How to choose salad dressing

Adding a dressing to summer salads or vegetables can transform a dull dish into something far more interesting and tasty. But some dressings can add more kilojoules than we realise, not to mention sodium, sugar and saturated fat, so it pays to choose wisely.

What’s available

The supermarket shelves are stocked with a variety of dressings: mayonnaise, aioli, vinaigrette, creamy Caesar, ranch, balsamic, thousand island, honey mustard and avocado- and sesame-based dressings, to name just a few. Plus, there are ‘light’ versions of most of these.

Energy

For those watching their weight, it’s worth noting some of these dressings are high in fat (both good and bad) and therefore high in kilojoules. A good dollop (rounded tablespoon) of Duke’s Mayonnaise can add over 620kJ. Even a splash of Olivado Natural Avocado Balsamic Dressing (one tablespoon) will add around 500kJ.

Fat

Fat helps us to absorb fat-soluble nutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin etc). These are associated with a reduced risk of conditions such as heart disease, eye disease and some cancers. A 2012 study found that monounsaturated-fat-rich dressings with 3g of fat promoted the absorption of carotenoids. Canola, olive or avocado oil are all high in mono-unsaturated fat. So it may be a good idea to use a little of these oils as the base of your dressings. One teaspoon of these oils contains about 4.5g of monounsaturated fat. Dressings can be high in both the good fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) and saturated fats (the fats we want to keep to a minimum). We recommend choosing a dressing with 8g or less saturated fat per 100ml (less than 1.2g per 15ml serve).

Sodium

The sodium content varies enormously in dressings, from 0mg per 100ml in Olivado Natural Avocado Balsamic Dressing to 1727mg per 100ml in San-J Tamari Sesame. Most of the sodium we consume comes from manufactured foods and it is easy to reach the daily upper limit of 2300mg. If you have high blood pressure, lowering your sodium intake is especially important. We recommend choosing dressings with 1000mg or less sodium per 100ml (less than 150mg per 15ml serve).

Sugar

The World Health Organization suggests we limit the amount of free sugars in our diet to a maximum of 5 per cent of our energy, which means around 26g in an 8700kJ day. This is just over five teaspoons. Often, when the fat in dressings is removed, the sugar content increases to provide flavour. A little sugar is fine but keep it to a minimum. We recommend choosing dressings with 15g or less sugar per 100ml (2.3g per 15ml).

Tip: Make your own vinaigrette to suit your needs. Either one part oil to one part vinegar (270kJ) or one part oil to two parts vinegar (178kJ) per 15ml serve. If you can afford it, using extra virgin olive oil adds healthy polyphenols as well as flavour.

How to choose

Use these criteria to compare dressings: