Salad Dressings

With the news of vinegar being allowed on a gluten free diet, things have gotten much easier for those dealing with Celiac Disease. However, it is still very important to watch for those not-so-obvious ingredients that may contain gluten. I know that salad is somewhat of a staple entrée when dining out just because it seems to be one of the safest things to eat with less chance of cross-contamination in a restaurant’s kitchen. But besides the obvious exclusion of croutons, we still have potential problems with salad dressings.

Salad dressings can range from simple oil and vinegar (which is sometimes the easiest solution in a restaurant setting), to blendings of cream, herbs, eggs, or juice, even more complex additions such as salsas, chutneys or pestos. A word of advice — salad dressing should enhance your salad, not completely mask the flavor of the contents of your salad.

Basic Vinaigrette

The most basic salad dressing is a simple vinaigrette made up of 3 parts oil (usually olive oil) and 1 part acid (usually a wine vinegar). Of course you can create all sorts of delicious variations of this by adding gf dijon, garlic, and/or fresh herbs. If you prefer to buy premixed vinaigrettes, the following purport to be gluten-free (if unsure, please check with the manufacturer):

Annie’s Naturals Dressings: Low Fat Raspberry Vinaigrette, Cilantro & Lime Vinaigrette, Balsamic Vinaigrette, Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette, Smokey Tomato & Porcini Vinaigrette, Low Fat Honey Mustard Vinaigrette, Organic Sesame Ginger with Chamomile Vinaigrette and Horseradish with Echinacea Vinaigrette

Lawry’s DF & GF: White Wine Vinaigrette, Red Wine Vinaigrette, Blush Vinaigrette with White Zinfandel.

Wishbone: Red Wine Vinaigrette

Creamy Dressings

Of course some people prefer creamier dressings, such as Thousand Island, Ranch, and/or Blue Cheese. There are plenty gf choices available in this category as well, both homemade and readily available in the grocery store.

Ranch Dressing

(Makes about 1 cup)

1 garlic clove, peeled, mashed and minced
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup gf mayonnaise or sour cream
2 Tablespoons lime juice
1 Tablespoon cilantro, minced
1 Tablespoon chives, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place garlic in a small bowl and mash together with a couple of pinches of salt. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until thoroughly blended.

Thousand Island

(Makes about 1-1/2 cups)

1 cup gf mayonnaise
1/4 cup gf ketchup
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 Tablespoons gf pickle relish (Gedney Relishes & Vlasic Pickle products — gf)
1 Tablespoon chives, minced
1 Tablespoon onions, minced
1 Tablespoon Italian parsley, minced

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together until thoroughly blended.

Store-bought creamy dressings that claim to be gluten free are as follows:

Annie’s Naturals Dressings: Cowgirl Ranch Dressing, Caesar Dressing,
Tuscany Italian, Thousand Island Dressing, French Dressing, Garlic Parmesan Tofu Dressing.

Hidden Valley: Regular & Fat Free Ranch Dressing

Wishbone Fat Free Salad Dressing: Caesar, Chunky Blue Cheese, Deluxe French, Honey Dijon, Italian, Ranch, Sweet & Spicy French, Thousand Island

So whether you make your own gluten-free dressings or purchase them at your grocery store, you can plainly see that there are many options available. We can’t stress enough that there is no a guarantee that these products are and will remain gluten-free…manufacturers can change their processes without notice to the public. So if you find a dressing you like, it would definitely not hurt to verify that it is indeed gluten-free.

– Glutenfreeda