Low-Fat Salad Recipes: 8 Bowls and Dressings Under 5 g of Fat
A salad is only as low in fat as its dressing. Three tablespoons of a standard vinaigrette carry more fat than most of the main courses on this site, and creamy dressings go higher still. Everything below is built the other way round: the fat budget goes into something worth chewing — chicken, shrimp, beans, a little cheese — and the dressing is made from yogurt, citrus, mustard and herbs. Eight salads, all under 5 g of fat per serving, and none of them a bowl of sad leaves.
A salad only holds you until dinner if there is real protein in it. If that is the part you keep getting wrong, how to build higher-protein meals without adding fat covers the arithmetic behind it.
1. Lemon-Herb Chicken Salad
Poached chicken breast stays tender without a drop of oil, and the poaching liquid does double duty as the base of the dressing.
Fat: 4 g · Calories: 290 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: 15 min
Ingredients
- 2 skinless chicken breasts
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 4 cups romaine or little gem, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley and dill
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Poach the chicken in barely simmering salted water with half the lemon zest for 12–15 minutes. Rest, then shred.
- Whisk the yogurt, mustard, lemon juice, remaining zest and herbs. Loosen with a spoonful of the poaching liquid.
- Toss the leaves, tomatoes and onion with two-thirds of the dressing.
- Top with the chicken and spoon over the rest.
2. Chopped Greek-Style Salad
The classic version drowns in olive oil. Here the feta is measured rather than scattered, and red wine vinegar plus oregano carry the flavour.
Fat: 4.5 g · Calories: 180 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: —
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 40 g reduced-fat feta, crumbled
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Combine the vegetables in a wide bowl.
- Whisk the vinegar, oregano, oil and pepper and pour over.
- Let it sit 10 minutes — the tomatoes release juice and become part of the dressing.
- Scatter the feta on top just before serving.
3. Warm Roasted Vegetable and Farro Salad
Roasting concentrates the sweetness of the vegetables so you need very little oil. Farro keeps this filling enough to be dinner.
Fat: 4 g · Calories: 340 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: 30 min
Ingredients
- 1 cup farro (or barley), rinsed
- 1 courgette, sliced
- 1 red pepper, cut into strips
- 1 red onion, in wedges
- 200 g cherry tomatoes
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Handful of basil
Instructions
- Cook the farro in salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain.
- Meanwhile heat the oven to 220°C / 425°F, toss the vegetables with the oil and roast 25–30 minutes.
- Whisk the balsamic and garlic together.
- Fold the warm vegetables through the farro, dress, and tear the basil over.
4. Cucumber, Tomato and White Bean Salad
Ten minutes, one bowl, no cooking. Cannellini beans make it substantial enough to stand as a light lunch.
Fat: 2 g · Calories: 210 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 10 min · Cook: —
Ingredients
- 1 can (400 g) cannellini beans, drained
- 1 large cucumber, diced
- 3 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 spring onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Handful of parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk the lemon juice, mustard, oil and seasoning in the bottom of the bowl.
- Add the beans and toss so they soak up the dressing first.
- Fold in the cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions and parsley.
- Best after 15 minutes in the fridge.
5. Shrimp and Mango Salad with Lime
Shrimp is one of the leanest proteins going, and mango means the dressing needs no oil at all to taste rich.
Fat: 2.5 g · Calories: 230 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: 5 min
Ingredients
- 400 g raw shrimp, peeled
- 1 ripe mango, diced
- 4 cups mixed leaves
- 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tsp honey
- Handful of coriander
Instructions
- Poach or dry-sear the shrimp 2–3 minutes until just pink. Cool slightly.
- Whisk the lime juice, fish sauce and honey.
- Toss the leaves, mango and chilli with half the dressing.
- Add the shrimp, spoon over the rest, and finish with coriander.
6. Apple, Fennel and Celery Slaw
Mayonnaise is the fat in most slaws. Yogurt thinned with cider vinegar does the same job for a fraction of it, and the fennel keeps it crisp for days.
Fat: 1.5 g · Calories: 120 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: —
Ingredients
- 1 fennel bulb, very thinly sliced
- 2 crisp apples, julienned
- 3 celery sticks, sliced on an angle
- 1/3 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp cider vinegar
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp honey
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk the yogurt, vinegar, mustard, honey and seasoning.
- Toss the fennel, apple and celery through it immediately — the acid stops the apple browning.
- Chill 20 minutes before serving. Keeps 3 days.
7. Quinoa Tabbouleh
Traditional tabbouleh leans on olive oil. Quinoa brings its own body, so a single teaspoon plus a lot of lemon is enough.
Fat: 3.5 g · Calories: 200 · Serves: 4 · Prep: 15 min · Cook: 15 min
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 2 large bunches flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- Small bunch mint, chopped
- 3 tomatoes, finely diced
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1 tsp olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa in 1.5 cups water for 15 minutes, then fork through and cool completely.
- Combine with the herbs, tomatoes and spring onions.
- Dress with the lemon juice and oil, season generously, and let it stand 15 minutes.
8. Creamy Yogurt Ranch Dressing (No Oil)
Keep a jar of this and every salad above becomes a different salad. Under half a gram of fat per two-tablespoon serving.
Fat: 0.4 g · Calories: 20 · Serves: 8 · Prep: 5 min · Cook: —
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp buttermilk or skim milk
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, grated
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tbsp chopped dill
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk everything together until pourable, adding a little more milk if needed.
- Season, then refrigerate at least 30 minutes — the garlic and herbs need time.
- Keeps 5 days in a sealed jar.
Where the Fat Hides in a Salad
- Dressing first: two tablespoons of standard vinaigrette is roughly 14–20 g of fat, and most people pour three or four.
- Croutons, candied nuts and crispy noodles are the second-biggest source — swap in roasted chickpeas or toasted seeds in small amounts.
- Cheese counts: measure it rather than crumbling by feel, and reduced-fat feta or a hard cheese grated fine goes much further.
- Avocado is a healthy fat but still a fat — a quarter of one adds about 7 g, which is a whole meal’s budget on a very low-fat plan.
- Build volume from vegetables and a grain, and put your fat allowance into the protein where it does the most for satiety.
— Sophia
Written by
Sophia W. Whitman
Recipe developer and author of the Pancreatitis Diet Cookbook for Beginners. Cooking has been my life’s work, and low-fat cooking is the corner of it I know best. Every recipe here lists fat per serving, so you don’t have to guess.