Best Oils for a Salad Dressing

A salad is one of the most versatile preparations, allowing you to mix whatever vegetables, fruits, nuts, and meats you want. Still, a salad can only be deemed complete with a dressing that complements and fully enhances its fresh ingredients. For the perfect dressing, you’ll need the perfect salad oil, bestowing that delightful shine while maintaining the crispness of your salad.

While olive oil is a classic choice, it’s not your only option to add to your salads. If you’re not into store-bought dressings, discovering the best salad oils can be your first step to creating your unique dressings.

What Makes an Oil Good To Be Used as Salad Dressing

Unrefined oils are considered the best to be used as salad dressings. They are typically extracted using the cold-pressed method, which means there is no heat involved. It allows these oils to retain their natural flavors and nutrients, making them valuable additions to salads.

This cold-pressed extraction method is also responsible for unrefined oils having lower smoke points, generally between 250°F and 350 °F, making them unsuitable for high-heat cooking. In fact, the culinary use of many salad oils, like unrefined walnut and pumpkin seed oils, is limited to salad dressings.

The Best Types of Salad Oils

Here is a list of salad oils that chefs and home cooks usually prefer.

Name	Taste and flavor	How to use	Salad pairing ideas
Olive Oil	Robust and fruity with a peppery kick	Used on its own or mixed with vinegar, herbs, and spices	Tomatoes, leafy greens, olives, and feta cheese
Avocado Oil	Rich and buttery with a nutty undertone	Used on its own or mixed with citrus, garlic, and herbs	Avocado, citrus fruits, and leafy greens
Walnut Oil	Intensely nutty and earthy	Often mixed with balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, or honey for flavor	Apples, pears, blue cheese, and greens like arugula, kale, and chard
Pumpkin Oil	Earthy and nutty with a toasty flavor	Typically mixed with vinegar, mustard, or honey for balance	Pumpkin seeds, roasted vegetables, tomatoes, spinach
Peanut Oil	Mildly nutty, offering a subtle richness to  salads	Used on its own or often combined with soy sauce, ginger, or garlic	Fresh  vegetables like cabbage and carrots; often used in Thai-inspired salads
Sesame Oil	Nutty and toasty, with a distinct oriental flair	Usually used in small amounts as it has a strong flavor, mixed with soy sauce, vinegar, or ginger	Noodles, cucumber, cabbage, and other salad greens
Hazelnut Oil	Nutty and sweet, with a delightful freshness	Used on its own or mixed with balsamic vinegar, honey, or Dijon mustard	Berries, goat cheese, mixed greens
Canola Oil	Neutral and mild, it serves as a versatile base	Can be used on its own but often combined with vinegar, mustard, or herbs	Suitable for a wide variety of salads
Corn Oil	Mild with a hint of corn	Used on its own or mixed with herbs and  other salad dressings	Grilled vegetables, beans, corn
Safflower Oil	Neutral and light, it serves as a versatile base	Often used on its own but can be mixed with herbs, citrus, or vinegar	All-purpose – works well with most salads
Sunflower Oil	Mild and light	Used on its own or mixed with vinegar, mustard, or herbs	Radishes, peppers, mixed greens
Flaxseed Oil	Earthy, nutty, and bold	Best used in combination with vinegar, mustard, or citrus juices	Berries, leafy greens, quinoa, roasted vegetables
Hemp Seed Oil	Nutty and slightly grassy	Used on its own or mixed with vinegar, mustard, or herbs	Cucumber, tomatoes, avocado
Cottonseed Oil	Mild and neutral	Used on its own or mixed with various dressings and herbs	Can work  as an all-purpose salad oil
Grapeseed Oil	Light and slightly nutty	Used on its own or mixed with vinegar, mustard, or herbs	Light salads with various salad greens and citrus dressings
Soybean Oil	Mild and neutral, it serves as a versatile base	Used on its own or mixed with various dressings, soy sauce, or herbs	Pairs well with various salad ingredients

Note: Since health is also an important consideration, all the options mentioned in the list contain over 80% monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids (the ‘good fats’).