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One of my favorite ways to add flavor to any meal is with a little drizzle of sauce! Unfortunately, most traditional sauces and dressings are high in carbs and fats and can add a ton of extra calories to your meal without adding volume.
Luckily, you can make amazing homemade sauces and dressings at home without breaking the calorie bank! Not only do homemade dressings always taste better, but they’re cheaper and made with better-for-you ingredients!
Try one of these healthy and delicious sauce and dressing recipes that bring all flavor without the extra calories!
If you’re looking for some healthy, macro-friendly recipes to pair with these delicious sauces and dressings, check out my 50+ Macro Friendly Foods round up that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert options!
You can also check out my 50+ Macro-Friendly Chicken Recipes or 15+ Healthy Ground Beef recipes for more healthy recipe inspiration!
There are so many benefits to making your own homemade sauce or dressing.
- Made with less processed sugar, sodium and preservatives. One of the best parts about making your own sauce at home is that you can use a much shorter list of ingredients. Store-bought sauces and dressing are usually packed with a ton of extra salt, sugar and preservatives to help extend the shelf-life as long as possible. When you make your own sauce or dressing at home, you can use real-ingredients that are much better for you.
- Lower in fat and calories. Another benefit of making your own healthy salad dressing or sauce is that you can significantly reduce the amount of calories with just a few simple swaps. I like to use fat-free Greek yogurt in a lot of sauce recipes. Not only does it reduce the amount of fat but it helps add extra protein to the sauce. You can also swap light mayo for regular mayo if you prefer the traditional taste in certain sauces.
- Fresh ingredients. Using fresh ingredients like cilantro, avocado, lemon, and real honey make these homemade sauces tastes SO MUCH better. Not only does using fresh ingredients taste better, but many of these ingredients have added health benefits!
- Don’t have to skimp. My favorite part about making lighter sauces and dressings is that I don’t have to skimp for the sake of saving calories. It’s no secret that I am a sauce girl through and through and I love not having to spare any bite because I don’t want to add a ton of extra calories to my food. I can add as much salad dressing as much heart desires or dip each and every bite of chicken into my favorite tasty, tangy sauce!
1. Skinny Special Sauce (In-N-Out Copycat)
Pairs well with: Air Fryer Burgers and Cheeseburger Salad
2. Chick-fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce
Pairs well with: Panko Chicken Nuggets, Grilled Chicken Nuggets, Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders
Pairs well with: Salmon Burgers
Pairs well with: Chicken Gyro, Greek Salad, Greek Turkey Burgers
Pairs well with: Healthy Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Broccoli, Salmon Poke Bowl, Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Pairs well with: Mahi Mahi Tacos, Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas, Taco Salad, Carnitas Bowls, Salsa Verde Chicken Bowls
7. Hot Honey
Pairs well with: Hot Honey Cornflake Chicken, Pecan Crusted Chicken, Whipped Feta, Bubble Up Pizza Casserole, Air Fryer Broccoli
8. Low Calorie Caesar Dressing
Pairs well with: Chicken Caesar Salad, High Protein Caesar Wrap
9. Chick-fil-A Avocado Lime Ranch Dressing
Pairs well with: Chick-fil-A Cobb Salad, Chick-fil-A Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap, Taco Salad
10. Healthy Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Pairs well with: Simple Salad with Goat Cheese and Cranberries
11. Low Calorie Honey Mustard Dressing
Pairs well with: Fall Harvest Salad with Pecan Crusted Chicken, Warm Steak and Potato Salad
Pairs well with: Greek Salad
13. Light Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
Pairs well with: Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Strawberries and Goat Cheese
What are the best healthy sauces to pair with chicken?
I love using my Chick-fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ sauce for dipping any type of chicken like these Panko Chicken Nuggets or Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders! My Cilantro Lime Sauce is also perfect for chicken tacos or your favorite Mexican dish!
What are the healthy benefits of making your own sauces and dressings?
There are so many benefits to making your own sauces and dressings. Typically, homemade sauces have less processed sugar, sodium and preservatives. They’re also usually lower in carbohydrates and fats since we can use easy swaps like greek yogurt or light mayo.
How do I store these homemade sauces and dressings?
Store each sauce in an airtight container in the fridge. I usually like to store my dressings in a mason jar with a tight lid so I can just give it a quick shake before serving. You can also store in a normal container. Just be sure to give it a good stir before serving in ingredients have started to separate.
How long do these homemade dressings last?
Each sauce and dressing should last up to 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Each recipe will depend upon the ingredients used. Typically the sauce or dressing is good as long as the greek yogurt (or other dairy ingredient) is good for – if using. Dressing recipes without dairy can be good for longer stored in the fridge.
If you make one of these recipes and love it, please be sure leave a review! Or snap a picture and tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie!
