Oil-Free Salad Dressings

With smoothness from tahini or almond butter, sweetness from maple syrup, and “bite” from balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard, this dressing tastes as good as the tastiest creamy balsamic dressings out there and has a lot fewer calories and grams of fat (per two Tablespoons, this no-oil vinaigrette has 35 calories and 2 grams of fat; Kraft balsamic dressing has 90 calories and 8 grams of fat in two Tablespoons).

Here’s a simple, classic-tasting Caesar dressing when you want the sharpness of vinegar and Dijon along with the brininess of — not anchovies in this case — capers. This no-oil dressing saves calories and fat. If you make your croutons in the air fryer, you can achieve a completely oil-free Caesar!

This no-oil dressing would go really well on a Middle Eastern-style fattoush salad or just about any salad you can think of. The combination of pomegranate molasses and cumin, along with other flavors, packs a punch that can stand up to a variety of greens, grains, and vegetables. Without oil, you save calories and fat, and the flavors of the molasses and spices are, if anything, bigger and bolder as a result.

At only 29 calories and 2 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons, this dressing is a fantastic part of a healthy diet. It also happens to taste great, and its color is magnificent! You can use jarred red peppers and be done in 10 minutes or less! Or use up those red peppers from the garden or farmers market.

This lovely, creamy dressing goes with salads of all kinds. It’s an easy, one-step recipe—just blend everything together. With no oil and no dairy, it’s super healthy and low-calorie. A win-win!

This re-work of Catalina dressing—taking out the oil, sugar, and ketchup—has a fresh, almost sweet-and-sour tang to it and is delicious.

You won’t notice the absence of oil or dairy. This dressing adds an elegance and brightness to any salad it meets.

This dressing tastes a bit like creamy Italian dressing, but the lemon and Dijon notes pull it over the Alps toward France. The lemon gives it such a fresh flavor, and it can shine through because there’s no oil to mute it.

This sweet-savory-umami dressing goes with so many salad and bowl combinations that you could call it the “little black dress” of the salad dressing world.

This no-oil take on lime-ginger dressing works beautifully on Thai salads. With tahini to provide creaminess, the dressing can stand up to anything the salad throws at it.

Only 29 calories per tablespoon, but this dressing is full-bodied and full-flavored. It tastes a bit like ranch dressing but has its own unique deliciousness.