You may have noticed a few of my recent recipes have put an emphasis on using less oil when cooking. I’ve been making an effort to steam/saute my veggies and omitting oil whenever possible. All of which led to the making of this oil free mustard vinaigrette. It’s just slightly sweetened with honey so all the sharp flavor of the mustard comes through. It really shines in this salad made with oranges, radishes and avocados.
Is oil free really better?
I’ve been reading about Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live plan and I think it makes a lot of sense. He calls his way of eating “nutritarian” which simply means to choose the foods which give the most nutritional bang for their caloric buck. He believes we can obtain enough fat from eating the nuts, seeds and olives that are processed into oils and avoid the caloric hit we take.
In addition, Dr. Fuhrman cites studies that have found processed oils– including olive oil— to cause damage to the blood vessels. These studies are also referred to by other oil free vegans, low fat advocates like the Pritikin Center, as well as paleo people (who advocate using lard, coconut oil and butter instead).
As is common in nutrition, for every study that advocates for a single nutrient, there is another which casts serious doubts about the health benefits. Here’s an article from the Mayo Clinic extolling the virtues of olive oil and another from the Pritikin Center which states the opposite.
Here’s my take away…a tablespoon of olive oil contains about 120 calories and if you’re like me, you use more than two tablespoons when dressing a large salad. Maybe even as much as a quarter cup, which is four tablespoons. The same holds true when sauteing vegetables in olive oil. The recipe might say use one tablespoon, but the reality is we dump more than that in the pan.
I say, pick your battles.
At home, I’ve been cooking without olive oil unless the recipe would really suffer if I don’t use it. For the most part I’ve been steam sauteeing my veggies and dressing my salads without oil or mayonnaise. I’m saving a ton of calories over a week’s time by doing this.
Consider your oil free mustard vinaigrette as a supporting player in your salad. In the photos, you can see my salad consists of chopped romaine lettuce, radishes, avocados, onions, sunflower seeds and sliced oranges. There’s a variety of textures and flavors that make for a very interesting salad where the dressing is a complement rather than the star.
Ingredients
- 1 part sharp mustard like dijon
- 1 part your favorite vinegar
- enough honey or maple syrup to smooth the harshness
- enough water to make it pourable
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a small jar and shake to combine.
- Adjust the proportions and amounts to your own taste.
I make my dressing in a small repurposed jar that holds about 3/4 cup of dressing. This is the perfect amount for us and it forces me to make a new batch on a regular basis.
Thank you! I’m looking to make my diet as antiinflammatory as possible. Using this as a dressing on an apple brussel sprouts slaw.
That sounds delicious, Kate! Hope you like it 🙂
Lydia,
I stumbled upon this recipe because I am trying to eat less oil. I recently adopted a WFPB diet and am trying to transition up to a SOS-free diet as well.
In full disclosure, I HATE mustard. I only have a small (expired 6 months ago) bottle of dijon mustard in my fridge because my hubby uses it on very rare occasions.. When I saw this recipe, I figured it would be a good way to use up the expired mustard just to see what this would taste like. (Don’t worry- it hadn’t gone “bad”, despite the date.)
I used a small amount of grade B maple syrup & a little raw honey for flavor, but I mostly used date syrup for cutting the sharpness. I also added a little extra water, because (haha!) I also don’t like vinaigrettes! (Exactly WHY did I think about making this?!?)
Well, Turns out…
I actually DO like THIS vinaigrette dressing! In fact, I can’t wait to make my next batch because I will be using fresh Dijon, no extra water, and doubling the recipe I made this time! Who’da thunk?!? 😄
Anyhow, I just wanted to drop a comment here and thank you for posting this! I’m gonna try it without the added water as a roasted veggie marinade or sauce (especially roasted cauliflower and cabbage!) so, if you haven’t tried that, there’s a little tip for you!
To anyone who hasn’t tried this:
Just make a small batch (1/4 cup of Dijon, etc) and TASTE IT… it’s surprisingly amazing! 😋
Respectfully Yours,,
G
(a FORMER mustard & vinaigrette hater! 😉)
I’m glad it worked out for you, G! I love the idea of adding it to roasted cauliflower and cabbage. I’ve always enjoyed mustard and cabbage so I’m sure it will work out great. Enjoy the weekend 🙂
I know this was posted 5 years ago, but I just wanted to say this recipe is yum and super easy. I was looking for an easy oil free honey mustard and tried this today. It was perfect! Thanks. 🙂
Hi Jen! Thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m glad the vinaigrette worked out for you!
What kind of viinager are you talking about? Do you mean balsamic vinegar?
Any vinegar you like will work, although some will taste better than others. I like apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar for salad dressings.
Yeah, saving calories where you don’t take a flavor hit is always a good thing. This is a great looking vinaigrette — bet no one misses the oil. Thanks!
I surely didn’t miss it 🙂
What a great idea!! Any dressing that is less calories/fat is a friend of mine! This looks to be so light… absolutely perfect!!
I’m looking forward to trying all the different mustards. Thanks for dropping by 🙂
I just tried this and I love it! I only made a half teacup to try it but now I will be making it in an old repurposed salad dressing bottle. Thanks so much!
I love your oil free dressing!! All the flavor without the calories sound like a plan to me 🙂
I’m sure I make up for the calories at another time 🙂
Mmm, this dressing looks delicious and healthy too! I need to start using it on the salads I take to work every day. I’m always needing new ideas to jazz up my salads.
I like a lot of different flavors and textures in my salads, otherwise I start to get bored.
I love a good vinaigrette! This looks amazing!
I am from the state if bengal and mustard anything is our love. plus oil free! thank you so much 🙂
I know very little of bengali cuisine. I’m looking forward to learning from you 🙂
I would never have thought of leaving the oil out of a vinaigrette! I’m surprised it still turned out runny, but it looks delicious!
Jamie I added water to make it runny. You can also use fruit juice and broth.
Love Love Love Mustard Vinaigrette and this is such a healthy option. I can eat this straight from the bowl 😉
Go for it, Molly 🙂
Love the sound of that dressing, I guess with many things you just become fixated on doing things the way you have always done them but will definitely try the honey thing as we get the most wonderful honey… Unfortunately Maple Syrup would require a mortgage to purchase out here 🙁
We’ve found real maple syrup here in Spain, and it’s dear. Fortunately we don’t use it often.
I’ve never tried making my own mustard vinaigrette before, so I’m so glad I found your recipe! Thanks for sharing hun 🙂
Hope you find it useful, Cathy 🙂
Love this recipe! So nice to have an option without oil!
Good point, now I don’t have to fret if I open the cabinet and we only have a spoonful of oil left in the bottle (it’s happened).
Yum! I love that this is made with simple ingredients! I’m looking forward to trying it!
I like that it can be tailored to your own taste. Hope you like it 🙂
This looks delicious! I am always looking for new ways to spruce up a salad.
A salad is such a splendid way to eat several servings of veggies and even fruit, but they do tend to taste the same after awhile.
I never gave a lot of thought to cutting out oil, at least the healthier ones. Definitely food for thought…..punny, I know! 😉
Me either, I had no idea it was even a “thing” until I read Eat to Live and Forks Over Knives.
Great idea, Lydia! I l like that this dressing is oil free. Your photo looks amazing! Great click!
Thanks! It’s sweet and pungent 🙂
What a wonderful salad!
Very flavorful. Thanks for dropping by 🙂