Oil-Free Balsamic Vinaigrette & 6 Favorite Salad Recipes

Salads are the healthiest of foods, right? Well, maybe. I’ll tell you one thing, though. When I eat a salad every day, I feel really good. Dark leafy greens like spinach are packed with fiber and even contain a decent amount of protein. I know I feel more energized after eating a salad. But sometimes it’s easy to overdo the salad dressing and end up consuming way more fat than expected while attempting to eat something healthy. Lately I’ve been making some low-fat salad dressings, which are absolutely delicious. I don’t miss the oil one bit! And, it saves me 120 calories per tablespoon of oil (such as olive or canola). That adds up quickly!

Wolff’s blog is full of salad recipes, many of which are oil-free or use avocados or olive oil. Find my oil-free vinaigrette recipe below to use on your favorite salad and check out six of our favorite salad recipes.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Beets and goat cheese are one of my favorite combinations – and the recipe already includes an orange-juice-based salad dressing, like the one you’ll find below. But feel free to skip the oil if you feel so inclined.

Get Beet Goat Cheese Salad Recipe 

Asparagus & Strawberry Salad

This recipe also calls for orange juice in the dressing, and uses avocado instead of oil. (Of course avocados have plenty of fat, but it’s healthy fat that will fill you up.)

Get Asparagus Strawberry Salad Recipe 

Mixed Green Salad with Apples and Candied Hazelnuts

Hazelnuts have way of bringing a recipe from ordinary to extraordinary. This green salad packs in the protein with hazelnuts, adds a sweet crunch with apples and a salty tang with Gorgonzola cheese. (I knew I shouldn’t write this article while hungry! All I want to do is stop right now and eat this salad.) Swap out the oil in the recipe for orange juice if desired and you’ll be good to go.

Get Mixed Green & Hazelnut Salad Recipe 

Orange and Red Onion Salad

Once again, orange juice shines in this dressing recipe. But this time it calls for freshly squeezed orange juice to bring the recipe up a notch.

Get Orange and Red Onion Salad Recipe 

Chuck’s Citrus Salad

Fresh, in-season citrus, salty prosciutto and crumbled goat cheese come together in this unique salad combination that Wolff’s chef Chuck Smith dreamed up while in California.

Get Citrus Salad Recipe 

Arugula, Burrata and Speck Salad

Burrata and arugula is easily one of my favorite combinations. It’s perfect spread on top of homemade focaccia bread, or just plain as a salad. Arugula doesn’t need much in the way of dressing – just a little salt, maybe some pepper and olive oil if you feel so inclined. Check out this delicious recipe below.

Get Arugula Burrata Salad Recipe 

While all these recipes come with a delicious dressing recipe already, sometimes you want to mix things up. Or maybe you have your own favorite salad combination and are looking for an oil-free alternative. This dressing takes just seconds to whip up and adds delicious flavor to your salad without adding much in the way of calories.

 

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