How to Make Italian Dressing Healthier | Livestrong.com (2024)

FAQs

Is Italian dressing healthy? ›

Italian dressing is your easy way to health; with all the good fats, white wine vinegar and parmesan cheese, it's one of the low-calorie dressings available. Therefore, it is comparatively low in calories and fat. In addition, seasonings and flavourings like honey give it a delicious flavour.

Generally speaking, the healthiest salad dressing will be a vinaigrette like balsamic or oil and vinegar, while Caesar, ranch or anything with the word “creamy” will be the unhealthiest. The exception? We like products made with healthy swaps—think Greek yogurt in place of mayo or heavy cream.

Adding freshly ground black pepper can often be an easy way to up your dressing game, but also freshening up any ingredient listed on the bottle can be useful. An extra dollop of mustard in your Dijon vinaigrette, or pinch of oregano in your Italian dressing can make a world of difference.

However, some condiments contain unhealthy ingredients like artificial additives and high amounts of added salt and sugar.

As you can see, Italian dressing is generally the most calorie-dense, with French and honey mustard close behind. In terms of sugars, honey mustard packs the most, with 6 grams of sugar in a single 2 tablespoon serving! French dressing also loads the sugar into the same size serving.

Best: Black Bean-and-Avocado Salad

The beans are a good source of disease-fighting antioxidants, and they have protein and fiber, as well as energy-boosting iron. Avocado adds creaminess and fiber. Plus, its fats help your body take in nutrients, including heart-healthy lycopene.

A: Most commercial bottled salad dressing will keep indefinitely in the refrigerator. Since salad dressings are so high in acidic ingredients, particularly vinegar, there isn't much that can make it spoil.

When they work together, the result can be harsh. But just a bit of water mellows out all of the flavors so that each can shine through. The tip isn't limited to this one vinaigrette.

What can you add to store-bought Italian dressing to make it taste better? - Quora. Use really good olive oil and rice vinegar with chopped up garlic and Italian blend spices, plus a little salt and fresh pepper.

What is the unhealthiest condiment? ›

However, Italian dressing is oftentimes just as high in sugar and fat as other types like honey mustard or French.

Harris-Pincus explains, "Those looking to follow a lower-carb plan or people watching added sugars would do better avoiding sweeter dressings like Honey Mustard, Thousand Island, French or Catalina, and choose oil and vinegar or a balsamic vinaigrette."

1) Balsamic Vinaigrette: “This is probably the healthiest, especially when it's truly just balsamic vinegar and olive oil,” Hunnes explains. Studies suggest that balsamic vinegar, in addition to containing very few calories and being fat-free, contains antioxidants that may lower cholesterol and promote healthy skin.