One of my favorite things about this way of eating is being able to have full-fat, beautiful dressings to go with salads. I used to hate all those low-fat, low-calorie versions that are mostly water back before I found keto. I buy no-sugar, full-fat dressings from the store to use on occasion when I don’t have time to make my own. It does take an investment of time to read all the labels to find those that have no sugar in them. Easiest to find will be ceasar, blue cheese, and ranch.
However, these store-bought versions are probably going to be made with soybean or canola oil. In order to get the best keto version of salad dressings, we’re most likely going to have to make our own. That includes the mayo too if you’re going for creamy salad dressings which are my favorite.
I’ve used Hellman’s mayo–I grew up on Hellman’s!–but it has both soybean oil and sugar so it’s a last resort, very seldom used version for me anymore. Duke’s is sugar free. But it still has soybean oil in it. The only commercial brand of mayo that is truly keto-friendly is Primal Kitchen. It’s convenient, but pricey and it’s not quite the taste I’m after. So what do we do to get the best keto version of mayo?
Make Your Own Mayo! Updated 9-24-17: Because I like my mayo super tangy and salty, I’ve increased the acid & salt amounts. If you like mayo that’s a bit more smooth rather than tangy, just go down on those ingredients and adjust up as you need.
1 cup light tasting olive oil or avocado oil
1 egg
1 tsp salt
2 Tbls lemon juice
1 Tbls apple cider vinegar
You need a stick blender. Yes, it does make a difference. Place the cup of oil in a tall narrow jar. Add the egg and rest of the ingredients. Do not mix, just let the egg settle to the bottom.
Position the immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the jar. Blend at high speed and the mixture will start to emulsify right away. As it becomes thick on the bottom, slowly bring the blender up until all the oil is incorporated. Keeps in fridge for a week.
Now that you’ve got great mayo as a base, here are a few of the dressings we make here at our house:
Ranch Dressing
1 cup mayo
½ c sour cream
¼ c heavy cream
1 t lemon juice or vinegar
2T dried chives
2T dried parsley
2T dill (I usually add extra dill because I love it)
1 t garlic powder
1 t onion powder
¼ t cayenne pepper
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper
Honey Mustard Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 teaspoon paprika
1/2 tsp lemon juice
4 teaspoons equivalent sweetener (I use swerve)
Thousand Island Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 T reduced sugar no sugar ketchup (we use Heinz)
1T vinegar
2 t sweetener
2 t no sugar pickles
1 t finely minced onion
salt & pepper to taste
Blue Cheese Dressing (adapted from an old Southern Living cookbook)
1 cup mayo
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup heavy cream
4 oz blue cheese crumbles
7 drops hot sauce
1T Italian seasoning
1T parsley flakes
1 clove garlic
French Dressing
1/2 cup light tasting olive oil
1/2 cup low carb ketchup (I use heinz–it contains sucralose which I don’t usually use. However, this recipe is one that I make maybe once every few months just to change things up, so I don’t worry too much about that small amount.)
1/3 cup sweetener (swerve)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, or some equivalent combo
1/4 cup water (only if needed to thin–I seldom need to add any as I like my salad dressings thick)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced onion
If you like oil & vinegar based dressings, take any of your favorite recipes or try something from pinterest. Replace any sugar with a sugar substitute like swerve or just omit altogether and see if you like it. Here’s the Italian dressing recipe that I use:
Italian Dressing
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1 or 2 clove garlic, minced
1 or 2 tsp minced onion
1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar
3/4 cup light tasting olive oil
Get some cute jars or bottles to store your dressings in and start reveling in the fatty goodness that we get to enjoy while we’re still taking care of our bodies, losing weight, and kicking diabetes to the curb!
Another tip: whenever you make a batch of mayo and salad dressing, make a batch of deviled eggs too. Might as well do all three at the same time and then you’ve got great fat fuel ready to go.
Okay, I want to hear all about your adventures in making mayo and salad dressing 
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