
Description
As someone who eats a lot of salad, you may be surprised to hear that I don't use bottled salad dressing. That's because these are often filled with inflammatory seed oils, tons of added sugar, preservatives you can't pronounce, and artificial food dyes. Instead, you can make your own Italian dressing that contains healthy fats from cashews and natural sweetness from sundried tomatoes. Not only is Italian dressing great on salads, but I also use it in both my Chicken Fajitas with Peppers and Tropical Fruit Salsa. For a similar salad dressing recipe, make my Oil Free Balsamic Vinaigrette, or you can check out any of my other salad dressings!
Time
Prep Time:
5 minutes
Rest Time:
10 minutes
Total Time:
15 minutes
Cost
Total Cost:
Cost per Serving:
$0.22
Ingredients
Serving(s)
- 1/2 cup Water
- 1/4 cup Sun dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup Cashews
- 1/4 cup Red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Basil, dried
- 1 tbsp Oregano, dried
- 1 tbsp Thyme, dried
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
Cook Mode Off: Prevents screen dimming
- Soak the sun dried tomatoes and cashews in warm water for 10 minutes. Add all ingredients to a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth. It should be pretty thick
- Make sure to get sun dried tomatoes that are not packed in oil. This is what I get from my store


Below is a table comparing the nutrition facts of my homemade dressing to a standard bottle of Italian dressing per serving (2 tbsp, 30 g). As you can see, the homemade version contains less calories and unhealthy fats, more protein and fiber, and no added sugar
Nutrient | Homemade | Bottled |
---|---|---|
Calories | 30 | 80 |
Protein | 1 g | 0 g |
Fat | 2 g | 7 g |
Fiber | 1 g | 0 g |
Added Sugar | 0 g | 4 g |
Nutrition Facts
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Calories: 30
Servings: 12
Serving Size: 2 tbsp (30 g)Calories: 30
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Total Fat: 1.6g (2 %)
Saturated Fat: 0.3g (1 %)
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat: 0.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg (0 %)
Sodium: 111mg (5 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 3.4g (1 %)
Fiber: 0.8g (3 %)
Net Carbs: 2.6g
Total Sugar: 1.2g
Added Sugar: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 1.1g (2 %)
Total Fat: 1.6g (2 %)
Saturated Fat: 0.3g (1 %)
Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat: 0.8g
Cholesterol: 0mg (0 %)
Sodium: 111mg (5 %)
Total Carbohydrate: 3.4g (1 %)
Fiber: 0.8g (3 %)
Net Carbs: 2.6g
Total Sugar: 1.2g
Added Sugar: 0.0g (0 %)
Protein: 1.1g (2 %)
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Vitamin B12: 0.0mcg (0 %)
Vitamin D: 0.0mcg (0 %)
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Calcium: 23mg (2 %)
Iron: 1.17mg (6 %)
Magnesium: 18mg (4 %)
Potassium: 120mg (3 %)
------------------------------------------Vitamin B12: 0.0mcg (0 %)
Vitamin D: 0.0mcg (0 %)
------------------------------------------
Calcium: 23mg (2 %)
Iron: 1.17mg (6 %)
Magnesium: 18mg (4 %)
Potassium: 120mg (3 %)
Glycemic Index:
29.1
Glycemic Load:
1.1
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