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This creamy salsa dressing is a quick trick: it makes a healthy salad dressing in 2 minutes! Prepare to be amazed.

Creamy salsa dressing
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Here’s a quick trick every home cook should know: Creamy Salsa Dressing! This salad dressing takes 2 minutes to whip up and has big, zesty flavor with a minimal ingredient list. It’s great for throw together bowl meals or a great big taco salad. The best part? It’s very low calorie due to a secret ingredient. This healthy salad dressing has lots going for it, and we love whipping it up on weeknights as a quick fix for a side salad or a drizzle for a bowl meal.

Ingredients in creamy salsa dressing

This creamy salsa dressing has just a few ingredients for big flavor! In fact, all you need are four ingredients, plus salt. Here’s the short ingredient list (or jump to the recipe below):

  • Red salsa, mild or medium: though of course you can use any favorite salsa
  • Greek yogurt
  • Sour cream (or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise)
  • Hot sauce (we like Cholula)
Creamy salsa dressing

Why to use Greek yogurt

Greek yogurt is our favorite for dips and creamy salad dressings for a few reasons. Here’s why it’s worth grabbing at the store for this dressing:

  • Greek yogurt has a creamy texture and tangy flavor. It’s just as good as sour cream, the traditional ingredient used in creamy dressings.
  • Greek yogurt is much lower in calories than sour cream. It cuts calories by a third: 1 cup of sour cream is 445 calories vs 1 cup of Greek yogurt is 100 calories.
  • This dressing has only 18 calories per tablespoon. That’s unheard of in the salad dressing realm! You’ll still need a hint of sour cream here; it’s helpful to add richness and fat.

Some swaps and variations

It’s possible you might not want to stock both Greek yogurt and sour cream for this creamy salsa dressing, or maybe you want a dairy-free swap? Here are some ideas:

  • Swap the sour cream for mayo. You can use 2 tablespoons mayo instead of ¼ cup sour cream.
  • Use vegan yogurt and vegan mayo. It works if you have brands you love.
  • Even better, try half salsa half cashew cream. Cashew cream is a delightfully creamy homemade vegan substitute for sour cream. It’s worth whipping up a batch!
Taco salad

Ways to serve creamy salsa dressing

This creamy salsa dressing goes perfectly on a taco salad, but there are lots more ways to use it! Here are some ideas:

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Creamy Salsa Dressing

Creamy salsa dressing
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5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 minutes
  • Yield: 1 cup 1x
  • Category: Dressing
  • Method: No Cook
  • Cuisine: Salad Dressing
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale
  • ½ cup red salsa (mild or medium)
  • ½ cup Greek yogurt*
  • ¼ cup sour cream (or 2 tablespoons mayonnaise)
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce (optional; we like Cholula brand)
  • 2 pinches kosher salt

Instructions

  1. Mix together all ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Stored refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 1 week.

Notes

*Want a vegan variation? Use vegan yogurt and vegan mayo OR use ½ cup salsa and ½ cup Cashew Cream or Vegan Sour Cream.

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About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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4 Comments

  1. Darlene Record says:

    Okay , I made your dressing. I’d give it a 4 star because I changed things up a bit. Made my own homemade salsa—used Mayo & my own kefir. I added a pinch of cumin, little lime juice, garlic salt, black pepper, & a drop of stevia—-but what made it delish was a pinch of coriander & smoked paprika!! Super yum with lettuce as well as with the blue organic tortilla chips! This recipe is a keeper for sure—now I have a wonderful southwestern tasting dressing for my salad! Wish I could send you the picture! Thank you for the inspiration & the recipe to steer me in the right direction!






  2. Darlene Record says:

    Your salad dressing recipe might work—I’m making a Sourhwestern Salad starting with hearts of romaine with sweet corn, sliced black olives & peppers—topped with fresh tomatoes and sliced avocados—& served with organic blue tortilla chips. I don’t like cheese but will put it on the side next to the chips. Does your dressing have a sweet flavor or should I add a drop or 2 of stevia to slightly sweeten it if it is not?

    1. Sonja Overhiser says:

      This dressing does not have a sweet flavor so you might want to add a little stevia. Hope you enjoy!

  3. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!