There are, of course, many more points to consider, so we’ve broken it down with the help of dietician Sangeeta Pradhan, and introduced 10 of our favorite yummy, nutritious dressings for you to get started on picking your healthy salad dressing. We chose Bragg's Organic Vinaigrette Dressing as the healthiest of the bunch—check out why below!
We picked our top 10 salad dressings out based on the guidelines that Sangeeta helped us establish, but we want to make it clear that the Web Dietitian does not endorse any brands or products, and the dressings below were determined by the team here at mybest.
$6.69
Volume | 12 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Ginger and sesame, tuscan kale, apple cider vinegar, pomegranate, vinaigrette |
Oil | Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 40~45kcal. |
4 pack
$24.99
Volume | 5.4 oz. (per bottle) |
---|---|
Flavors | Raspberry, blackberry, green apple, mango |
Oil | Not provided |
Calories (per tbsp.) | Not provided |
6 pack
$31.74
Volume | 12 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Classic Italian, shiitake ginger, romano caesar, etc. |
Oil | Extra virgin olive oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 75kcal. |
4 pack
$36.71
Volume | 10 oz. (per bottle) |
---|---|
Flavors | Lemon garlic, habanero ranch, creamy caesar, etc. |
Oil | Extra virgin olive oil, high oleic sunflower oil |
Calories (per tbsp) | 90kcal. |
$5.99
Volume | 10 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Creamy ranch, creamy caesar, etc. |
Oil | High oleic sunflower oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 85kcal. |
2 pack
$1.98
Volume | 8 oz. (per bottle) |
---|---|
Flavors | Poppyseed, honey dijon mustard, raspberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, etc. |
Oil | None |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 2.5kcal. |
6 pack
$34.16
Volume | 8 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Organic goddess, shiitake sesame, balsamic vinaigrette, etc. |
Oil | Expeller-pressed canola oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 55kcal. |
$9.33
Volume | 8 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Green goddess, Lite poppyseed, lemon and chive, etc. |
Oil | Expeller-pressed vegetable oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 20kcal. |
$5.44
Volume | 8 oz. |
---|---|
Flavors | Ranch, honey mustard, balsamic, Italian, etc. |
Oil | Avocado oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 70kcal. |
4 pack
$29.99
Volume | 8.5 oz. (per bottle) |
---|---|
Flavors | Garlic, basil, lemon, chili |
Oil | Organic extra virgin olive oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | Not provided |
Image | 1 ![]() Bragg | 2 ![]() Baja Precious | 3 ![]() Drew’s All Natural | 4 ![]() Tessemae’s All Natural | 5 ![]() Tessemae’s All Natural | 6 ![]() Skinnygirl | 7 ![]() Annie’s Naturals | 8 ![]() Annie’s Naturals | 9 ![]() Primal Kitchen | 10 ![]() Mantova |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Name | Organic Vinaigrette Dressing | Infused Balsamic Quartetto | Classic Italian Vinaigrette Dressing | Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing | Organic Creamy Ranch | Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing | Organic Vegan French Dressing | Lite Honey Mustard Vinaigrette Dressing | Greek Vinaigrette with Avocado Oil | Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil Variety Pack |
Features | Organic Apple Cider Vinegar Fights Infections and Cleanses Arteries | Syrupy, Sweet, and Completely Versatile | Less Greasy Than Your Typical Italian But Tastes Just as Good | Has Got a Lot of Good Fats–That’s Why It’s So Flavorful | Super Creamy Dairy-, Grain-, and Sugar-Free Ranch | A Little Tart, A Little Sweet, and Fat and Sugar Free | Tangy, Sweet, and Savory Expeller-Pressed, Heart-Healthy Canola Oil | Almost No Fat or Sugar in This Tangy Honey Mustard Dressing | Tastes Like Oregano and Packed With Body-Healthy Nutrients | Antioxidants-Rich Olive Oil and Zesty Spices |
Price | $6.69 | $24.99 | $31.74 | $36.71 | $5.99 | $1.98 | $34.16 | $9.33 | $5.44 | $29.99 |
Volume | 12 oz. | 5.4 oz. (per bottle) | 12 oz. | 10 oz. (per bottle) | 10 oz. | 8 oz. (per bottle) | 8 oz. | 8 oz. | 8 oz. | 8.5 oz. (per bottle) |
Flavors | Ginger and sesame, tuscan kale, apple cider vinegar, pomegranate, vinaigrette | Raspberry, blackberry, green apple, mango | Classic Italian, shiitake ginger, romano caesar, etc. | Lemon garlic, habanero ranch, creamy caesar, etc. | Creamy ranch, creamy caesar, etc. | Poppyseed, honey dijon mustard, raspberry vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, etc. | Organic goddess, shiitake sesame, balsamic vinaigrette, etc. | Green goddess, Lite poppyseed, lemon and chive, etc. | Ranch, honey mustard, balsamic, Italian, etc. | Garlic, basil, lemon, chili |
Oil | Cold pressed extra virgin olive oil | Not provided | Extra virgin olive oil | Extra virgin olive oil, high oleic sunflower oil | High oleic sunflower oil | None | Expeller-pressed canola oil | Expeller-pressed vegetable oil | Avocado oil | Organic extra virgin olive oil |
Calories (per tbsp.) | 40~45kcal. | Not provided | 75kcal. | 90kcal. | 85kcal. | 2.5kcal. | 55kcal. | 20kcal. | 70kcal. | Not provided |
Link |
And the advent of the internet, where anyone can post anything at any time, hasn’t helped matters much. We could barely separate truth from semi-truth from fiction, so asked the Web Dietitian to help us cut to the chase.
First, look at the serving size of the dressing. This is important, because it denotes how many calories you will actually be digesting. For example, if you see a 100 calorie dressing and use four tablespoons of it on your salad, it could actually be 400 calories you're intaking, if the serving size is just one tablespoon!
Some companies make serving size super small so that their product looks healthier. Don’t be misled. With salad dressings, for the most part, you need a minimum of two tablespoons to feel any zest—so that’s the serving size that we and Sangeeta recommend (each of which should pack 100-120 calories).
You want to avoid too much sodium in your dressing and choose something with less than 250 milligrams per serving. That’s because in a day, a healthy adult should be ideally consuming 2,300 milligrams, according to The American Heart Association. Too much sodium could potentially lead to high blood pressure.
If you are part of at-risk populations—these include, but are not limited to folks over 50, African-Americans, and people with hypertension, diabetes, or kidney disease—the AHA lowers the cap to 1,500 milligrams (so about 200 milligrams per serving). Around half of the US population falls into this group.
The American Heart Association says that around 16 grams of saturated fat a day is fine—but eating too much risks high cholesterol and heart disease because saturated fat has a stable chemical structure that stays solid at room temperature, but clogs up your arteries. Ideally, you want just two to four grams of saturated fat per serving.
There are, however, good unsaturated fats which come with a host of health benefits. You can find them in the oils of most plants. So, look for healthy fats, stick with the suggested serving size, and try to stay within the recommended guidelines for total fat as noted below.
Oil is the number one ingredient in most salad dressings. But there’s so many different types, from so many different fruits, vegetables, and seeds–and they’re processed in so many different ways. So let’s talk about a few key terms that will hopefully help you make head and tails of everything.
When you hydrogenate a liquid fat, you turn it into a solid fat by adding hydrogen. This keeps the oil from going rancid quickly, but it also unfortunately produces trans fats, which are not good.
When reading the ingredients label, make sure there is no partially or fully hydrogenated oil. Steer clear of shortening as well, which is made from partially hydrogenated oil.
Instead, look for liquid oils, which are brimming with healthy (unsaturated) fats. They do just the opposite of hydrogenated oils, which means they lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease. However, there are a lot of theories about nutritional differences between monounsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated (PUFAs) fats.
Sangeeta wants you to know that you need both MUFAs and PUFAs as part of a healthy diet. As long as you are consuming salad dressing in moderation and all the oils are liquid, you will be taking in a healthy amount of fat, be they mono or poly. Most plant-based oils are full of unsaturated fat, so look out for nut, avocado, peanut, sesame, and olive oil.
Many oils are drawn out chemically using hexane, which is toxic. It’s heated out later, of course, but we aren’t sure how much is left over. And the heating process changes the make up and flavor profile of the oil and might even phase out some nutrients.
In a nutshell, you’re left with less high-quality, less healthy stuff. If the bottle doesn’t tell you how an oil was harvested, assume it was chemically processed.
Then you’ve got expeller-pressed oils. Here, the fruits or nuts were stuck into a giant machine, which literally squeezed the oil right out of them. But you need a lot of pressure to wring oil from a peanut. So expeller pressing, while better than chemical processing, still generates a lot of heat.
In Europe, cold-pressed oils are oils that haven’t been exposed to any temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This means no chemical reactions and no flavor changes. In the States, however, we don’t regulate this strictly, so if you want the healthiest stuff possible, look for “expeller-pressed” or “cold-pressed” oils in the ingredients list.
The “extra virgin” you see before olive oils also refers to the extraction process. In a nutshell, “extra virgin” is the purest stuff. It’s got the strongest flavor and keeps the most nutrients and health benefits.
Short ingredients lists are good. You want them to start off with any of the oils from up above, water, or vinegar, followed by a bunch of seasonings that sound like they were plucked out of an Italian kitchen. You don't want anything chemical that you can’t read.
All the flavors, ingredients, and textures have got to be compatible, so make sure your dressing pairs well with your favorite kind of salad. Of course, a lot of this is up to preference, but here are some of our favorite blends.
Greek dressing is light, so it’ll enhance the flavor of fresh ingredients, without detracting from stronger ingredients, like onions and cheeses. Sangeeta makes her salad dressings from scratch, but you can still draw inspiration from her creations when you throw together your next salad and are looking for a new dressing to try.
Are you looking to incorporate more healthy salads into your life? We've got you covered with these related links below!
Household goods
Home electronics, PC, camera
Cosmetics and skincare
Food and drinks
Kitchen supplies
Clothing
Shoes
Accessories
Kids and baby
Interior and furniture
Hobbies
Outdoor
DIY and tools
Sports and fitness
Pets
Books, CDs, DVDs
Games
Cars and motorcycles
Gifts
Housing equipment and renovation
Smartphones and mobile phones
Mobile data
Investment and asset management
Credit cards and loans
Insurance
Music
Smartphone applications