6 healthy homemade salad dressing recipes that are super easy to make — from a basic balsamic vinaigrette to peanut, honey mustard and cilantro lime, these delicious dressings will take your salads to the next level. All dressings are gluten-free, vegan-friendly and paleo-friendly.
Regular readers know that I could practically live on salads because I love them so much. They’re such an easy option for healthy eating because you can literally toss a protein and healthy fat over a bed of greens with a ton of veggies or a whole grain and you’ve got yourself a delicious meal. (Check out my tips here –> how to build a meal-sized salad.)
And honestly salads are all about the toppings! Yes, the greens are important, but if you have a ton of flavorful toppings you might not even need a dressing. A drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, a scoop of hummus or even hot sauce will do the trick. Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I put hot sauce on everything… even salad.
WATCH HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY SALAD DRESSING:
That said, there are definitely times when I’m in the mood for a salad with actual dressing. For times like this I like to whip out one of my homemade salad dressing recipes. The six I’m sharing are my go-tos. I make them all the time, but they’ve never really been featured on the blog because they’re all hidden within different salad recipes. Now they’re all are in one spot for easy reference.
Why make homemade salad dressings? Many store-bought dressings are loaded with processed ingredients, preservatives and sugar so making your own dressing is much healthier. Plus, it’s cheaper! And once you get started making your own you’ll figure out what ratios you like best and it becomes so easy to whip up different variations.
As you’ll notice most of these healthy homemade salad dressings I’m sharing have recurring ingredients — garlic, apple cider vinegar, tamari, maple syrup, sea salt and pepper. So once you have these items in your pantry/fridge you can make a bunch of different dressings!
All of the dressings are made with whole ingredients and yield about 3/4 cup, which is about 12 Tablespoons and 6 servings. Each serving size is 2 Tablespoons. Oh, and if you’re looking for sugar-free options, check out the zesty tahini and the apple cider vinegar dressings.
Oil-Free Zesty Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup low-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 84 calories, 5g fat, 5g carbs, 0g sugar, 2g fiber, 6g protein
Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing
My go-to apple cider vinegar salad dressing recipe. If EBF has a house dressing, this would be it! Get all the health benefits of apple cider vinegar with this delicious dressing! Use it for this Brussels Sprout Chopped Salad or as a marinade for grilled chicken.
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon sea salt + more if needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper + more if needed
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined or add to a mason jar and shake to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 163 calories, 18g fat, 1g carbs, 0g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein
Cilantro Lime Dressing
One of my favorite zesty dressings to use for Mexican themed salads. Try it on my Deconstructed Guacamole Salad or as a marinade for grilled shrimp.
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- juice of 2 limes
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- ½-1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 87 calories, 9g fat, 2g carbs, 1g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein
Basic Balsamic Dressing
Everyone needs a go-to balsamic vinegar dressing and this one is absolutely delicious and works on just about any salad imaginable. Try it on my Detox Salad or for a Salad in a Jar.
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon dijon
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- fresh or dried herbs (optional)
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined or add to a mason jar and shake to combine.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 103 calories, 9g fat, 5g carbs, 4g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein
Honey Mustard Dressing
One of my favorite salad dressings growing up was honey mustard and I still love it to this day. This version is lighter than regular honey mustard but still just as flavorful! Try it as a dipping sauce for my Baked Paleo Chicken Tenders.
- lemon, juiced
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons honey (or maple syrup for a vegan version)
- 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup olive oil
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined or add to a mason jar and shake to combine.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 106 calories, 9g fat, 7g carbs, 6g sugar, 0g fiber, 0g protein
Peanut Dressing
The most amazing peanut dressing to use for Asian salads! Try it on my Kale Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing, Kale Sweet Potato Brown Rice Bowls and as a dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls.
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
- a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
- water, to thin
Add all ingredients into a blender and blend until combined. Add water to thin.
Nutrition per 2 Tablespoons: 107 calories, 7g fat, 13g carbs, 6g sugar, 0g fiber, 3g protein
Want more healthy salad dressing recipes?
- Mexican Goddess Dressing
- Maple Dressing
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- Lemon Vinaigrette
- Turmeric Tahini Dressing
- Avocado Caesar Dressing
- Chili Almond Dressing
Try some of my favorite salad recipes!
- My favorite Kale Salad
- Easy and tasty Pear Salad
- Quinoa Salad
- Easy Pasta Salad
No time to make your own dressing?
Check out my favorite healthy store-bought salad dressings.
If you try one of these healthy homemade salad dressings please leave me a comment letting me know how it turned out! I’d also love to know what salad you tried it on. 🙂
Sarah | Well and Full says
February 25, 2017 at 10:06 amAll of these dressings look amazing, but the cilantro lime would definitely be my favorite!!
Stephanie says
February 11, 2018 at 5:40 amDoes anyone know how much “one serving” is? Is it a table spoon or how big?
Brittany Mullins says
February 11, 2018 at 9:57 amYup! 1 serving is 2 Tablespoons. 🙂
Brenda says
June 21, 2018 at 1:12 pmMy favorite as well.
Liz says
February 25, 2017 at 11:19 amBeautiful post! I love making my own dressings – not only are they much healthier, but taste even better too!
Amanda says
February 25, 2017 at 1:25 pmThis is perfect! Thank you for putting these all together in one place!
Izzy | pinch of delight says
February 25, 2017 at 4:59 pmLove all of these! x
Izzy |http://www.pinchofdelight.com
Stacey says
February 25, 2017 at 11:22 pmI’ve been looking for healthy salad dressing for awhile now so I’m very happy to see these recipes and cannot wait to try them.
Susan Phillips says
February 26, 2017 at 11:25 amLove your site! Can’t wait to try all the dressings.
I always look forward to finding new recipes that
you post.
Brittany Mullins says
February 26, 2017 at 1:56 pmThank you, Susan! So glad you found my site. Enjoy the dressings.
Leah MacVie says
February 26, 2017 at 11:55 amI can’t wait to try the peanut dressing this week- if I add a little more peanut butter, maybe it will be a great faux pad thai or would make a good dipping sauce for chicken skewers. Yum! Thanks Brittany!
Brittany Mullins says
February 26, 2017 at 2:00 pmThanks Leah! Everyone LOVES the peanut dressing and I think it would work great as a pad thai sauce — just use less water and keep it thicker! I use it as a dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls all the time.
Peppermint Dolly says
February 26, 2017 at 2:12 pmAwesome recipes and great photos!
Rebecca
xx
http://www.peppermintdolly.com
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
February 27, 2017 at 6:17 pmLove homemade dressing and I’m always looking for fun new flavors to try! These will be perfect! 🙂
melissa king says
February 27, 2017 at 9:39 pmCILANTRO LIME PLEASE!! I’m all about those salad toppings for sure!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats says
February 27, 2017 at 10:51 pmI don’t know why more people don’t make salad dressing from scratch? So easy and no processed stuff or HFC! This is a great collection for a variety of salads.
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
February 27, 2017 at 11:20 pmGreat go-tos here! Love making homemade dressing. These are fab!
George says
February 28, 2017 at 4:00 amVery simple and certainly healthy! Thank you
Kate says
March 2, 2017 at 9:44 amThese all look great! Question about the tahini dressing recipe: you list the lemon juice as “1/4 cup Tablespoons lemon juice” – do you mean 1/4 cup or 1/4 tbsp? I imagine that would make quite a difference, and I’d love to make this soon!
Brittany Mullins says
March 3, 2017 at 12:28 amIt should be 1/4 cup. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for pointing out this error. Enjoy the dressing. 🙂
Barb says
March 3, 2017 at 11:44 amIs this the same for the tamari? Is it really 1/4 Tablespoon or should it also be 1/4 cup?
This is a great resource. Thank you!!
Brittany Mullins says
March 6, 2017 at 4:48 pmYes, 1/4 cup. So sorry about the confusion.
Melissa says
March 2, 2017 at 11:11 amLove these! I’m trying to get in the habit of making dressings to have on hand. These will definitely help – thanks for sharing!
Alex says
March 8, 2017 at 9:32 pmHow long would these last in the fridge after you make them?
Brittany Mullins says
March 8, 2017 at 10:15 pmI’d say they last about 5 days in the fridge.
Darlene says
February 16, 2018 at 12:45 pmI made the apple cider vinegar dressing and ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. The problem is that after two days in the fridge it is was all clumpy. Any idea why that happened?
Annette Lowey says
May 7, 2017 at 9:06 amWhat’s the serving size for these dressings?
Brittany Mullins says
May 8, 2017 at 10:13 amThe serving size is 2 Tablespoons.
Edward John says
May 23, 2017 at 11:48 amJust finished making the Peaut Dressing and it was AWESOME.
Renee Kaiser says
May 25, 2017 at 3:24 pmTried the honey mustard one last night. It was fantastic!!!
Brittany Mullins says
May 25, 2017 at 4:40 pmYay! So glad you liked it, Renee.
Meg says
June 3, 2017 at 9:05 pmI love the Apple cider vinegar recipe! Do you refrigerate after? I noticed the consistency changed when refrigerated and I’m wondering if it’s necessary.
Brittany Mullins says
June 4, 2017 at 12:26 pmHi Meg. Yes, I refrigerate this dressing. The olive oil might solidify a bit, but if you take the dressing out the fridge a bit before you want to use it, the oil will become liquid again and you should be able to whisk and use it regularly.
Angela says
June 21, 2017 at 8:02 pmDo these have to be refrigerated?
Angela says
June 21, 2017 at 8:03 pmOops, nevermind… just saw the above post
Patti Solem says
July 7, 2017 at 10:33 amAwesome recipes! I would love your take on Ranch, Caesar and Italian!
Brittany Mullins says
July 7, 2017 at 12:12 pmI have an avocado ranch recipe that you can check out now, but I’ll add Caesar and Italian to my list of dressings to share. 🙂
Susie says
July 31, 2017 at 9:44 amI’m allergic to garlic????Should I just leave it out or do you have a suggestion for a replacement?
Brittany Mullins says
July 31, 2017 at 10:57 amOh shoot! Can you do shallots? That might be a good sub.
Susie says
July 31, 2017 at 11:20 amShallots no, but chives could work?
Brittany Mullins says
July 31, 2017 at 12:50 pmI think chives would be a nice substitute. Let me know how it goes!
Daughter of The King says
August 4, 2017 at 10:00 pmOooh no Susie! I’ve never heard of anyone being allergic to garlic????What happens when you eat it if you don’t mind me asking?
Daughter of The King says
August 4, 2017 at 10:03 pmGreat Great recipes Brittany!! Thank you so much! My husband and I are on a very strict food plan and we have only eaten Tahini dressing or lemon and olive oil and we needed a change! Thanks ????
Karen T. says
September 12, 2017 at 1:27 amThank you for these recipes. They all seem so simple to make.I love making my own salad dressing (haven’t bought bottled dressings in years) and intend to eventually try all of these, but right now I’m stuck on the Apple Cider Vinegar one. It is so delicious!
Brittany Mullins says
September 12, 2017 at 11:47 amThank you, Karen. I’m so glad that you’re loving the ACV dressing. Definitely try the peanut and tahini. They’re both awesome too!
Bianca says
October 2, 2017 at 3:50 pmI tried the Apple Cider Vinegar one. It was good, but it felt like it was missing something. So I squeezed about 1/4 lemon in it and that was it, it turned out really amazing and it actually brought up the salt & pepper flavors!
Super simple and delicious, thank you!
Chris says
January 23, 2018 at 10:47 amThese all look very tempting. In your nutritional facts, the sodium isn’t listed. I’ve recently been put on a low sodium diet and finding hidden sodium everywhere. I know I can leave out salt altogether but was wondering if you had any suggestions what to replace it with. And maybe if you know the sodium content of any of these. Thanks so much!
Kath Eats says
January 24, 2018 at 7:43 amThis is the most beautiful and delicious blog post I have ever seen! Bookmarking for the dressing recipes : )
Debra says
January 27, 2018 at 7:16 pmThank you for posting good easy recipes for dressing. My diet is limited to very fre things, so this help me alot. I would love to try the cilantro lime, but cilantro is one of the no no things for me. What other herb can I use in it place! I will make the regular recipe for my daughter…she will love it.
Susanne says
November 11, 2018 at 10:53 pmMaybe parsley? Different taste but I sub cilantro all the time, I hate it. Parsley I love.
Jocelyn Diaz says
January 30, 2018 at 10:15 amI tried last night the Apple cider vinegar salad dressing and OMG! so incredibly delicious!! So glad I found this blog. Can’t wait to try the rest. I do have one questions (since I track everything I eat) how much is 1 serving? a tablespoon? Thank you!
Brittany Mullins says
February 11, 2018 at 9:47 am1 serving is 2 Tablespoons. 🙂
Jamie says
February 12, 2018 at 9:28 amThese look great? Is there a particular kind of apple cider vinegar you use?
Brittany Mullins says
February 12, 2018 at 10:04 amYes, I really like the Bragg’s unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar.
Billy says
February 20, 2018 at 12:57 pmThat honey mustard one looks delicious! I love a nice dressing that uses a great dijon mustard. Thank you for sharing! Can’t wait to make this one for my family.
Vanessa says
February 23, 2018 at 3:30 pmThanks for sharing! How long do they last?
Brittany Mullins says
February 24, 2018 at 8:23 amThey should last at least a week in the fridge!
Kristin says
February 24, 2018 at 11:50 amHi! I’m going to make the apple cider dressing today. How do you store it after it’s made? Can I leave it out on be counter or should I refrigerate? The oil will usually harden when I refrigerate so I figured I’d ask what you do! Thanks!
Brittany Mullins says
February 24, 2018 at 5:22 pmI’d definitely store the acv dressing in the fridge. The oil might harden… just take it out of the fridge about 20 minutes before serving and shake it well. This will warm up the oil and allow it to become liquid again.
Kristen says
April 27, 2018 at 11:02 amLOVE these awesome salad dressings! I stopped buying salad dressings because as you said they are not healthy. Thank you so much for these incredible dressing recipes, which I will definately be making. Love the Cilantro Lime!
Sandy Weaver says
July 9, 2018 at 11:17 pmI made the Tahini salad dressing tonight because I had all those things in my pantry. I haven’t found a Tahini salad dressing that I like very much but this one was really great. The only ingredient I changed was the tamari. I used coconut aminos instead. Very nice balance of tastes. Thank you for putting these out here. I intend to try the other ones too.
Brittany Mullins says
July 10, 2018 at 10:01 amYay! I’m so glad you enjoyed the tahini salad dressings. That is one of my absolute favorites. And I’m sure it was good with the coconut aminos. I bet they added a little hint of sweetness. YUM!
Becca says
July 22, 2018 at 7:26 amJust made the honey mustard and love it! I plan to work my way through the different recipes :). Is there any issue with the honey getting hard if stored in the fridge? Should I store it on the counter?
Mariah says
July 29, 2018 at 8:14 pmI love that they are all dairy free. I’v tried the honey mustard and apple cider ones a few different times. they are delicious. Thank you
Andrea says
August 2, 2018 at 6:14 pmI just made the honey mustard for a veggie salad and it’s so good!! Definitely saved this page for future reference to try the others as well!
Lisa says
August 11, 2018 at 2:28 pmI just made the Apple Cider Dressing, it is amazing! So full of flavor. Thanks for the recipe.
Brittany Mullins says
August 13, 2018 at 10:31 amHooray! It’s one of my favorites. So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
RITA WEBB says
August 12, 2018 at 4:27 pmLove these dressings! I make the apple cider vinegar often. How big is a serving size?
Brittany Mullins says
August 13, 2018 at 10:27 amAwesome! The serving size is 2 Tablespoons. 🙂
Sharon Duris says
September 6, 2018 at 7:39 pmI made the Peanut Dressing. Wonderful. I served it over a tossed salad. I also tossed it with spaghetti and matchstick Carrots.
John says
September 26, 2018 at 9:27 pmBrittany have tried 3of your dressing and loved them .eating more salad do to u
Thank u send more.
Brittany Mullins says
September 26, 2018 at 10:39 pmAhh!! This makes me so happy. Which has been your favorite so far?
Tammie says
October 1, 2018 at 9:40 pmDo any of these salad dressings need to be refrigerated?
Brittany Mullins says
October 1, 2018 at 10:00 pmYes, they all need to be refrigerated.
Melissa says
December 12, 2018 at 5:16 amI am doing a detox workshop on friday and looking for an easy salad dressing. Thank you for a lovely article and easy to read ingredients plus love the video ! 🙂 I am a health coach too and feel so happy with what you are sharing to the world . Definitely opting for both the apple cider vinegar and cilantro lime one.
Ginette says
February 8, 2019 at 11:49 amHow long do the salad dressings keep in the fridge? They all look so delicious will make a few. thank you
Kristie Delebreau says
April 3, 2019 at 3:24 pmMade the Honey Mustard today! So easy and delicious. The kids helped and they loved it too. I had all the ingredients in my pantry and fridge. Winning 😃
Linda ANDERSON says
May 5, 2019 at 12:03 pmIs there a print option for these recipes?
Brittany Mullins says
May 5, 2019 at 12:24 pmYes, if you click the recipe link(s) to head over to the recipe page for each dressing, there is a print button. Let me know if you need help finding them.
Linda ANDERSON says
May 5, 2019 at 2:49 pmHahaha, tricky girl! Worked, thanks! 🙂
Corey Behnke says
May 14, 2019 at 9:10 amLove all of these!! Where do you buy your little salad dressing jars!!