Yogurt dressing for salad: the best, easiest, and healthiest dressing there is! It only takes 5 minutes.
Forget all the bottled salad dressings, which are full of weird things that you don't actually want to eat. Making this Greek yogurt dressing takes about 5 minutes. It tastes better than any dressing you could possibly buy. It is healthy and clean, low-fat, low-sugar, and versatile—all the good "healthy words" used to describe a recipe.
But don't let those healthy words worry you, this yogurt dressing for salad is so delicious, you won't even think you are being so healthy with it...
You can use this basic dressing recipe for just about any kind of salad: leafy salad, cucumbers, broccoli, or other veggie salad. You can even eat this as a dip, on top of hot cooked potatoes, or in a chicken/vegetable wrap, for instance.
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How to make a yogurt dressing?
- This is a basic recipe for a yogurt salad dressing. I start here every time I make it, but sometimes I change it slightly depending on the kind of salad I have, my mood, or whatever.
- You can enhance it by adding one grated garlic clove or one teaspoon of horseradish, some chili sauce, ketchup, or mayonnaise, changing the kind of herbs, vinegar, or oil you use according to your taste, and so on.
- This is a recipe I could not do without anymore. I make it at least twice a week and never grow tired of it. The fact that you can change it so easily never lets it become boring.
Ingredients
- As mentioned above, one of the best things about this salad dressing is its versatility. You start with a basic mixture of Greek or natural yogurt, onions, mustard, and vinegar, and you go from there.
- You can add some oil or leave it out completely, add some syrup or replace that with another sweetener, use lemon juice instead of vinegar, use different kinds of mustard, different herbs, or just about any spices you like.
- You can use low-fat or full-fat yogurt, you could use sour cream, or smetana instead or even buttermilk.
How to variate the dressing
Add:
- 1 grated garlic clove or 1 teaspoon horseradish (for beets, for example) or 1 tablespoon ketchup/ mayonnaise/ chili sauce.
- other herbs, like chives, coriander, dill, etc.
- 1 or 2 very finely chopped anchovy fillets.
- 1 or 2 very finely chopped gherkins.
Replace:
- olive oil with other kinds of oil (or leave it out completely)
- white wine vinegar with balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or any other sort of vinegar.
- vinegar with lemon or lime juice to taste
- regular mustard with Dijon mustard, grainy or sweet mustard.
- Maple syrup with honey, agave syrup, or 1 teaspoon of sugar, or leave it out completely if you are already using ketchup, chili sauce, or sweet mustard.
How to store?
Refrigerate the dressing in a jar (with the lid on) for 3-4 days. I often make a double batch, so I have enough yogurt dressing to dress two salads in one week.
The dressing is not suitable for freezing.
Yogurt Dressing (Low-Fat, Healthy Recipe)
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup low-fat yogurt Greek or natural yogurt, 150 g
- 1 teaspoon medium mustard
- 1 small onion red or regular
- 1-2 tablespoons white wine vinegar to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil optional
- 1-2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup to taste
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- fine sea salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Yogurt dressing (Note 1):
- Chop the onion very finely.
- Make yogurt dressing: Place the yogurt in a small bowl, add the mustard, and stir well. Add the vinegar, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk until the mixture emulsifies a little bit. Stir in the onion and the herbs.
Additions:
- Add: 1 grated garlic clove or 1 teaspoon horseradish (for beets for example) or 1 tablespoon ketchup/ mayonnaise/ chili sauce.Other herbs, like chives, coriander, dill, etc.1 or 2 very finely chopped anchovy fillets.1 or 2 very finely chopped gherkins.
Replacements:
- Replace: Olive oil with other kinds of oil (you could even leave it out completely).White wine vinegar with balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, or any other sort of vinegar.Regular mustard with Dijon mustard, grainy, or sweet mustard.Maple syrup or honey, agave syrup, or 1 teaspoon sugar, or leave out completely if you are already using ketchup, chili sauce, or sweet mustard.
- I almost always use low-fat creamy yogurt, but you can take the full-fat version or Greek yogurt. Sour cream, smetana, or creme fraiche taste great as well, but they all have a lot more calories.
Notes
- The recipe will make enough dressing to dress a large salad. You can double the quantities and refrigerate the rest for 3-4 days.
Deb says
You’re recipe looks wonderful and I am thinking that maybe 2 to 4 Tablespoons of raw red onion would probably be a good amount based on the other ingredient measurements you have provided. Onions are a critical flavor factor in cooking and meal creations, but raw, they can be quite offensive to the palate. A terrific trick to temper the bite of raw onion, is to peel it, slice it, and soak the pieces in ice water for at least 10 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Drain the water, blot the onion pieces dry with paper towels, use what you need for your recipe, and refrigerate the rest for other meals. They keep very well in the fridge. I do this all summer for different salad creations.
Adina says
Hi Deb. You can use onions to taste. I eat raw onion wedges with bread and cheese very often, I love them and I am actually upset if I get an onion that is not strong enough... I've just googled and read that in the US one small onion weighs about 4 oz, they are much smaller in Germany, about half of that. So, I think you are right with the tablespoon measurements. I will check tomorrow.
Claire Smith says
Hi Adina. I am going to try your recipe. In the meantime, I just wanted you to know that you have a typo your recipe. You typed "sirup". This is a totally friendly comment. 🙂
Adina says
Hi Claire. Thank you. I am not a native English speaker, I am afraid you will probably find more mistakes if you looked for them... even if I read the text several times before I post and check with a grammar programm I don't find them all. I hope you like the dressing, it is our favorite. ??
priya says
basics are the boon you know 🙂 love this dressing totally..
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop says
This is a great versatile dressing. I love how healthy and simple this is. This is perfect for this summer when I'm trying to eat more salads!
Shirley Lynn Anderson says
A good sounding recipe but isn't that a lot of onion?
Adina says
No, it is just a small onion. You can take less if you don't like onions too much, but I would not leave them out completely. Chop it as finely as you can, so it is not so dominant when you bite on a piece.
M.L. says
We had found a bottled healthy yogurt dressing in Canada which isn't available in the US. Now I can make my own. Thanks!
MLG
Adina says
Thank you. It is so versatile, you can tweak it until it suits you perfectly.
Diann says
I am looking forward to using your recipe on my broccoli salad. This is one thing I am happy about eating instead of dreading in summer diet days!
Adina says
It is a great dressing recipe, Diann, and so versatile, you can do so much to change it according to your taste. I make it all the time, three times this week already.
Adina says
🙂 Oh, I am so glad to hear that!
Rachel @ Simple Seasonal says
I saw this recipe on TasteSpotting and thought "oh, I want that!" When I clicked through the link I was delighted to find myself on your blog!
rebecca says
this looks great and what a lovely blog you have
Adina says
Thank you, Rebecca. That is nice to hear. 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
What a wonderful idea and a great collaboration! I'm going to check it out. I am guilty of buying store bought dressing and every time I pick one up I would think that I should be making it from scratch. This yogurt dressing sounds wonderful, so easy to make, and so much better for you.
Adina says
Thank you, Thao and I really hope you try this dressing. You can change it so much as to completely fit your taste.
Elaine says
Adina,
I can't believe that for so many years I was eating salads and store bought salad dressings thinking it was a "healthy" choice. Thanks for sharing your recipe so that we can see how easy it is to make your own salad dressing!
Adina says
I'd love to convince as many as possible to renounce the bottled stuff. 🙂
Adina says
Thank you, Leslyn. I have only eaten the bottled stuff in bad restaurants and am always amazed that people like it, I find it way too sweet and slimy.
Leslyn says
Adina, you are so right. This basic yogurt dressing is much healthier than the bottled stuff. I love that it is versatile and can be varied according to your needs.