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Store bought salad dressings and marinades are convenient but are often filled with low quality oils, preservatives, and sugars. Making a homemade salad dressing is incredibly easy and gives you control over what goes into the bottle. This dijon vinaigrette is a keto salad dressing and marinade that is clean, dairy free, and even vegan. Only 6 ingredients are needed to make this homemade salad dressing. Try it on your salads, chicken, or pork!

 

What is a Vinaigrette

Every salad dressing has the same components: fat, acid, sweetener, and something for flavor. Vinaigrettes are oil based dressings that are blended until smooth. Salad dressings that are creamy, like my zero carb ranch dressing, often use dairy or mayonnaise for their base. These bases also double as the fat for the dressing. The acid in vinaigrettes typically come by way of vinegars or citrus juice. Sweeteners like maple syrup, honey, dates, monkfruit, or fresh fruit can be used to balance the acidity in a clean manner. Lastly, things like garlic and fresh herbs are used for flavor. The ingredients are all blended together until the oil has emulsified. 

 

What Kind of Oil is Best for this Keto Salad Dressing and Marinade

When you’re trying to eat a clean diet, some oils are better than others. It is best to avoid canola, safflower, soybean, and grapeseed oils as they provide zero nutritional value. These oils are inflammatory and, contrary to popular believe, not heart healthy! Here is a good article about good and bad oils. Instead, avocado oil, pure olive oil, and coconut oil are the best oils to consume regularly. For this keto salad dressing and marinade, avocado oil works best because it has the most mild flavor but is full of healthy fat! Olive oil may also be used but coconut oil is not advised (your dressing will taste like coconut).

 

Why Should You Make Homemade Salad Dressing

Most salad dressings at the grocery store are full of preservatives so they are more “shelf stable”. You may see sodium benzoate or potassium sorbate listed on the label. These are both preservatives that allow your dressing to stay fresh for up to 2 years! Gross! Store bought dressings almost always use the bad oils we already discussed above. Lastly, they are usually full of water because it is cheap. Suffice it to say, store bought salad dressings are junk.

On the flip side, premium brand store bought salad dressings are expensive. If you want a clean, preservative free, and organic salad dressing they come with a high price tag. One bottle of Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil Dressing and Marinade is $6 at my grocery store. However, I can purchase the ingredients once to make multiple batches of homemade dressing. That assumes I have none of the ingredients on hand, which is rarely the case. It is much more cost effective to prepare your own salad dressings.

 

What Does this Keto Dijon Vinaigrette Taste Like

This vinaigrette is so good you could eat it by the spoon. This dressing is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy due to the vinegar and maple syrup. The dijon mustard makes the dressing creamy while also offering its characteristically savory flavor. 

 

How To Use this Dijon Vinaigrette

This dijon vinaigrette may be used as a salad dressing or a marinade for chicken, pork, or seafood. Try it on chicken breasts, pork loin, or any white fish filets. 

 

Can Yellow Mustard Be Used Instead of Dijon

Yellow mustard is not an appropriate substitute for this vinaigrette. Yellow mustard is great on a hot dog but it is not robust enough for this particular dressing. On the contrary, stone ground mustard may be used in place of the dijon mustard.