10 Unhealthy Salad Dressings Dietitians Say You Should Avoid At All Costs

While anything can technically be called a salad, dishes loaded with leafy greens, fresh vegetables, and lean protein can pack a lot of nutrition into one dish. However, the salad dressing you choose to drizzle on your plate can either be an unhealthy option that adds a lot of calories, sodium, sugar, and unhealthy fats, or it can be a healthier option that helps keep you full and satisfied.

Opting for a healthy salad dressing can help you absorb the fat-soluble vitamins found in vegetables and greens, including vitamins A, D, E, and K. Leafy greens like spinach and kale are rich in carotenoids, which are converted into vitamin A in the body. At least 3 to 5 grams of fat need to be eaten with the leafy greens to absorb these nutrients, so a little fat can actually make your salad healthier.

Meanwhile, unhealthy salad dressings can sabotage a perfectly good salad by adding sodium, unhealthy fat, sugars, and significant calories. So, it’s important to know what to look for when you’re at the grocery store and trying to determine whether your dressing of choice is unhealthy.

Read on for what dietitians say are some of the unhealthiest salad dressings on supermarket shelves, and for more healthy grocery tips, check out the 6 Healthiest Potato Chips, According to Dietitians.

In This Article:

• Methodology
• Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese
• Olive Garden’s Classic Caesar Dressing
• Ken's Steakhouse Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
• Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch
• Wishbone Thousand Island Dressing
• Ken’s Steakhouse Country French with Orange Blossom Honey
• Wishbone Original Western Salad Dressing
• Hidden Valley Buffalo Ranch
• Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette
• Maple Grove Farms Fat-Free Honey Dijon Dressing

Methodology: How to Identify An Unhealthy Salad Dressing

When looking for salad dressings you’ll want to limit or avoid, dietitians recommend being aware of these deciding factors:

• Types of fat: Dressings made with olive oil or avocado oil are higher in monounsaturated fats, which have been found to help reduce the risk of heart disease. Salad dressings that include low-oleic oils or vegetable oils are high in Omega 6 fatty acids and are more likely to oxidize and cause free radicals leading to inflammation, explains Lara Clevenger MSH, RDN, CPT. Saturated fat is often found in oils that use dairy or cream as a base, which is okay in moderation but should be limited to less than 10% of the daily value (DV) per serving.
• Added sugars: The average American eats 17 teaspoons of added sugars per day, which is more than double what we should be eating. It’s recommended to limit added sugar to only 10% of our daily calories, or less than 50 grams per day. Even dressings that don’t seem “sweet” can have sneaky sugars.
• Sodium: The serving size of salad dressing is small, usually around two tablespoons, and just a small amount can pack a lot of sodium. When choosing a salad dressing, limit sodium to less than 10% of your DV to avoid eating too much, which is associated with a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
• Calories: While it’s good for a salad dressing to add energy to your salad (we want to be full and satisfied, after all), some dressings can add 180 calories or more from just a small, two-tablespoon serving, making it easy to add unnecessary, extra calories to your day.

Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese

In just two tablespoons of Marie’s Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing, you get 3.5 grams of saturated fat, or 18% of your daily value. “What makes this particularly unhealthy is that due to its chunky nature, it is easy to use more than two tablespoons on your salad,” says Amy Beney, MS, RD, CDCES. Adding extra could add a third of your total saturated fat recommendations—just from your salad dressing!

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Olive Garden’s Classic Caesar Dressing

“I recommend limiting the use of Olive Garden’s Classic Caesar Dressing, as the calories, fat, and sodium can add up quickly,” says Mandy Tyler, M.Ed., RD, CSSD, LD.

With 340 milligrams of sodium in each serving, you’re adding 15% of your daily value from just the dressing alone.

 10 Best & Worst Caesar Salad Dressings, According to Dietitians

Ken’s Steakhouse Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

“Ken’s Steakhouse Buttermilk Ranch Dressing is made predominately from soybean oil, which is high in omega-6 fatty acids,” says Wan Na Chun, MPH, RD, CPT, of One Pot Wellness. “Excessive consumption of omega-6 fatty acids, without a balanced intake of omega-3 fatty acids, can lead to inflammation, which is associated with various health conditions,” Chun adds.

One serving also adds 15% DV for saturated fat and 11% DV for sodium—two nutrients that should be limited for heart health.

 9 Best & Worst Ranch Dressings on Store Shelves

Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch

“While Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch boasts zero calories, it’s essential to recognize the potential drawbacks,” explains Jessie Hulsey, RD, LD, an Atlanta-based registered dietitian.

While zero calories might sound like a good thing, the lack of fat will prevent your body from absorbing essential fat-soluble vitamins in greens and vegetables. And while there’s no fat or calories, this dressing does add 360 milligrams of sodium (15% of the daily value) to your diet.

Wishbone Thousand Island Dressing

While we’re not concerned about the saturated fat in Wishbone Thousand Island Dressing, the four grams of added sugars and 13% of your daily recommended sodium per serving make it a less-than-nutritious choice.

Ken’s Steakhouse Country French with Orange Blossom Honey

Ken’s Steakhouse Country French with Orange Blossom Honey is as sweet as it sounds, with a whopping 9 grams of added sugar in each serving. While it does fall within 10% of the DV for saturated fat and sodium (at exactly 10% for each), the high amount of added sugar (18% of the recommended daily value in one serving) in this dressing makes it one you should limit or avoid.

If you like a little sweetness, add fresh fruit to your salad instead!

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Wishbone Original Western Salad Dressing

While we’re talking about added sugars, Wishbone Orginal Western Salad Dressing is one of the worst. Described on the product page as a “twist on traditional French dressings,” just one serving of this dressing has 24% of the recommended daily limit of added sugars—all from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

While HFCS hasn’t been found to be worse for our health than table sugar, it should be limited in the diet just the same, as it’s associated with a higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. All in all, this is one unhealthy salad dressing.

Hidden Valley Buffalo Ranch

Testing the limits of just how much sodium can be packed into two small tablespoons, Hidden Valley Buffalo Ranch contains a massive 18% in each serving. And if you don’t limit yourself to just two tablespoons? It only goes up from there.

 15 Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes You Can Make in Minutes

Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette

Vinaigrettes have often been thought to be the healthier of the salad dressings, as they’re lower in saturated fat and often in total fat, as vinegar makes up a larger proportion than most dressings.

But the first ingredient in Brianna’s Blush Wine Vinaigrette is sugar, and each serving adds 9 grams, or 18% DV, of added sugars. I’d recommend steering clear of this one.

 10 Best & Worst Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressings, Say Dietitians

Maple Grove Farms Fat-Free Honey Dijon Dressing

Low in calories and with zero grams of fat, Maple Grove Farms Fat-Free Honey Dijon Dressing may seem like a healthier salad dressing choice. But while it won’t add unnecessary calories to your diet, it will add unnecessary sugar and sodium.

Each serving has 9 grams of added sugar and 10% DV of sodium. Plus, you’ll miss out on the nutrient boost from adding fat to your greens, leaving valuable vitamins unabsorbed.

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