18 Healthy Homemade Salad Dressings with Garlic

February 10, 2021
Credit: Eva Kolenko

Make a delicious and healthy salad dressing using garlic. Garlic adds a savory and spicy flavor to any dressing and pairs well with other ingredients like lemon and Dijon mustard. Recipes like Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette and Soy & Roasted Garlic Dressing are tasty and will jazz up any salad greens.

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Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette

Credit: Eva Kolenko
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While a 1-to-2 acid-to-oil ratio is common for vinaigrette, shifting it to 1-to-1½ yields a dressing with a brighter flavor and fewer calories. That means for every ½ cup of acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, use 3/4 cup of oil. Here’s a good all-purpose take on the formula.

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Creamy Garlic Dressing

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This creamy garlic dressing recipe is enriched with low-fat buttermilk and low-fat mayonnaise. Try this thick, garlicky dressing as a sumptuous topping for potato, pasta or romaine salads.

 

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Garlic-Dijon Vinaigrette

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This garlicky mustard vinaigrette is great to have in your repertoire as it goes with almost anything. The recipe makes plenty so you can fix it once and then have it on hand for several days. The garlic is delicious but bold here; use fewer cloves if you want to tone it down.

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Soy & Roasted Garlic Dressing

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Roasted garlic gives this Asian-inspired dressing a deep, nutty flavor. It's great on any combination of salad greens, or use it as a dipping sauce for dumplings.

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Tomato-Garlic Vinaigrette

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This tomato-garlic vinaigrette recipe is like an Italian grandmother's sauce for salad. Don't be afraid of the anchovies! They elevate this salad dressing to a different level. Use leftover vinaigrette tossed with whole-wheat penne or fusilli for a delicious pasta salad.

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Anchovy-Garlic Vinaigrette

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This easy vinaigrette recipe is like a simpler version of Caesar dressing. Try it over grilled romaine, in a wrap or tossed with roasted vegetables.

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Creamy Cilantro-Avocado Dressing

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Use this tangy, creamy cilantro-avocado dressing on a salad of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes and black beans, with crumbled tortilla chips or toasted pine nuts on top.

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Easy Red-Wine Vinaigrette

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This versatile red-wine vinaigrette recipe is a healthy dressing for your salad but it's also delicious drizzled on grain salads or over grilled or roasted vegetables.

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Roasted Garlic Dressing

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Rich roasted garlic makes an incomparably flavored dressing. Try this on any salad with bold-flavored greens or ingredients.

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Anchovy Vinaigrette

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Lemon juice, a touch of anchovy paste and minced garlic make this healthy salad dressing an eggless, not-creamy version of Caesar.

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Lemon-Mint Vinaigrette

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The sunny fresh flavors of tart lemon and cool mint combine to make a lively dressing that adds sparkle to salads made with steamed vegetables, potatoes or grains, such as couscous.

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French Dressing

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A homemade cousin of bottled French dressing.

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Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

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Here is a great, all-purpose salad dressing. The pleasing pungency of Dijon mustard makes it a good match for slightly bitter greens, such as escarole, chicory, radicchio or Belgian endive. It also makes an irresistible dipping sauce for crunchy vegetables (especially fennel) and crusty whole-wheat bread.

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Caesar Salad Dressing

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Double this recipe to have extra dressing on hand for tomorrow night's salad.

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Avocado Buttermilk Dressing

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This herbaceous and healthy salad dressing gets a tangy flavor from buttermilk, richness from avocado and brightness from fresh herbs. Try it on sliced tomatoes, cucumber salad or chopped chicken salad and as a dip for carrot sticks, celery, peppers and radishes--you name it! It would also make a great spread for sandwiches.

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Overripe Citrus Vinaigrette

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Orange and lime combine with Dijon mustard and garlic to make a quick, easy vinaigrette that's as tasty on freshly cooked vegetables as it is on salad.

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Honey-Tahini Dressing

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Extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice are the backbone of this dressing, but it gets a unique toasty flavor from tahini.

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Orange-Walnut Vinaigrette

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Try this orange-walnut vinaigrette with a salad of bitter greens.

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