How to replace mayonnaise in salad: 30 ideas and recipes for delicious dressings and sauces

In the kitchens of many housewives there is a cult of mayonnaise. This store-bought sauce ends up in salad, meat, gravy, or even mashed potatoes. Because of this, dishes become very high in calories and have a monotonous taste. What if you don’t have mayonnaise on hand? Or do you prefer healthier dressings? How to replace mayonnaise in a salad so as not to spoil the taste? We will answer these and other questions in more detail.

• Composition of store-bought mayonnaise
• How to make mayonnaise less harmful
• How to replace mayonnaise in the salad “Herring under a fur coat”
• Crab salad
• Salad with squid
• "Olivie"
• Meat salad
• Fish salad
• Beetroot salad
• Greek salad
• "Caesar"
• "Mimosa"

Composition of store-bought mayonnaise

There is an opinion that mayonnaise contains dangerous preservatives, flavors and artificial flavors. The cheaper the sauce, the more harmful the substances in its composition. The basis is modified cheap products. To reduce the cost of the finished product, the manufacturer uses chemicals instead of natural ones. So what's the benefit? Plus, store-bought mayonnaise is very fatty. Per 100 g there are about 613-630 kcal. Low-calorie mayonnaise has a calorie content of 260 kcal.

Let's compare the calorie content of various simple salad dressings with store-bought mayonnaise according to the table.

What's wrong with the additions of store-bought mayonnaise:

1. Unnatural flavoring and aromatic ingredients cause addiction to this product. Flavor enhancers stimulate appetite. Addiction is especially strong in children and adolescents.
2. High fat content. Store-bought mayonnaise seems unusually tasty. But don't be fooled by labels that say "Lean" or "Low Calorie." Any mayonnaise has an identical composition. Only flavors and chemical additives change. Such fats in the human body cause a jump in “bad” cholesterol and sugar. This is especially harmful for diabetics. After consuming store-bought mayonnaise, the digestive system, liver, and kidneys are overloaded.
3. Preservatives. Chemical preservatives are the number one enemy of the pancreas. They cause disruption in the functioning of the entire body.
4. Fats cause problems with blood vessels and the heart. As a result, a person gets atherosclerotic plaques, brain diseases, strokes, and heart attacks at an early age.

How to get out of the captivity of store-bought mayonnaise? Try replacing it with natural products and spices. The mayonnaise from the package is not only not natural. It gives all dishes the same taste and aroma. Whatever you cook, it will taste and smell the same with store-bought mayonnaise.

General information

White sauce came to us from the island of Menorca, located in Spain.

The classic recipe included the following set of ingredients:

• egg yolk,
• olive oil,
• sugar,
• vinegar.

However, such a mixture was not subject to long-term storage and was completely unsuitable for industrial production.

Then chemical compounds, preservatives, thickeners came to the rescue...

What does it consist of?

We have already reviewed the traditional recipe, but the product that can be found on the shelves today is far from ideal. Our modern mayonnaise includes:

• fats;
• emulsifiers;
• thickeners;
• starch;
• flavor essences.

The ingredients of your favorite sauce, as you have seen, are far from the safest and healthiest for the body. Recently, manufacturers have begun to use salts of sorbic and benzoic acids as preservatives, and emulsifiers are replaced with corn starch and mustard powder.

The traditional recipe included the following spices: black pepper, cumin, sugar and salt. Now the composition has changed. Aromatic essences and emulsifiers have been added, which do more harm than good.

Selection rules

So you come to the store and look at the shelves with ketchups and sauces. How to choose exactly the mayonnaise that will satisfy all your whims, and most importantly, will cause as little harm as possible?

• The composition should contain eggs or egg powder, vegetable oil. If these components are not present, then you have mayonnaise sauce.
• Try to purchase the mixture in glass containers. Before purchasing, pay attention to the consistency and color. If there are no lumps or films on the surface, then this product is suitable. Also visually assess the density. A composition that is too dense indicates an excessive starch content, but if on the contrary, then the product contains a lot of water.
• Check the expiration date.
• Before going to the supermarket, you should already know what fat content of mayonnaise is required. Now on the shelves you can find a product with a maximum percentage of 67% - high-calorie, 40% - medium, less than 40% - light. Despite the critical fat content, the customer's favorite is Provencal with the highest percentage.
• In addition, the following deserve attention: storage conditions, the number of preservatives and emulsifiers in the composition, date of manufacture.
• You should not particularly trust packages that contain marks: with quail eggs or olive oil. If these components exist, then only in minimal proportions.

The quality mark on the product packaging will help you choose mayonnaise.

Harm

The classic product is absolutely harmless to the body. However, all the modifications that occurred with the original formula made changes that affected its quality.

• The composition contains vegetable oil, which affects fat content.
• Omega-3 and omega-6 acids, which are contained in the product in a ratio of 1:20.
• Presence of E elements in the composition.

Nutritionists unanimously say: mayonnaise is pure fat, and there is no benefit in it. This is true. If in the traditional recipe it was still possible to find ingredients that were safe for the body, then the modern version is fraught with only harm.

Mayonnaise, due to its taste, is used in almost every dish, so a person eats more food than he should. Chemical compounds that can be seen in the list of ingredients negatively affect the intestines and stomach and contribute to the formation of cholesterol plaques.

The benefits of the sauce for humans are very doubtful, because there is nothing natural in the composition.

How to make mayonnaise less harmful

Don't want to give up mayonnaise completely? Try to make it less harmful. Here are the options:

1. Use mayonnaise in combination with sour cream or classic yogurt in a ratio of 1:1 or 0.5:1. Harmful properties will not be eliminated, but the process of side effects will be reduced.
2. Add vegetable purees to mayonnaise. For example, avocado puree, sweet bell pepper. Or chopped greens. This will increase the vitamin composition of the sauce.

How to choose a quality sauce in the store:

1. Read the ingredients carefully. A more or less natural sauce will contain ingredients that everyone understands. Like egg, yolk, oil, vinegar. No confusing chemical names.
2. No flavorings, thickeners, or flavor enhancers.
3. Best before date. Pay attention not only to the end date, but also to the production date. Sauce that can be stored for 6-7 months is not worth using. The shelf life of a normal product is 60-90 days.
4. Testing at home. Add mayonnaise to a hot frying pan. A quality product will melt. When heated, the chemical product forms foam and burns to the pan.

Main conclusions

Fans of proper nutrition should understand that mayonnaise is a harmful product that can be replaced. For salads, fish, meat, pasta, and snacks, you can use sauces based on natural yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, and kefir. Lemon or lime juice, mustard, spices, chopped herbs, different types of vinegar, fresh or pickled vegetables, and soy sauce will complement the taste. Avocado puree will make the taste unique, apple will add freshness and sourness. An excellent alternative to mayonnaise is a dressing based on vegetable oil with lemon, hot sauce with mustard powder and chili, mixtures of sour cream with adjika or tomato paste.

Share your recipes for delicious and healthy sauces that you have replaced mayonnaise in the comments. Prove by your example that healthy eating is not only healthy, but also tasty.

How to replace mayonnaise in salad

We suggest reconsidering your diet and replacing mayonnaise in salad with more natural ingredients.

"Herring under a Fur Coat"

Ingredients:

• natural classic yogurt – 150 g;
• table mustard - 1 tbsp. l.;
• white wine vinegar – 20 ml;
• olive oil – 40 ml;
• garlic clove – 1 pc.;
• sugar – 1 tbsp. l.;
• ground black pepper, salt.

Recipe. Peel the garlic. Press through a press. Mix with the remaining ingredients until the structure is homogeneous. Use for dressing the Herring under a Fur Coat salad.

In addition to yogurt dressing, it is easy to make sour cream. The recipe is the same. Just replace the yogurt with sour cream. Instead of white wine vinegar, it is permissible to use apple cider vinegar. All other ingredients remain unchanged.

Another good option for herring under a fur coat and other puff salads:

1. Lightly beat 200 g of sour cream (20% fat) with a tablespoon of mustard.
2. Add ground boiled yolks from two chicken eggs.
3. Stir. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Crab salad

Crab salad, beloved by many residents of our country, is prepared not only with mayonnaise. We suggest using a healthy yogurt dressing with fresh herbs.

Ingredients:

• classic yogurt without additives – 150 ml;
• apple cider vinegar – 30 ml;
• vegetable broth – 60 ml;
• olive oil – 20 ml;
• table mustard – 10 g;
• spicy greens (arugula, spinach, parsley or dill) - a large bunch.

Recipe. Rinse and dry the greens thoroughly. Chop finely with a knife. Leave it aside for now. Separately, mix vinegar with broth, oil, mustard, and yogurt. Mix the mixture with herbs. Beat slightly with a whisk or fork.

Salad with squid

The best sauce for salad with squid is tartar. It is also suitable for salads with other seafood. Classic tartare is a little tricky to prepare. And making something like the famous sauce is as easy as shelling pears:

1. Place 150 ml of sour cream or mayonnaise into a bowl.
2. Add finely chopped pickled cucumber and a bunch of parsley.
3. Add 2 boiled egg yolks.
4. Pour in a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice.
5. Stir until smooth.

"Olivie"

In Olivier, use the simplest dressing. Since there are so many ingredients in this salad, the minimalism of the sauce will highlight the taste of the dish. Mix sour cream (any fat content) with lemon juice and chopped parsley. There you go.

Meat salad

It’s delicious to add a little eggplant dressing to a meat salad. This thick vegetable sauce is ideal for simple meat salads. Eggplants go well with boiled beef, chicken, and pork.

Ingredients:

• small eggplants – 2 pcs.;
• apple cider vinegar – 30 ml;
• olive oil – 20 ml;
• table mustard – 5 g;
• parsley - a bunch;
• vegetable broth – 120 ml.

Recipe:

1. Wash the eggplants. Prick in several places with a fork. Bake in the oven at 200℃ for 25 minutes.
2. Cool the vegetables. Peel off the skin. Place the pulp in a blender chopper.
3. Add mustard, oil, broth, vinegar, parsley leaves.
4. Using several movements, beat the mixture into a single homogeneous mixture.

Fish salad

Very tasty fish salads are prepared with citrus juice dressing. Take fresh fruit juice. Do you have a canned fish salad? It makes sense to use marinade from a can. Mix the marinade with lemon, orange or grapefruit juice. Plus a clove of garlic pressed through a press. Everything is mixed and the sauce is ready.

Often the basis of sauces for fish salad is fruit. Orange, kiwi, apple, grapefruit. Not juice, but pulp. Fruit puree is mixed with olive oil and chopped herbs. It turns out extremely tasty. Please note that there is no harmful vinegar or mayonnaise in the preparation.

Canned fish salads are seasoned with a sauce based on marinade from a jar. Drain the fish juice into a container, add a few cloves of garlic and lemon juice. Stir and season the salad.

Another sauce option is French “Aioli”. Follow the link and see a detailed description of the preparation. There are several different options for how to make aioli quickly.

Beetroot salad

Classic beet salads are seasoned with vegetable oil or sour cream. There is an option to use a mixture of vegetable oil and table mustard. Another suggestion is a dressing with soy sauce and honey. It's just a delight!

Ingredients:

• liquid honey – 2 tbsp. l.;
• soy sauce – 2 tbsp. l.;
• ground paprika – 1 tsp;
• tomato paste – 2 tbsp. l.;
• garlic cloves – 3 pcs.

Recipe:

1. Peel the garlic. Press down with a table knife onto a cutting board. Finely chop and chop.
2. Warm the liquid honey a little in a water bath. Do not bring to a boil.
3. Mix honey with tomato paste, garlic, paprika. Add soy sauce. Stir. Use the prepared dressing for beet salad and vinaigrettes. Or as a marinade for chicken.

Greek salad

We have already written about Greek salad dressing in another article. According to the recipe, the dressing is prepared on the basis of vegetable oil with Dijon mustard and special herbs. Follow the link for recipe details.

"Caesar"

Caesar salad, beloved by many gourmets, is surprisingly simple to prepare. The main products are croutons, green lettuce, cherry tomatoes. In different variations, fried chicken, shrimp or squid are added to this salad. Who likes what. But Caesar dressing isn't even a sauce. A complete salad component. Without the sauce there would be no salad.

That's why people often use store-bought sauce. It's not expensive. However, it is healthier to prepare a homemade version. We present several recipes for a delicious sauce for the famous salad. Follow the link “Classic Caesar dressing at home.”

"Mimosa"

Sour cream or yogurt sauce is ideal for Mimosa fish salad. Take one or the other if you wish. Choose fat content as desired. A dietary option is low-calorie sour cream or yogurt 2-5%.

So, mix the selected product with sweet paprika and dry Provençal herbs. Add salt to taste.

Soy sour cream sauce

More salty than the previous one. Pairs well with meat, fish and seafood. Olivier is not suitable for salad.

Ingredients:

• sour cream (minimum 15%) - 200 grams;
• soy sauce - tablespoon;
• garlic - a tablespoon of dry powder or 3 fresh cloves;
• dill - sprig.

Cooking process:

1. Add soy sauce to sour cream and stir.
2. Grind the garlic into a pulp, and finely chop the dill with a knife. Add sour cream and soy sauce to the mixture. Stir again.

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If you want a sour tint, add a little wine vinegar. Don't use salt. It is already present in high concentration in soy sauce.

Homemade salad dressings

Italian dressing

Ingredients:

• white wine vinegar - 2 tbsp. l.;
• olive oil – 125 ml;
• squeezed lemon juice – 1 tbsp. l.;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• parsley – 4 leaves;
• basil – 5 leaves;
• oregano – 4 leaves;
• ground marjoram – 1 tsp;
• ground red pepper – 1 tsp;
• liquid honey – 1 tsp;
• salt - to taste.

Preparation:

1. Pour olive oil into a bowl. Add vinegar and lemon juice. Stir.
2. Press the garlic through a press. Transfer to oil.
3. Finely chop all the greens. Transfer to butter. Add ground seasonings and herbs there. Marjoram, red pepper, salt. Pour in liquid honey.
4. Mix the mixture thoroughly with a whisk until smooth.

Spicy cheese sauce

Product composition:

• hard cheese – 200 g (Gouda, Edam, Cheddar or Russian);
• milk – 130 ml;
• garlic cloves – 3 pcs.;
• red or orange tomato – 1 pc.;
• chili pepper – 1 pc.;
• corn starch – 1.5 tsp;
• vegetable oil

Cooking recipe step by step:

1. Remove seeds from chili peppers. Wear rubber gloves when cleaning and chopping the chilies. Otherwise it will end in burns.
2. Chop the chili pulp, garlic and tomato finely.
3. Grind the cheese through a grater.
4. In a saucepan in vegetable oil, lightly fry the chopped chili and garlic. Add tomato. Stir. Simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Pour in a little more than half the milk. Bring to a boil.
6. Add grated cheese into the boiling mixture. Stir. Heat over low heat.
7. In the meantime, dilute the starch in a glass with the remaining milk.
8. Pour the starchy mixture into the sauce in a thin stream. At the same time, stir the sauce with a spatula or whisk. The sauce is served warm or hot. It is poured over warm meat salads.

Curd sauce for appetizers

Mix 100 g of cottage cheese with 100 g of classic yogurt. Add a tablespoon of thick tomato paste. Stir. Use for spreading on sandwiches and canapés.

Another option. Mix the following products:

• granular cottage cheese – 100 g (wipe through a sieve);
• classic yogurt – 100 g;
• table mustard – 1 tsp;
• boiled chicken egg yolk – 1 pc.;
• lemon juice – 1 tsp;
• salt, ground pepper.

What to season fish and vegetables with?

To be healthier, try to replace mayonnaise absolutely everywhere. Culinary experts advise using milk sauces (spicy) for fish dishes. It can be the same yogurt, kefir, sour cream. As for hot seasonings, the combination can be absolutely anything. You don’t even have to be afraid of the tart, specific ginger.

General issues

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Many people are accustomed to eating vegetable and potato casseroles as the main dish. Traditionally they are seasoned with mayonnaise. In this case, you can use curd sauces. So, mix 1 glass of milk with 100 grams of cottage cheese. Cumin, mustard, sugar or thyme will add aroma and spice. Any spices are added to taste.

Unusual sauces: gourmet recipes

Cucumber sauce

Products:

• cucumber – 1 pc.;
• classic yogurt – 200 g;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• olive oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
• dill - a bunch.

Grind the cucumber through a grater. Press the garlic through a press. Mix with finely chopped dill and yogurt.

Ginger dressing

Products:

• lemon – 1 pc.;
• ginger root – 30 g;
• clove of garlic – 1 pc.;
• honey - 1 tbsp. l.;
• sugar – 1 tsp;
• olive oil – 5 tbsp. l.;
• salt, ground pepper.

Recipe:

1. Use a grater to zest the lemons. Place the zest in a saucepan. Pour in the lemon juice that you squeeze from the peeled citrus.
2. Peel the ginger root and garlic and rub through a grater. Transfer to lemon juice.
3. Add sugar, honey, butter.
4. Boil over low heat for 2-3 minutes. Refrigerate.
5. Add salt to taste and sprinkle with ground pepper.

Sweet chili sauce

Products:

• fresh chili pepper – 4 pods;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• rice vinegar – 50 ml;
• sugar – 80 g;
• salt - half a tablespoon;
• corn starch – 1 tbsp. l.

Recipe:

1. Remove the seeds from the chili and take only the pulp. Peel the garlic. Grind these products in a mortar to a paste.
2. Separately, in a saucepan, mix 100 ml of water with vinegar, salt, and sugar. As soon as it boils, add the hot paste from the mortar. Stir. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes, stirring.
3. Mix starch in a glass with 20 ml of water.
4. Pour starchy water into the hot saucepan mixture in a thin stream. At the same time, actively stir the mass. Boil for another 2 minutes until boiling. Cool, cool.

Can avocado replace mayonnaise?

The search for a tasty dressing led to worthy alternatives to mayonnaise. And this begs the question. Can avocado replace mayonnaise? The answer is clear. Of course yes. The famous guacamole is prepared using exotic avocado. This sour sauce is light green in color. This dressing is quite fatty, but not high in calories. Let's explain why. Avocado has oily flesh. In combination with sour cream or butter, the calorie content increases. The benefits also increase. Avocado vitamins and microelements accelerate metabolism in the human body. This means that proteins, vitamins, and polyunsaturated fatty acids are absorbed faster.

Ingredients for guacamole recipe:

• avocado – 1 pc.;
• lemon – half the fruit;
• sour cream – 1 tbsp. l.;
• salt - to taste;
• olive oil – 1.5 tbsp. l.;
• freshly ground pepper - a pinch.

Recipe:

1. Remove the pulp from the avocado. Mash with a fork until pureed.
2. Mix puree with remaining ingredients.

If desired, add fried pieces of bacon, chili pepper or pressed garlic to the guacamole.

How to replace mayonnaise on a diet

Dietary salad dressings are a worthy replacement for fatty mayonnaise. Options:

1. Kefir (30 g sour cream, 40 g kefir, 1 clove of garlic, bunch of herbs, salt, pepper).
2. French (250 ml yogurt, half a small cucumber, mint sprig, 1 tsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp lemon juice, salt, ground pepper).
3. With horseradish (200 g sour cream, 2 tsp grated horseradish, 1 tsp mustard, 0.5 tsp dry garlic, salt).
4. Orange (250 g classic yogurt, 2 tsp honey, 1 tbsp orange juice, 0.5 tsp orange zest, 1 tsp mustard, salt, ground pepper).
5. Mint with cucumber (150 g of yogurt, half a medium cucumber, a sprig of mint, a teaspoon each of vegetable oil and lemon juice, salt).
6. With linseed oil (3 tbsp linseed oil, 7 tbsp sour cream, 1 tsp table mustard, 1 tbsp lemon juice or wine vinegar).