too much oil, salt, sugar, and chemicals that no one needs?
Keep in mind that 'oil-free' doesn't necessarily mean 'fat-free,' but if you're looking for fat-free options, I have you covered on this as well.
Let’s build a new habit of making your own salad dressing without oil alongside fresh, beautiful, and healthy salads.
The good news is that it usually takes no more than 5 minutes to make your own homemade oil-free salad dressing – and you’ll probably save some money while you’re at it. With the tips and instructions below, creating fresh, oil-free salad dressings will be a breeze in no time!
Salad DRESSINGS Without Oil IN JUST FIVE MINUTES!
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 as you go along until it’s “just perfect!”
Then store your dressing in cute containers (see below), and you’re ready to rock your salads!
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
Keep in mind that you may be so used to the taste of oil or mayonnaise that you might find these dressings a little less satisfying at first. Yes, there’s a certain mouthfeel to oil, but I’m betting that once your taste buds adjust, you’ll find the substitutions of nuts, tofu, and beans to your liking.
As we become accustomed to the familiar feel and taste of unhealthy foods, we discover how much better healthier options truly taste. Give it a try! All you have to lose is your poor diet!
I’ve become so used to vegan salad dressing without oil that any addition of oil or mayo now doesn’t taste right.
If you're not sure about making a salad dressing without added oil, try reducing the amount of oil each time you make a salad dressing until you develop a new appreciation for healthy, natural flavors and textures.
If you'd like to receive my weekly newsletter with helpful articles and recipes, sign up here and receive this FREE OIL-FREE SALAD DRESSING FORMULA.
Oil-Free Salad Dressing Formula
Let’s talk a bit about oil-free for a moment. In this case, I’m referring to dressings made without added processed oils, such as olive, canola, or sesame. As you probably know, whole foods such as nuts, avocados, and tahini (a type of sesame paste) all contain natural fat.
So, if you’re cutting back not just on oil but on other types of naturally occurring fats as well, you’ll want to stick with beans or tofu as a base or opt for vinaigrette dressings, which are clear and not creamy, instead.
Dressings are made up of a base, an 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 butter, seeds, cannellini beans, or avocado.
These whole food ingredients will make your dressing naturally and healthfully creamy. For a vinaigrette, omit the “creamy” ingredients and stick with the acids such as vinegar or acidic juices. Remember, sweeteners are always optional.
NOTE: ¼ cup of dressing is usually enough for four servings of green salad. For pasta, potato salads, and heavier vegetable salads, you’ll need more, as these tend to absorb more of the dressing.
Here They Are...
1. OIL-FREE BASIC SUBSTITUTION FORMULA
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1 Tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot + 1 cup water
To replace oil in a 1:1 ratio in any traditional salad dressing recipe:
Mix one tablespoon of cornstarch or arrowroot with one cup of water over medium heat. Mix until thickened. Use as a cool oil substitute. This gives the mouth-feel of oil and also helps the dressing stick to greens.
2. OIL-FREE CREAMY SALAD DRESSING FORMULA
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CREAMY BASE + ACID + FLAVORINGS + SWEETENER + SALT + PEPPER
Creamy Dressing Proportions: 3 parts base + 1 part acid + flavorings, sweeteners, and salt & pepper to taste.
Base Options: Tofu, cannellini beans, soaked cashews, soy yogurt, tahini (sesame paste), avocado, nut butter such as almond, cashew, or peanut
Acid Options:
- Vinegars: apple cider, balsamic, red or white wine, champagne, rice wine, sherry, or flavored like raspberry
- Juices: lemon, lime, orange
Sweetener Options: Maple syrup, fruit (such as apple sauce, peaches, or berries), stevia
3. OIL-FREE VINAIGRETTE SALAD DRESSING FORMULA
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ACID (VINEGAR OR JUICE) + FLAVORINGS + SWEETENER + SALT + PEPPER
Vinaigrette Dressing Proportions: 1 part acid + 1/2 part liquid + flavorings, sweeteners, and salt & pepper to taste
Acid Options:
- Vinegars: apple cider, balsamic, red or white wine, champagne, rice wine, sherry, or flavored like raspberry
- Juices: lemon, lime, orange
Sweetener Options: Maple syrup, fruits such as apple sauce, peaches or berries, stevia
FLAVORING AND SPICE OPTIONS:
- 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)
I hope you’re up for experimenting. Adjust these wonderfully healthy oil-free dressings to your taste preferences, and you’ll be a happy salad eater before you know it.
OIL-FREE DRESSINGS RECIPES TO GET YOU STARTED
VINAIGRETTE DRESSINGS
Classic Vinaigrette
Examples: red wine vinegar dressing, no oil, apple cider vinegar dressing without oil, white wine vinegar dressing, no oil, tamari 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, crushed or minced
- 2 tablespoons water
- Salt & pepper to taste
Sesame Miso Dressing
Whisk together:
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon miso
- 2 teaspoons 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 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 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vegan Worchestershire sauce
- 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Vegan Worcestershire Sauce
Ranch Dressing:
- 1 cup raw cashews soaked in hot water to cover for at least 30 minutes (or 3/4 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk + 1 Tbl chia seeds for a version of an oil-free chia dressing)
- 3 tablespoons 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 SALADS & DRESSINGS.
The following products contain affiliate links.
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Olive oil actually helps with the absorption of the nutrients in greens, so while these are “interesting” ideas, I’m gonna stick with my olive oil & vinegar dressings.
Hey Lora, while I agree with you that fat helps with absorption of nutrients in greens, I follow Dr. Fuhrman’s recommendations which are to limit process oils, such as olive, and use nuts and seeds instead. Very small quantities of olive oil probably won’t hurt, but people often don’t limit themselves. In an an article about nuts and seeds he says that “Eating nuts and seeds with leafy greens can enhance the body’s absorption of fat-soluble nutrients from the greens. Therefore, a nut-based salad dressing (such as one made with raw almonds) is an excellent way to absorb more nutrients from your salads.” In another article, he tackles the question about olive oil, saying in part, “Olive oil is not a whole food—it is a fattening, low-nutrient, processed food, consisting of 100% fat.” And, “…many of the benefits of a salad are lost when the calorie count is increased ten-fold with oil.” I hope this helps and I appreciate your comment.
I agree! Do you think your recommendations for the olive oil substitute will work for pesto as well? Going to give it a try..
Thank you!!
Hey Lisa, Are you referring to the substitute in #1? I’m not sure how it’ll work in pesto, but worth a try. I have an oil-free pesto recipe you right enjoy… Here it is, Oil-Free Pesto with Pasta. It just uses a bit of lemon and water to help make it the right consistency. Or, you could use vegetable broth like in this recipe, Pasta with Spinach Pesto. I hope that helps.
Well said.
Thanks, Laura! 🙂
I just attended a webinar with him and went looking for dressing recipes that don’t contain oil. I’m going to try some of these . Thank you so much!
Hey Shelly, you’re welcome and so glad you found the article. Good luck. I hope you enjoy the recipes. 👍
Love your reply.
So happy to hear that…thanks for your kind words. 🙂
The ranch dressing recipe above that suggests subbing 1 Tbs. chia seed with 3/4 c. plant milk, would flaxmeal work and would it be replaced at the same amount? Any thoughts? I am looking for a nut free, oil free and preferably tofu free ranch dressing but I suppose I could use a very small amount o f tofu. the chia seed is to thicken the milk, right? any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks Bunny
Hey Bunny, Yes, you’re correct, the chia seeds are used to thicken the dressing and flax won’t work as a sub for them. I’ve also used white cannellini beans (sometimes called white kidney beans) as a substitute. They are bland enough not to affect the taste but can help to thicken a dressing. Maybe that’ll work for you.
What about using xanthan gum for the base as a thickener?
Hey Tracie, good question. Some whole food sites, such as plantricious.com would not approve of xanthan gum since it’s an additive. More natural options are preferred. Is it something you’ve already tried? If it’s working for you, I imagine a small amount would be ok, but I’d need to do more research.
Thanks so much for posting this. I try to limit oil, but where I run into trouble is trying to tweak oil based recipes I already have and love where there’s not an easy ready made oil free version I can find (for example, it’s pretty easy to find oil free ranch or any of the standards, but I have never been able to figure out how to convert an old favorite mexican vinegrette to replace the olive oil without it tasting way to acidic since the oil cuts the vinegar taste.) I look forward to using your formulas to giving it another try!
I hope one of the ways works for your recipe. I can’t believe how much oil, usually olive oil, that is used in most recipes…like twice the amount of acid. My tastes have adjusted to more tartness in a salad dressing and I usually need to add less that way, too. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that it works for you.
Please tell me how much lemon juice in the Caesar dressing:
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
Hey Candace, thanks for bringing that to my attention. It’s 1/4 cup of lemon juice. I like a pungent dressing so you might start with a couple of tablespoons and see if it needs more. I also have the Caesar Salad + dressing recipe on its own page, just FYI. I’ve updated it now on this post.
Thank you! Made it now, will add a bit more lemon juice, but it is very tasty!
I made the classic vinaigrette with balsamic vinegar and it is really good, thank you!
Super, Laura, so glad you liked it!
When you say to use 1 cup soaked raw cashews, soaked in what and for how long prior to processing with other ingredients?
Hey Mollie, You can soak cashews in a few different ways. One way is to cover them in water and soak them overnight in the refrigerator, or even several hours will soften them. You can also cover them with very hot water and soak for 30 minutes. The main idea being to make them soft enough to blend easily, especially if you don’t have a high-powered blender. Of course, for the Ranch Dressing, you’d want to refrigerate it so it chills and the flavors meld after blending.
Thank you so much! Since I stopped using oil, I have really missed my #1 salad dressing, a cumin vinaigrette that was delicious on everything! I made the dressing using your genius cornstarch & water substitute, and it’s as good as ever! Maybe better–oil solidified in the fridge, but this remains liquid.
Hey Heather, that is fantastic to hear! It can be a challenge sometimes for people to find a dressing they like. Since it’s your favorite, would you mind sharing it with us?
GREAT info, but anyway to see it in a printer-friendly version? My memory isn’t that long, lol.
Ha, I completely understand. There’s a shorthand PDF version of it that you can download and print if you’ve joined my newsletter. Scroll down to the middle of the article where you see “Sign Up Here to Join my List…” There’s a photo of what it looks like right there. I like your suggestion about having the whole article available for print. That’s something I’ll need to put together and then make available. I’ll let you know when that happens if you’d like.
How long will the arrow root-water mixture keep in the fridge? Is there any reaso Ion I couldn’t use mostly oil substitute with just a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil for flavor and Heath benefits?
While arrowroot powder lasts quite a long time (I read 3-4 years), the arrowroot itself only lasts two weeks in the fridge, according to the source I read. I couldn’t find an answer for a mixture of arrowroot and water, but I would suspect perhaps it would last similar to fresh arrowroot. It’d be best to check for freshness over the time you store it… As for using a small amount of olive oil, I think it’s OK since you’d actually eat just a small portion, depending on the rest of the ingredient amounts, of course. Plant-based doctors often recommend no added oils if someone has heart disease, so that might be something to consider.
I guess for some there is a difference between oil free and fat free.
Hi Tom, yep, there is a difference, valid point. I can see how that could be confusing though. We do need some fat. For a plant-based diet we get fats from whole foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds, and other ingredients that contain fat naturally like tofu rather than from processed oils. However, too much fat of any kind can lead to weight gain so we should take caution not to overdo whole food sources of fat. You may have seen in the post that I offer a fat-free option, as well.
These are great oil free options and I have enjoyed all of the questions and your replies. Do you have a recipe for a honey lime vinaigrette? I had this on a salad from a local restaurant which I absolutely enjoyed but I want to replicate it without the oil. Any suggestions?
The honey lime vinaigrette sounds delicious. For a plant-based, vegan version, we’d use something like maple syrup or a vegan honey, since honey is technically not vegan but that could work. I don’t have a recipe but my first thought is to use the oil substitute mentioned in this article. To replace oil in a 1:1 ration in any salad dressing recipe mix 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot with 1 cup water over medium heat. Stir until thickened. Cool and use as an oil substitute. This gives the mouth-feel of oil and also helps the dressing stick to greens.
You could also leave out the oil in a recipe but up the sweetener and/or add a little extra water to compensate. Hope that works for you.
Thanks for this post!
I tried making balsamic vinaigrette based on the ratios and mine was way too vinegary and made me choke. Most recipes I’ve used call for less vinegar and more liquid. Also, instead of oil I’ve been using Guar gum as a thickener. It comes from a tree and that’s good enough for me! I may however switch to chia seeds or ground flax and see how that works.
Hi Kristy, I usually lean towards stronger tasting dressings but I do understand they may be too pungent for some. I can add a note about adding more water as an oil replacement. Interesting thought about using guar gum as a thickener and I believe it’s generalized recognized as safe. It may have gastro-intestinal effects on some in larger quantities.
Hi, I’m wondering how to use the cornstarch base in the dressing recipes. Thanks
Hi Sharon, Once you’ve prepared the mixture (1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot with 1 cup water over medium heat. Mix until thickened and then cooled), you’d use it as a substitute for any oil called for in a dressing recipe. So, for example, if a traditional salad dressing recipe called for 1/4 cup of oil, you’d use the mixture instead. I hope that helps.