Summer is here, and it's time to break out the fresh and fruity salad dressings! Making plant-based salad dressings free of oil, salt and sugar can be easy, especially with a template. Find one below as well as 5 vinaigrette dressing recipes.
Vinaigrette dressings are beloved for their sweet, spicy and tangy combinations. They are typically made of vinegar and oil, flavored with herbs and spices. But oil isn't necessary to create a delicious vinaigrette. When creating your own recipes, it may be helpful to start with the below template for ideas and ratios. Feel free to use something from each category or pick and choose to fit your tastes.
Fruit: Try berries, apples, pears, citrus, stone fruit, grapes, pomegranates, or avocado. Dates and raisins are also a great addition along with fresh fruits. Suggestion: ½ cup fresh fruit; 1 tablespoon raisins or 1-2 dates.
Vegetables: Try some soft vegetables, such as cucumbers or tomatoes, as well as zucchini or bell pepper. Suggestion: ¼ to a ½ cup.
Vinegar: Use your favorite. I use brown rice and apple cider vinegars most often. Watch out for seasoned and balsamic vinegars, as they often contain sugar, salt and/or sulfites. Suggestion: 1-2 tablespoons.
Nuts/seeds: A little nuts or seeds go a long way to create rich, tasty dressings. Try these nuts: cashew, walnut or pecan; and these seeds: hemp, sesame, sunflower, chia or pumpkin. Suggestion: 1 tablespoon.
Onion/garlic: Add a little kick with the addition of some fresh onion, shallot or garlic. Suggestion: 1 tablespoon chopped onion/shallot or ¼-1/2 teaspoon freshly minced garlic.
Fresh herbs: I just love fresh herbs in dressings. Try basil, parsley, cilantro, scallions, chives, oregano or tarragon. Suggestion: 1-2 tablespoons chopped (less for more lively herbs like oregano and tarragon).
Additionally, you may like to add some prepared mustard (Dijon or stone-ground), minced fresh ginger, citrus zest, or black pepper. Have fun, and if you come up with an amazing combination or two, please share it in the comment section below.
These recipes make about 1 cup of dressing, but simply double them to make more. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Shake before using each time.
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Pineapple Mango Dressing
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped fresh, ripe pineapple (or if canned, drain and reserve the juice)
- ½ cup chopped fresh, ripe mango
- ¼ cup water (or pineapple juice)
- ¼ cup chopped basil
- 2 tablespoons vinegar (I like apple cider)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients (pineapple, mango, water, basil, and vinegar) into a blender, and blend until smooth but still with tiny specks of basil showing. Add a little water if needed to thin. Store leftover dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days and shake before using.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 recipe (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 118
- Sugar: 23.9g
- Sodium: 6.3mg
- Fat: 0.6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1g
- Carbohydrates: 28.6g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 1.7g
- Cholesterol: 0
Strawberry Balsamic Dressing
- Total Time: 8 mins
- Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced strawberries (about 7 medium)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped onion or shallot
- 1 tablespoon mustard (I like Dijon or stone ground)
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients (strawberries, water, vinegar, onion or shallot, mustard, and black pepper) into a blender, and blend until smooth, adding a little water as needed. Store leftover dressing in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days, and shake before using.
- Prep Time: 8 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 recipe (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 85
- Sugar: 13.3g
- Sodium: 11.8mg
- Fat: 0.5g
- Saturated Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 19.3g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 1.4g
- Cholesterol: 0
Blueberry Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup fresh blueberries
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tablespoon brown rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon white (hulled) sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon raisins
- ¼ teaspoon freshly minced garlic (1 small clove)
Instructions
- Using a high-speed or standard blender, blend all ingredients until smooth (or to your desired consistency).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 recipe (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 129
- Sugar: 12.8g
- Sodium: 6.3mg
- Fat: 6g
- Saturated Fat: 0.9g
- Carbohydrates: 19.2g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 2.8g
- Cholesterol: 0
Creamy Peach Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
- 1 medium ripe peach (yellow or white), skin on, diced (about 4 oz.)
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon raw, unsalted cashews
- 1 green onion/scallion chopped (white and green portions)
Instructions
- Using a high-speed or standard blender, blend all ingredients until smooth (or to your desired consistency).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 recipe (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 110
- Sugar: 13.5g
- Sodium: 3.2mg
- Fat: 4.4g
- Saturated Fat: 0.8g
- Carbohydrates: 17.8g
- Fiber: 2.7g
- Protein: 2.8g
- Cholesterol: 0
Cucumber-Avocado Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 10 mins
- Yield: about 1 cup 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup diced cucumber, peeled (about ½ of a medium cucumber or 3 oz.)
- ¼ of an avocado (1 oz.)
- ¼ cup water
- 1-½ tablespoons brown rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley (any type)
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
- 1 teaspoon Dijon or stone-ground mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Using a high-speed or standard blender, blend all ingredients until smooth (or to your desired consistency).
- Prep Time: 10 mins
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 recipe (about 1 cup)
- Calories: 71.9
- Sugar: 6.7g
- Sodium: 127.2mg
- Fat: 4.8g
- Saturated Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 6.7g
- Fiber: 3.2g
- Protein: 1.7g
- Cholesterol: 0
OMG- I am SO onto this lot, yum yum yum : )
Beautiful post Cathy. Love the photos. Really appealing looking! And I love the inclusion of vegetables as well in the salad dressings. VERY CREATIVE!! Fun being in contact with you about this one. Thanks for the nod!! Appreciation. Respect!
Just made a wonderful salad consiting of chopped Romaine, black beans, diced mango, pumpkin seeds, a little shredded coconut flakes, chopped red onion, a little avocado. The dressing: 2 limes squeezed, 1-2 TLBS fresh pineapple juice, a dash of cayenne pepper. Flavor was amazing together. Hope you enjoy and thanks for all the great recipes.
Thanks for the idea Teresa! Sounds yum!
I am really loving the aged Balsamic vinegars right now. They are half the acid of the normal balsamics, so sweet and wonderful, and cost 3 or 4 times as much!!!! It's a problem! These dressing recipes are so much fun. Thank you!
Thanks Wendy! 😉
Thank you for the tips!
Just love preparing my own dressings minus the sugar and oils. You gave me so more creative, mouth-watering ideas. Each recipe looks yummy!! Thanks and happy 4th!
Hi Joanne! Happy 4th to you too! 😉
Hey fantastic! I love these resipes! Just wondering how long they would keep?
Since there is so much fresh stuff, I said up to 5 days, but each probably keeps a little differently. 🙂
Thank you for sharing! I love the combinations you chose. I have fruit trees and grapevines in my yard so always looking for fruity type sauces to make. I have 2 lemon trees so I often sub lemon juice for vinegar and it is yummy too!
You're welcome, Terry. 🙂 I have an apple tree and love it when Sept. rolls around. Lucky you!
Thanks Cathy! I love your avocado cucumber dressing. In fact, I will be making it tomorrow for a group of friends -- wine makers in particular 😉 Thanks a bunch as always!
Yay! 🙂 Thanks Trisha!
Thanks for sharing these creative ideas! I'm part of a CSA and you can only put oil and vinegar on your salad SO many times.
I've made strawberry vinaigrette, but now I have so many new options. Thanks so much for all of the ideas!
I really like the Pineapple Mango Dressing. Thanks for sharing these with everyone. These keep me from getting stuck in a rut and encourage me to try new things. I use your blog all the time.
Hey Matt! 🙂 Thank you so much! Glad I am helping to prevent ruts. Have a great day!
We are huge fans of homemade dressings here and since we eat a ton of salad I'm always on the lookout for new dressing recipes. The problem is I don't know which one of these to start with! I think I'm leaning towards the peach one first though 🙂
These are great! How long do they keep for?
Since there is so much fresh stuff, I said up to 5 days, but each probably keeps a little differently. 🙂
Thanks for some new ideas - I've been experimenting with Kale and Chia seeds in my dressings - and have been pleasantly surprised (although the kale makes it an interesting color)
Phenomenal! I tried the first one, but didn't have pineapple so I doubled the mango. I drizzled the dressing over freshly roasted local beets over a bed of greens and wow! So delicious. I sometimes can't believe eating this way tastes so good without all the oil, salt, and sugar, but it does!
Thanks Jen! 🙂 I agree!
Hi Cathy! My partner just made the Pineapple-Mango Vinaigrette the other night and my kale salad never tasted so good. I can't wait to try Strawberry Vinaigrette. Thanks again! 🙂
Thank you for all the ideas!
I'm excited about trying to make these oil and salt free salad dressings! We usually use just plain balsamic vinegar or lemon so it'll definitely going to be a nice change. Can't wait!
Yum! Just made the Cucumber-Avocado dressing. It's so good. I'm going to use it to dress a potato salad. Trying to stay away from oil and am doing a 30-day sugar-free thing, so this is perfect! I didn't have the brown rice vinegar, so I used 1/2 rice vinegar (sugar/sodium free) and 1/2 apple cider vinegar. Thank you for this post - so helpful in my quest to eat a more healthy way.
You go girl! 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Just made the peach vinaigrette- delish. So many wonderful combos to try. Thank you!
Love all your recipes. For salad dressing instead of the vinegar can I substitute with lemon instead.
Sure! 😉
I cannot wait to try some of these, it is so great to have stumbled on your site!
Hi there...I have just discovered you site and so VERY PLEASED to have found you!!!
My hubby and I have just turned Vegan because of wanting to be healthier and his health issues. We both eat a lot of salads and I've had one heck of a time finding recipes that don't contain OIL. THANK YOU....for these and I'll be visiting you site on a daily basis for other good recipes that I glanced at.
Suzanne
Does apple cider or brown rice vinegar have sulfites?
I don't know. Maybe Google it. I have read that some are naturally occurring, but not sure if that makes them any better. Let me know what you find. 🙂
Hi Cathy,
I can't find brown rice vinegar anywhere in my area. Would apple cider or wine vinegar make good substitutes or are the flavors too different?
Any vinegar would work fine. 🙂
Have you ever used guar gum to thicken your dressings? I haven't used it myself, just have read about it but am thinking of giving it a try.
I have not used that. 🙂
I know that most folks love fruity salad dressings but I am one of those who don't like dressings made with fruit. I love savory dressings like the cucumber-avocado you posted. Do you have anymore savory dressings that you can share that dont use fruit?
Not really. I have some with the potato salad and tu-no salad recipes. You can make your own using these guidelines:
The Avocado cucumber version is LOVELY! I can't use many dressings as I have a super sensitive tongue and many are way to acidic for it. I cut down the rice vinegar a bit and added a little extra water! This dressing doesn't destroy my tongue! LOVE IT!
just foundyour site not too long ago and wanting to do my own dressings. can I substitute frozen fruits for the fresh in you dressings?
Sure. 🙂
Would you make a ranch dressing using cashews? Like maybe cashews + vinegar + "ranchy" herbs (parsley, dill, onion powder,etc.) + black pepper? I'm trying to stay away from the commercial almond milk because of the sodium, so I thought I would try it using your suggestions with nuts and vinegar. Thanks for all the work you do for us!
I have a Ranch dressing recipe in my cookbook that used cashews, vinegar, dill, garlic...
Hi Cathy, first of all, thanks for some wonderful recipes in my journey into the SOS diet.
I have one concern I wanted to ask you about, and that's the quantity of mustard in your dressings. Back in the old days, when I made French Vinaigrette with oil, a teaspoon was considered enough. Do you really put two tablespoons into your dressings. I tried it and it makes it very very sharp. Of course, I could just reduce, which I do, but wanted your thoughts on this.
Hi David, sure, you can decrease/increase to your taste. I find once on the salad, it's dispersed so much that it's not too much/too sharp. I also don't use yellow mustard, but Dijon or stone ground, which may make it less sharp. 🙂
How long will the CUCUMBER-AVOCADO VINAIGRETTE last in the refrigerator? I am demonstrating this recipe to a class of 40 people next week. The class is based on the program, "The Full Plate Diet." I think this recipe is the perfect way to demonstrate a non-nut-based dressing that still has enough fat in the recipe to appeal to people used to eating the SAD. Based on your experience, is this the right recipe of yours to demonstrate? Or is this a good choice?
Thanks Angela. 🙂 Yes, I think that would be a good one, or the Tomato Vinaigrette that goes with the four-bean salad. It has no added fat and it really good. The dressing with avo will probably last 2-3 days, the other longer since it has no nuts, beans or avo (all things that don't last as long).
Used this on the beet salad and both my wife and I thought it was delicious and she normally doesn’t like salad with fruit or homemade dressings.
Yay! Thanks Carmie! 😉
The best salad dressing I’ve ever tasted. I used Costco aged balsamic vinegar and shallots. The fresh strawberries I used were already very flavorful so they made an incredible dressing. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thanks Debbie! 😉