Diet Plans Low-Carb Diets Foods Healthy Low-Carb Salad Dressings By Laura Dolson Laura Dolson is a health and food writer who develops low-carb and gluten-free recipes for home cooks. Learn about our editorial process Laura Dolson Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Richard Fogoros, MD on May 13, 2019 Richard N. Fogoros, MD, is a retired professor of medicine and board-certified internal medicine physician and cardiologist. He is Verywell's Senior Medical Advisor. Learn about our Review Board Richard Fogoros, MD Updated on July 17, 2019 Print Verywell / Alexandra Shytsman Table of Contents View All Serving Size Added Sugars Quality Oils Other Ingredients Make Your Own Best and Worst Salad Dressings A tasty salad dressing can really be a positive addition to a salad. While adding flavor, the oil can help make nutrients in the salad — particularly the fat-soluble vitamins and phytochemicals — more accessible to your body. However, there are a few pitfalls to be aware of when you’re shopping for high-quality salad dressings. The four factors to consider are: serving size, added sugars, the quality of the oils used, and any extra ingredients. Serving Size Salad dressing is a prime example of “rounding error” when it comes to serving size. It’s very easy to use a lot more than you realize, and whether you’re tracking calories, fat, or carbohydrates, unless you’re measuring carefully and noting serving size, you’re likely to get an inaccurate sense of how much you’re consuming. For example: One serving of Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing (two tablespoons, or 30 grams) has 3 grams of carbohydrates. If you’re drenching your greens straight from the bottle without using a spoon to measure, your effort to choose a dressing that won’t add carbs to your daily intake will be thwarted. If you're also watching calories, they add up fast once you start doubling—or tripling—serving sizes. Newman’s Own Balsamic Vinaigrette also has 90 calories per serving, so if you carelessly pour it on you could easily add 100-200 calories to your salad without realizing it. One tip for keeping serving sizes in check is to change how you dress your salad. It only takes a small amount of an oil-based dressing to coat your greens: the trick is to put a small amount of oil in a large bowl, add your salad mix, and toss well. This strategy not only uses less oil, but tastes better because the salad has an even coating of dressing. When poured on top, you’re left with parts that are bone dry and others that are soggy. Added Sugars While many salad dressings may be considered more savory in taste, they can have a lot of added sugar. When you’re checking the nutrition label, be sure to look under "Total Carbohydrate,” as well as the ingredient list, to check for hidden sugars. Sugar's presence on a food label isn't always obvious. Look for ingredients with "syrup" or "juice" in the name or the suffix "-saccharide" or "-ose." Some common ingredients that are essentially sugar in disguise include: High fructose corn syrupFruit juice concentrateCane juiceBarley maltDextroseSucraloseFructoseGlucitol Keep in mind that many sugar-free products have ingredients meant to replace sugar. Some of the most common are xylitol, sorbitol, and aspartame. Another tip to keep in mind is that reduced-fat dressings usually have more sugar than "regular" varieties. Girard's Caesar Dressing has 1 gram of carbohydrate per serving (two tablespoons). The brand’s "light" (reduced-fat) Caesar dressing has 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving.Kraft Buttermilk Ranch Dressing has 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving, while the fat-free version contains 11 grams.Brianna's Blush Wine Vinaigrette has 14 grams of carbohydrate for a two tablespoon serving. Many balsamic vinegars contain sugar, though there are options with less. Look for dressings with 1 gram of carbohydrate or less per two-tablespoon serving. Avoid those with sugar, especially when it is listed as one of the first four entries on the ingredients list. How to Spot Hidden Sugar in Foods Quality Oils The best oils for salads dressings are those high in monounsaturated fats and low in omega-6 fats (which are not bad in and of themselves, but most people get more than they need in their diet). If you’re looking for a widely available and reasonably-priced option, olive oil will be your best bet. With 73% monounsaturated fat and 9 percent omega-6, olive oil also has many other nutritional benefits.Another popular option is canola oil, which has 59% monounsaturated fat and 20% omega-6.Oil made from soybeans is one of the most commonly-used oils and also tends to be the least expensive, but with 23% monounsaturated fat and 51% omega-6 — a little goes a long way with this option. Products may have "olive oil and vinegar" in the name, but be sure to take a closer look at the label. In many of these dressings, the second ingredient on the list after olive oil is actually soy and/or canola oil (Newman's Own Olive Oil and Vinegar is one example). You'll also want to check the label for partially hydrogenated fat or trans fat. While many manufacturers have dropped this ingredient from their salad dressing recipes, it still appears in some popular brands, such as Wishbone Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing. Other Ingredients In the same way that sugar can hide in products under different names, there are other added or extra ingredients you'll want to keep an eye out for if you're on a low-carb diet. You probably already know to keep an eye out for the usual suspects when it comes to carbohydrates, but don't forget about starches. When it comes to salad dressings, starches can creep into ingredient lists not so much for taste, but texture. These ingredients are often added to change the consistency of a dressing or make it more shelf-stable. Check the ingredients list for flours, gums, or fibers like inulin. The Best Salad Dressing: Make Your Own You may be daunted by the idea of making your own salad dressing, but with the right ingredients, it’s actually quite easy and affordable. If you have the following items in your pantry, you’ve got everything you need to make a tasty, healthy, dressing suitable for a low-carb diet. OilVinegar or lemon juiceMustardSalt and pepperHerbs, spices, fruit, other flavorings to taste (check mixes for added sugars) Tips and Tricks If you find your dressing is separating, use mustard to help hold it together.If your dressing is too thick, a little lemon juice is the secret to thinning it. The ratio should be 3 tablespoons of oil to 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Grab a bowl and mix in any desired seasoning to taste. You can make a fresh batch for every meal or use a mason jar or decanter to store any extra. A two tablespoon serving of your homemade dressing will have about 170 calories and just 2 grams of carbohydrates. Dressing made fresh rather than processed and bottled also has less sodium, no additives, and you have complete control over what is (or isn't) in the recipe. Best and Worst Salad Dressings for Low-Carb Diets Salad Dressing Carb Content Ken’s Fat-Free Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette 17g Hidden Valley Fat Free Ranch 11g Ken’s Raspberry Pecan 11g Kraft Classic Catalina Dressing 9g Kraft Honey Mustard 9g Newman’s Own Sesame Ginger 5g Wish-Bone Deluxe French 5g Marie’s Balsamic Vinaigrette 2g Boathouse Farm’s Chunky Blue Cheese Yogurt Dressing 1g Marie's Creamy Caesar 1g Newman's Own Creamy Caesar 0g Annie’s Organic Red Wine & Olive Oil Vinaigrette 0g Grams of carbohydrate per serving. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Looking to start a low-carb diet, but not sure where to start? Sign up to get our free recipe book and enjoy delicious low-carb meals. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. HelpGuide.org International, "Choosing Healthy Fats." White WS, Zhou Y, Crane A, Dixon P, Quadt F, Flendrig LM. Modeling the dose effects of soybean oil in salad dressing on carotenoid and fat-soluble vitamin bioavailability in salad vegetables. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2017;106(4):1041-1051. doi:10.3945/ajcn.117.153635.