Support your weight loss goals in a healthy way by choosing salad dressings that limit calories, added sugar, and sodium.
Don’t be fooled by the greens, lean proteins, and other nutrient-dense ingredients in your bowl. Certain salad dressings can quickly ramp up the sugar, sodium, and calorie count of your side dish or meal.
Although it’s always the best option to whip up healthy salad dressings at home from vinegar, herbs, and a healthy oil, it is also easy enough to find a healthy, tasty store-bought kind — if you read the nutritional facts label carefully, says Kelly Kennedy, RDN, former manager of nutrition at Everyday Health.
Kennedy recommends following these straightforward guidelines to pick a dressing that will keep your greens delicious without sabotaging your weight loss goals:
- Calories Aim for 100 calories or fewer per 2 tablespoon (tbsp) serving, Kennedy suggests.
- Fat Kennedy doesn't set a cap for total fat, but she recommends looking at saturated fat and sticking to under 1.5 grams (g) of saturated fat per 2 tbsp serving. A dressing with 1 g saturated fat or less is ideal, she says.
- Sugar Aim for less than 5 g of added sugar per 2 tbsp serving.
- Sodium Go for a dressing with no more than 300 milligrams (mg) of sodium.
But do keep in mind nutrient quality, Kennedy says. "While calories matter when it comes to weight loss, I would rather have someone choose a salad dressing made with a healthy source of fat and natural ingredients than one that has fewer calories, but is full of chemical additives." (Read more about why nutrient quality matters below.)
Here are six grocery-store brand premade salad dressings that meet all these criteria.
Annie's Balsamic Vinaigrette
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 100
- Fat 10g (1g saturated fat)
- Sodium 60mg
- Sugar 1g (0g added sugar)
Annie's Balsamic Vinaigrette is a full-fat healthy salad dressing made with organic canola oil. "We all need to get some oils,” says Judy Caplan, RD, the author of GoBeFull: Eight Keys to Healthy Living, who is in private practice in Vienna, Virginia. Fats help the body better absorb fat-soluble nutrients, including vitamins A, D, E, and K, Caplan explains.
To lower the calories in this dressing, Caplan suggests cutting it with a little vinegar or even water as long as the flavor still satisfies you, or simply have it in a smaller, 1 tbsp serving.
An Easy Way to Reduce Fat While Cooking
Next up video playing in 10 seconds
Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 70
- Fat 6g (1.5g saturated fat)
- Sodium 300mg
- Sugar 1g (0g added sugar)
Marie's Lite Chunky Blue Cheese is competitive with other dressing types in its nutrition profile, with less than half the calories of the full-fat version — which has 160 calories, according to nutrition data supplied by Marie’s.
The flavor of blue cheese dressings (even reduced-calorie ones) tends to be very strong, so you might be able to get away with less dressing than the serving size without feeling deprived. Still, shop carefully and be sure to compare the nutritional profiles of different brands before you select a blue cheese dressing, Kennedy says.
Primal Kitchen Honey Mustard
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 110
- Fat 11g (1g saturated fat)
- Sodium 180mg
- Sugar 2g (2g added sugar)
With this dressing, you can score the sweet and savory flavor of honey mustard at less than half the amount of sugar you would get in a traditional honey mustard dressing, says Kelsey Lorencz, RD, a dietitian in Saginaw, Michigan. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), traditional honey mustard has roughly 5 g of sugar in 2 tbsp, while this version has only 2 g. Use it on salads or as a marinade for grilled chicken.
At 110 calories per serving, the calorie count is slightly higher than Kennedy’s recommended benchmark, but she still gives this pick the nod. "The quality of the ingredients, especially the source of fat, is very important. And this salad dressing uses avocado oil as its base, an oil high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats," she says.
Wish-Bone Light Italian
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 35
- Fat 2.5g (0g saturated fat)
- Sodium 300mg
- Sugar 2g (2g added sugar)
In general, vinaigrettes will be the lower-calorie options at the dressings aisle, Kennedy says. And this light Italian dressing from the household brand Wish-Bone fits the bill, clocking in at just 35 calories and 2.5 g of fat. Still, it’is important to watch your portions, because this dressing is at the higher end of our sodium limit.
Primal Kitchen Balsamic Dressing and Marinade
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 100
- Fat 10g (0g saturated fat)
- Sodium 125mg
- Sugar 1g (0g added sugar)
This balsamic dressing and marinade from Primal Kitchen comes recommended by Heidi McIndoo, RD, a dietitian based in Boston. It has a nice tang from the balsamic vinegar and makes for a zesty salad, adding just 100 calories and only 1 g of sugar per 2 tbsp serving. We also love that it's gluten-free, relatively low in sodium, and made with heart-healthy avocado oil.
365 Organic Raspberry Vinaigrette
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 2 tbsp
- Calories 60
- Fat 5g (1g saturated fat)
- Sodium 110mg
- Sugar 3g (3g added sugar)
Whole Foods' 365 brand is home to many healthy eats, including this sweet and tangy raspberry vinaigrette that McIndoo loves using in her salads. This 365 Organic Raspberry dressing is made with real raspberries as well as apple cider vinegar and organic soybean oil, plus it's dairy-free and vegan. Try drizzling this dressing on grilled veggies or use it as a marinade for chicken or fish.
Which Nutrition Facts for Salad Dressings Matter
Whether you’re picking a salad dressing off the grocery store shelf or making your own, it helps to know some of the ingredients that can fill them with nutrients (or empty calories).
Fat
Remember that fat is not the enemy. The body needs dietary fat to function, and there are several fats used in the best salad dressings that provide health benefits, including:
- Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFAs) These are found in olive, canola, and peanut oil, as well as in avocados and most nuts (and nut butters and oils), according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
- Polyunsaturated Fats (PUFAs) These are found in other plant-based oils, like safflower, corn, sunflower, soybean, sesame, and cottonseed oils, according to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Omega-3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fats that are necessary for proper cell function, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
On the flip side, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends avoiding unhealthy fats, such as trans fat. AHA also recommends limiting saturated fat to 5 to 6 percent of your daily calories or less. Instead, choose those healthier MUFAs and PUFAs.
All fats are more calorie-dense than carbohydrates and protein. Fat of any type contains 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein contain only 4 calories per gram, according to the AHA. Adjust your diet choices to use good fats instead of unhealthy fats (such as fried foods or processed deli meats with saturated or trans fats).
Sugar
"Added sugar is a nutrient that most Americans get too much of each day," Kennedy says. The AHA recommends that women and men get no more than 25 and 36 g of sugar per day, respectively.
"Sugar adds up quickly, so making sure that you’re not getting too much from your salad dressing is important," Kennedy says, adding that sticking to no more than 5 g per 2 tbsp serving is ideal.
Sodium
Sodium is another nutrient that we tend to get too much of in our diets, Kennedy says, adding that a high-sodium diet can cause high blood pressure.
While the AHA recommends limiting sodium to no more than 2,300 mg per day, Americans actually get 3,300 mg per day on average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sauces and dressings are some of the most common hidden sources of sodium, according to the CDC, so keep it to a minimum, Kennedy says.
The Takeaway
- If your goal is weight loss, dietitians recommend choosing a salad dressing with no more than 100 calories, 5 g of sugar, and 300 mg of sodium per 2 tbsp serving.
- Many store-bought dressings fit the bill.
Additional reporting by April Benshosan.
Reyna Franco, RDN
Medical Reviewer
Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.
In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.
Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.
She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.
Madeline R. Vann, MPH, LPC
Author
Madeline Vann, MPH, LPC, is a freelance health and medical writer located in Williamsburg, Virginia. She has been writing for over 15 years and can present complicated health topics at any reading level. Her writing has appeared in HealthDay, the Huffington Post, Costco Connection, the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Huntsville Times, and numerous academic publications.
She received her bachelor's degree from Trinity University, and has a master of public health degree from Tulane University. Her areas of interest include diet, fitness, chronic and infectious diseases, oral health, biotechnology, cancer, positive psychology, caregiving, end-of-life issues, and the intersection between environmental health and individual health.
Outside of writing, Vann is a licensed professional counselor and specializes in treating military and first responders coping with grief, loss, trauma, and addiction/recovery. She is a trauma specialist at the Farley Center, where she provides workshops on trauma, grief, and distress tolerance coping skills. She regularly practices yoga, loves to cook, and can’t decide between a Mediterranean style diet and an Asian-fusion approach.
Lauren Bedosky
Author
When she's not writing about health and fitness — her favorite topics being anything related to running and strength training — she's reading up on the latest and greatest news in the field and working on her own health goals.