The BEST Healthy Salad Dressings (15+ recipes!)


We’re over halfway through June and I can’t stop making giant, veggie-packed salads. If you didn’t catch my fav spicy ranch chicken cabbage salad add it to your list ASAP!

Here at AK you know we’re in the anti-boring-salad club. Ambitious Kitchen salads are guaranteed to be bright, flavorful and always satisfying. One of the best parts of my salad recipes is the incredible homemade healthy salad dressings that go with them. Whether you’re craving a zesty vinaigrette, creamy peanut dressing or are a ranch addict like Tony, I’ve got all of the dressings you could ever want.

How to make a healthy salad dressing

A delicious, homemade salad dressing requires a few key things to make it taste like your favorite bottle of Hidden Valley (kidding, kind of):

  1. Fat: from oil, yogurt or even buttermilk
  2. Acid: from vinegar or citrus fruit
  3. Plenty of seasonings: like your favorite spices and fresh or dried herbs

Ways to use homemade salad dressing (beyond salads!)

Yes, you’re going to want to whip up giant salads all week long just so you can make these incredible, easy salad dressing recipes. But the best part about them is that they make amazing marinades and even dips, too!

  • Marinate your chicken or fish in any of the dressings to give it a boost of flavor and moisture
  • Drizzle them on your favorite, veggie-packed grain bowls or tray of roasted vegetables
  • Use them as a dip for homemade sweet potato fries!

How to store homemade salad dressings

Some of these healthy salad dressing recipes contain dairy, which means they’ll stay good in the fridge for about 3-4 days. If they don’t have any dairy in them they should stay good in the fridge for about 1 week!

V = Vegan

DF = Dairy free

cilantro lime salad dressing in a bottle

Cilantro Lime Dressing (V) try this in my avocado blueberry quinoa salad

pouring thai peanut salad dressing onto a salad in a bowl

Healthy Thai Peanut Dressing (DF) amazing in this Thai Quinoa Salad or in this Chopped Thai Chickpea Broccoli Salad

avocado lime sauce in a bowl with a spoon

Avocado Lime Sauce: feel free to thin out with water to make it pourable! Perfect to use for chicken salad and great in a wrap, too!

mango cilantro salad dressing in a bottle

Healthy Jalapeño Mango Cilantro Dressing (V) this is amazing over roasted sweet potatoes, or in my fiesta black bean quinoa salad!

pouring sesame ginger dressing onto a salad

Sesame Ginger Dressing (V) so good in my cashew crunch brussels sprouts salad

vegan tahini poppy seed dressing in a bottle

Creamy Tahini Poppy Seed Dressing (V) is delicious on my Peach Brussels Sprouts Crunch Salad

pouring curry tahini salad dressing into a broccoli salad

Healthy Curry Tahini Dressing (V) SO good on this chickpea broccoli curry salad.

healthy greek salad dressing in a bottle

Healthy Greek Dressing (V) this actually makes the most perfect chicken marinade!

jalapeno green tahini sauce in a bowl with a spoon and garnishes on the side

Jalapeño Green Tahini Sauce (V) this is perfect on fish tacos, chicken tacos, quesadillas and MORE. I LOVE IT.

homemade healthy chipotle ranch salad dressing in a bottle

Healthy Chipotle Ranch Dressing: I mean I love using this in my farmer’s market tuna wrap, but it’s also excellent when used for pizza dipping.

homemade tzatziki sauce in a bowl

Homemade Tzatziki Sauce Recipe (yogurt cucumber sauce!) — another great one to thin out to make pourable. Great with these chicken kabobs or thinned out and drizzled on a cucumber tomato salad.

bottle of homemade healthy raspberry balsamic dressing

Healthy Raspberry Balsamic Dressing (V) — love this on my strawberry spinach salad! Feel free to sub strawberry or blueberry jam for the raspberries if you’d like.

spicy green cashew dip on a platter with veggies and crackers

Spicy Green Cashew Dip (V) thin out with additional water to make pourable. SO good with pasta salad.

homemade lemon basil vinaigrette in a bottle

Healthy Lemon Basil Vinaigrette (DF) — I love this on my tomato, avocado, chickpea pasta salad but it’s equally delicious in this mango edamame kale quinoa salad.

spooning tahini sauce out of a jar

The Best Creamy Tahini Sauce Recipe (V) this goes with EVERYTHING. I love drizzling it on roasted veggies like carrots or sweet potatoes. YUM.

pouring greek yogurt ranch into a salad bowl

Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing: I mean who doesn’t love ranch on just about anything. Bust out the carrots, cucumbers, and broccoli and get your dip on.

creamy feta yogurt dressing in a jar with a spoon

Creamy Feta Yogurt Dressing (or dip!): tangy, salty and so easy to make. Dip veggies and drizzle it on my famous Sheet Pan Moroccan Chicken.

pouring vegan caesar dressing onto a vegan caesar salad

Vegan Caesar Dressing: if you’ve been looking for a delicious, vegan & dairy free sub for your fav caesar dressing — this is it! Don’t forget to try it with my crunchy, fresh Vegan Caesar Salad.

spooning sunshine dressing out of a jar

Sunshine Dressing: hello, gorgeous. This bright sunshine dressing is like my creamy tahini sauce went on summer vacation. Light, flavorful and so delicious. Toss with this gorgeous Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing.

I hope you love these easy, healthy salad dressings! If you make any of them be sure to head over and leave a comment + a rating so I know how you liked it. You can also use the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. Enjoy, xo!

This post was originally published on July 19th, 2020, and republished on June 19th, 2022.



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