20 Healthy Homemade Sauces & Dressings
This collection of dietitian-created healthy, homemade sauces and dressings will give you plenty of inspiration to make these recipes at home rather than buying them at the store. Each of these recipes uses simple, nutritious ingredients that can add a ton of flavour (and nutrition boost!) to a variety of meals. You’ll find options for salad dressings, pasta sauces, pesto, peanut sauce, and more! Most recipes are vegan and/or vegetarian.
In this post, you’ll find 20 healthy, homemade sauces and dressings from the blog along with some helpful tips! Keep scrolling or click on the following sections to go straight to them:
- what makes these sauces + dressings healthy?
- what can you use these sauces + dressings for?
- salad dressing recipes
- all-purpose sauce recipes
- pasta sauces + pesto recipes
I would love to know if you try any of these. Let’s get cooking!
What Makes These Sauces & Dressings Healthy?
- Each of these recipes is homemade, using ingredients you can find in your pantry or fresh at the grocery store.
- Unlike store-bought sauces, there is no need for any preservatives in these dressings and sauces.
- They use healthy fats, like olive oil, nut butters, tahini, nuts, seeds, or avocado to add thickness and mouthfeel. This makes them a great healthy fat addition to your meals, which helps with slowing digestion, stabilizing blood sugar, and keeping you feeling full and satisfied for longer!
- Many of the pasta sauces actually pack in a ton of veggies in the sauce itself!
- Many of the all-purpose sauces and dressings pack in tons of fresh herbs, lemon, and various spices, which have health benefits of their own.
What Can You Use These Sauces & Dressings For?
I love making one of these sauce recipes and keeping it in the fridge for the week to add flavour to a variety of meals. For instance:
- salads
- pastas
- stir-fries
- noodle bowls
- grain bowls
- roasted veggies
- proteins, like fish or chicken
The best part? Many of the recipes in this roundup are multi-purpose! For example, even if one recipe is listed as a salad dressing, you can totally use it over a bed of roasted veggies. If it’s listed as a pasta sauce, you could try it over a grain bowl!
In many of the posts I share some flavour pairings and serving ideas to give you inspiration for what to pair them with 🙂
Healthy Homemade Dressings
The dressing recipes in this section are perfect for adding tons of flavour to your favourite salads! They also work great over roasted veggies and the thicker ones could be used as a dip for raw vegetables, too.
1) My Go-To Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
2) Creamy Balsamic Tahini Dressing
3) Avocado Green Goddess Dressing
4) Vegan Curry Tahini Dressing
5) Vegan Cashew Caesar Dressing
6) Maple Dijon Dressing
7) Miso Dressing With Sesame & Ginger
8) Strawberry Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette
9) Herby Yogurt Salad Dressing
10) Red Wine Vinaigrette Dressing
All-Purpose Sauces
These all-purpose sauces can be used on a variety of dishes. Add them to grain bowls, stir-fries, roasted veggies, or proteins.
11) Miso Peanut Sauce
12) Lemon Herb Tahini Sauce
13) “Cheesy” Miso Tahini Sauce
14) Minty Yogurt Sauce With Lemon & Garlic
Pasta Sauces & Pestos
The sauce recipes in this section can be paired with your favourite pasta or pasta alternatives. You can also use them to add flavour to grain bowls. The pestos taste great with seafood or meats, as well!
15) Vegan Hemp Seed Pesto
16) Creamy Vegan Zucchini Pesto
17) Vegan Red Pesto With Sundried Tomatoes & Peppers
18) Creamy Ricotta Pesto
19) Vegan Cashew Cream Tomato Sauce
20) Roasted Red Pepper Cashew Cream Sauce
And there you have it – 15+ Healthy Homemade Sauces & Dressings Recipes to cook and enjoy. I so hope you found some inspiration from this list!
More Recipe Round-Ups To Explore
- 20+ Healthy Pasta Recipes
- 20+ Easy, Healthy Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
- 15+ Easy, Healthy Egg Recipe Ideas
- 30 Healthy Plant-Based Breakfast Ideas
- 30+ Healthy Meal Prep Snack Recipes
If you make any of these recipes, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest – seeing your creations always makes my day. You can also subscribe to my email list to never miss a new recipe or nutrition education post!
Get the Recipe: 20 Healthy Homemade Sauces & Dressings: Balsamic Tahini Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 cup water
- Salt + pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl, until a smooth dressing forms. Feel free to increase amount of water if you desire a runnier dressing. Adjust seasonings to taste, as desired.
Notes
- Use it as a creamy salad dressing – it would pair well with any leafy greens (like kale, arugula, spinach, or a spring mix) along with fresh veggies (like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers)!
- Drizzle it over roasted veggies, like broccoli, mushrooms, or sweet potatoes.
- Use it to add flavour to grain bowls or nourish bowls.
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know by leaving a recipe rating below, or by tagging @walderwellness on Instagram. I love seeing your beautiful creations!
