Keto Salad Dressing: Creamy Lemon Vinaigrette

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Most people don’t know how easy it is to make healthy keto salad dressing with a low carb count. All it takes is a few ingredients to make a delicious ketogenic diet-friendly vinaigrette dressing in less than five minutes.

Homemade salad dressings require very little prep time, and you can feel good about the ingredients you’re putting into your body. Many store-bought salad dressings are loaded with sugar, canola oil, and artificial ingredients, so it’s best to avoid them when possible.

The store-bought sugar-free, low-carb salad dressings may seem keto-friendly if you only look at the nutrition facts. But they often contain artificial sweeteners that don’t fit in well with a keto lifestyle.

For DIY keto salad dressing, you need a simple base of an acid — lemon juice, red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar — plus a healthy fat like extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil. You can also add seasonings, such as garlic powder or onion powder.

Fresh herbs are also a tasty addition to any keto recipes for dressing. Try fresh basil, parsley, rosemary, or whatever you have at home. You can also add dijon mustard, sour cream, mayonnaise, or coconut milk to make a creamy dressing. Add jalapeño for a little kick.

This versatile salad dressing can also become your go-to condiment. Use it as a dipping sauce or serve it drizzled on fresh veggies. You can also use it as a marinade for your favorite protein, such as steak or chicken wings.

Keto Salad Dressing Main Ingredients

The main ingredients in this keto salad dressing are olive oil, lemon juice, and rosemary, which not only add distinctive flavors, but health benefits too.

Olive oil gives you a lot of healthy fat, which is the basis of a ketogenic diet.

The main fat is a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid. Studies show that healthy fats like oleic acid have positive effects on cancer and can improve autoimmune and inflammatory diseases[*].

Lemon, which is an excellent option for any low-carb dressing recipes, is the highlight of this keto salad dressing recipe.

Lemon is low in calories and carbs and rich in vitamin C. It can improve the quality of your skin and support weight loss on a ketogenic diet. It can also help prevent kidney stones[*][*][*].

Fresh lemon juice is perfect in Caesar, Greek, balsamic, Italian, or keto ranch dressing recipes.

Rosemary adds a delicious flavor to any keto recipe and it may also help reduce cognitive decline in the elderly[*].

Health Benefits of Lemon

Lemon is a favorite ingredient in all types of recipes for its citrusy acidic flavor, but the benefits go way beyond taste. Regularly including lemon in your diet can help boost your immune system, keep your skin fresh and healthy, and aid in weight loss, among other things.

#1: Immune-Boosting

Just a fourth-cup of raw lemon juice gives you 31% of your daily recommended serving of vitamin C, which helps fight off colds and illnesses[*] and boosts the immune system.

Adding a few tablespoons of lemon juice to your day on a ketogenic diet can also help your body create more red blood cells[*].

Besides adding it to recipes like this one, squeeze lemon juice in your water or tea for an added dose of immune-boosting benefits.

#2: Supports Skin Health

Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps fight off oxidative stress and free radicals from the environment. It also helps reduce inflammation. Together, this helps keep your skin looking fresh and healthy[*]. Vitamin C also helps your body make collagen, which may improve signs of skin aging, like dryness and wrinkles, over time[*].

#3: Can Aid in Weight Loss

Lemon pulp has a type of fiber called pectin. Pectin can slow your digestion down,  helping you feel fuller for longer periods of time[*]. Research shows that when people consume pectin they may experience a decrease in hunger, and subsequently consume fewer calories[*].

#4: May Prevent Kidney Stones

Kidney stones are small lumps that form when waste products harden and build up in the kidneys. If you’ve ever had a kidney stone, you know they can be very painful.

The citric acid in lemon juice may help to break down kidney stones, and even prevent stones from forming. When citric acid is present, it creates conditions in your kidneys that are unfavorable for stone development. In short, citric acid binds to calcium (a common culprit for kidney stones), and increases urine output[*].

#5: Freshens Breath

Lemon is thought to stimulate the production of saliva. This helps prevent a dry mouth, which leads to bad breath caused by excess bacteria growth[*].

You can keep your breath fresh by drinking lemon juice in water to shift the pH.

Opt for Homemade Low-Carb Dressing

Instead of reaching for one of those bottled dressings at the grocery store, grab a few lemons, and make your own keto salad dressing.

You’ll save money, it’s keto, paleo, and gluten-free, and you can change the taste and flavor to your liking. Plus, you’ll feel much better putting good ingredients in your body.

The processed dressings that you can buy at the store are made with refined and artificial ingredients. They also often contain sugar or high fructose corn syrup, which is linked to metabolic disease, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes[*]. Sugar can also kick you out of ketosis.

When you make homemade dressing, you can avoid added chemicals, sugar, and artificial flavors. Plus, you’ll get all of the health benefits from the lemon juice, so your digestive system, your immune system, and your skin will thank you.

Feel free to customize this sugar-free keto salad dressing recipe. You can use a different keto-friendly oil like MCT oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil. Mix in different herbs and use fresh thyme, dill, cilantro, chives, or whatever you have on hand.

You can also add cheeses, like parmesan or blue cheese, or sweeten it up a bit with erythritol.

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