Great low-fat salad dressing recipes.

It isn’t obvious, but the one thing that can wreck a good salad’s healthy characteristics (not to mention its flavor) is bad bottled salad dressing. Ditch the store-bought stuff and try one of these low-fat homemade salad dressing recipes.

creamy low-fat basil dressing

1/2 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
4 Tbsp. slivered fresh basil
1 Tbsp. sliced scallion greens
1/2 to 1 clove garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. honey
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a tall jar and use a stick blender to puree until smooth; season to taste with salt and pepper.

lower-fat blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup lower-fat mayonnaise
1 very small shallot, finely minced and rinsed under water (to temper the sharp taste)
juice of half a lemon
4 ounces good quality blue cheese (we prefer Maytag)
salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Whisk together Greek yogurt, mayonnaise, shallot and lemon juice. Add crumbled blue cheese and season with salt and pepper. 

sunny day tomato dressing

2 large perfectly ripe, right-out-of-the-garden summer tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 clove garlic, smashed with a pinch of salt to make a paste
2 Tbsp. (packed) chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup good quality extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Combine everything together in a lidded glass jar or bottle; season to taste with salt and pepper. Cap the container and place it in a sunny spot for 4 or 5 hours. Dressing can be refrigerated, but be sure to serve it at room temperature.