Salads are some of the most neglected menu items. People order them out of guilt, feeling as though they need to eat some greens to balance out the heavy entrée they are about to consume. When people make salads at home, they are rarely lively and filled with colorful ingredients that offer various phytonutrients and antioxidants. One of the primary reasons for these ambivalent feelings toward salads is because the dressings are often, how do we say this, weak and lacking in flavor.
Salad dressings need to wake up the palate, and they need to be packed with powerful ingredients in order to make that happen. Instead, average salad dressings have monotone flavors and are packed with hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, sugars, dyes, and processed ingredients. All of those ingredients don’t belong in a something that is supposed to be healthy for you!
The only way to keep your salads healthy is to use fresh ingredients in your dressings. While some brands make raw vegan dressings, it is so easy to vary flavors when you make them at home. Salad dressings are probably the least labor-intensive recipes to make. The instructions are either, “Add ingredients to a jar and shake,” or, “Add ingredients to a blender and pulse until smooth.” It doesn’t get much easier than that.
Raw Red Pepper Dressing
Using red bell pepper as the base, this dressing is nut-free and full of big flavors. The subtle zing of the ginger will surely enhance the ingredients in your salad. If you store it in a jar in the fridge, make sure to shake before using it because it can separate.
Ingredients:
- 1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ½ tablespoon ginger root, grated
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Drizzle on the salad immediately or keep it fresh in a jar in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Oil-Free Lemon Mustard Dressing
Dates are the perfect sweetener for this dressing because they balance the intensity of the mustard powder and tart lemon juice. It goes great with frisee or escarole as the salad base.
Ingredients:
- 5 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 25 cups dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- ¼ cup ground mustard seed
Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. You may have to stop blending to scrape down the sides, and resume blending to ensure that there are no chunks.
- Dress your salad with your desired amount of dressing and store the rest in a jar in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Creamy Curry Dressing
We’d use curry powder on everything if we could! It brightens up the salad ingredients and is the bridge that marries the tart and sweet elements of the dressing.
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons raw tahini
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1 cup zucchini, chopped
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- juice of ½ lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- splash of filtered water or more, if necessary
Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Dress the salad and store the remaining dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Strawberry Vinaigrette
Based on the color, this will remind you of a classic raspberry vinaigrette, but this doesn’t have that powerful tang that is specific to raspberries. With only four ingredients, it’s ready in no time!
Ingredients:
- 5 cups strawberries, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth.
- Use right away or store in a jar in the fridge for up to three days.
Creamy Avocado & Cilantro Lime Dressing
Holy guacamole this dressing is a must have, especially if you are a raw vegan. Offering loads of health fats and skin balancing antioxidants, this dressing is beautifully tart and ultra creamy.
Ingredients:
- 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
- 2 limes, juiced
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch of sea salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
- olive oil, if too thick
Instructions:
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If it is too thick, you can add about a tablespoon of olive oil to help thin it out.
- Dress your salad with the desired amount of dressing and store the remaining dressing in a jar in the fridge for up to three days.
