Name: Healthy French Dressing Recipe
Prep time: 2 min
Total time: 2 min
Ingredients: 1 TBSP mustard; 1 TBSP tomato paste; 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil; ¼ cup white wine vinegar; 1 TBSP honey; ½ tsp onion powder

I had a friend in high school who loved French dressing on everything, including her pizza. I never understood why she loved it so much. Since my mom and oldest son both like it a lot too I decided to find a good homemade version.

French Dressing?

French salad dressing as we know it today didn’t exist until recently. Until the 1960s, classic French vinaigrette was originally a healthy oil and vinegar dressing and is what we now just call vinaigrette. Vintage cookbooks listed seasonings like black pepper and lemon juice, later adding shallots, garlic powder, Dijon mustard, and other ingredients.

Over the years ingredients like paprika (and even ketchup) were added to make the bright orange version popular today.

It may not be from France at all but it’s certainly an American favorite.

And up until recently, French dressing ingredients were regulated by the FDA. That’s because starting in 1920 mineral oil (yep, from petroleum) became a popular replacement for olive oil. Mineral oil is undigestible and acts as a laxative so it became a popular replacement in salad dressing for weight loss.

Eventually, processed food brands created spin-off options like Catalina dressing and creamy French dressing.

Real Food French Dressing

This homemade version made me understand why people love French dressing so much. With only real food ingredients and no vegetable oils or gobs of processed sugar, it’s easy and delicious. We like it on almost any meal (except maybe pizza?). I tried to balance the original oil and vinegar base with a slight bit of sweetness reminiscent of the newer version.

I use white wine vinegar, but red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar will also work (though they do taste stronger). The tomato paste adds color and flavor without adding tons of sugar. And the honey adds a little sweetness and acts as an emulsifier for the oil and vinegar.

My kids enjoy dipping fresh veggies in this salad dressing (probably because it resembles homemade ketchup). If you’re a fan of French dressing (or perhaps even if you aren’t), try this healthier homemade version instead.

Healthy French Dressing Recipe

A simple and delicious homemade alternative to store-bought French dressing that you can make at home in under 2 minutes.

Prep Time 2

Total Time 2

Calories 60kcal

Author Katie Wells

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Servings

TBSP

Equipment

Blender

Ingredients

Instructions

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge and shake before use as needed.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Healthy French Dressing Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 TBSP)

Calories 60 Calories from Fat 54

% Daily Value*

Fat 6g9%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 4g

Sodium 24mg1%

Potassium 18mg1%

Carbohydrates 1g0%

Fiber 0.1g0%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 0.1g0%

Vitamin A 20IU0%

Vitamin C 0.3mg0%

Calcium 2mg0%

Iron 0.1mg1%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

Serve on a salad or use as a dipping sauce.

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

More Salad Dressing Recipes

I love a good salad so I try to keep it fresh with different salad dressings. Here are a few of our favorites.

What’s your favorite thing to eat with French dressing? Leave a comment and let us know!

Sources

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

11 responses to “Homemade French Dressing”

Kathleen

November 7, 2022

This is my new favorite dressing. It uses ingredients I always have on hand and is delicious on a variety of salads. Thanks for posting this!

Reply
Ginger Brown

September 22, 2019

Thank you!
I made this dressing and it was amazing
I didn’t have white wine vinegar so I substituted champagne vinegar and it was perfect

Reply
Sarah

June 6, 2019

Thanks for this recipe! I am pregnant and craving cottage cheese with french dressing on top (a childhood favorite), but all of the store dressings have canola oil.

Reply
Terry

December 15, 2017

French is my go to dressing for green salads. This recipe does it all in a more healthy way. The only change I made was to use canola instead of olive oil. I found that the olive oil had too much of an oily after taste for me. If canola oil is considered a vegetable oil, then I apologize for changing your recipe but I rate it as a 5 out of 5 with this change.

Reply
Tiffany

November 11, 2015

How long can you store this for if made in a larger batch ?

Reply
Marcia Q.

July 25, 2015

This is my first visit to your site so please forgive me for sounding ignorant, but I am somewhat confused. I followed a link to find this dressing recipe. You write:

“With all real food ingredients and no preservatives or vegetable oils, this dressing…”

This line caught my eye immediately because I need to find a delicious oil-free recipe. But then the recipe calls for 1/3 cup olive oil. Are olives not vegetables? Are they considered a fruit, like the tomato, so technically the recipe is vegetable oil free?

Reply
1. Wellness Mama
  
  July 25, 2015
  
  Yes, olives are a fruit and are not considered a vegetable oil.
  
  Reply
Elisa

February 28, 2015

Hello,
Since I’m french I thought I’d share my family’s version of this dressing :
6 parts olive oil
2 parts vinegar (experience with any you like, apple, balsamic etc)
1 part mustard (old-style with whole mustard seeds is nice too!)
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all but the oil and mix well until the salt is dissolved, and then slowly add the oil and whisk thoroughly to create an emulsion. The simplest way of doing it is shaking it in a bottle.
The ratios are approximate, everyone is free to adapt it too their preferences. If you use real french mustard it can be quite hot if you’re not used to it.
Anyway, we usually just use it on plain green salad in the summer, or as a dressing for asparagus – also, it tastes wonderful to put a bit of that dressing in the hole left by the seed in one avocado half and then spoon it out!
Most of the time the simplest recipes are the best 🙂

Reply
Lily

September 3, 2014

Is it alright to substitute vinegar with fresh lime juice?

Reply
1. Wellness Mama
  
  September 5, 2014
  
  You could try it, but it may not work.
  
  Reply
Gena

May 27, 2014

This was so delicious! My son who usually turns up his nose ate 2 servings! I wish he would eat his salad as happily.

Reply