This was the very-first oil-free, no-added-salt, vegan and nutritarian salad dressing that I ever loved at first bite! Truthfully, I was scared to try this Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing recipe when I saw it in Dr. Fuhrman’s The End of Dieting, because raisins in salad dressing just seemed straight-up wrong.
But I’m a serious believer now. And I promise you’re going to be shocked at how well balsamic vinegar and raisins play together on your taste buds–tart and sweet and heavenly!
Let’s jump into this classic nutritarian salad dressing recipe…
The No-Oil Dressing You Need To Know About!
You might say that Dr. Fuhrman’s Walnut Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing is kinda #famous (and that’s “hashtag” spelled out in full), especially since you can find it on Dr. Oz’s website here!
And when I attended Dr. Fuhrman’s Culinary Getaway not only was this dressing on the menu that week several times, but when I spoke to fellow nutritarians about their favorite no-oil dressings (cause hello!, that’s a huge topic of conversation for nutritarians) this recipe popped up in conversation all. the. time.
So that’s my little spiel to urge you to TRY THIS DRESSING AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Because after over 5 years at this lifestyle, I can tell you that a good oil-free, vegan, nutritarian salad dressing recipe is worth its weight in gold!
Simple & Unexpected Ingredients
Dr. Fuhrman’s Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing requires only 7 simple ingredients:
- balsamic vinegar (get me top recommendations here)
- water
- raw walnuts
- raisins
- Dijon mustard
- fresh garlic or garlic powder
- dried thyme
The point is you probably have most of these ingredients hanging out right now in your pantry and I absolutely love that this dressing doesn’t require any fresh ingredients to make it happen. So mark my words, you’re going to want to always make sure you have these ingredients stocked in your nutritarian pantry!
Hold on. Let’s stop right now and talk about the key ingredient: walnuts.
The walnuts here replace the oil conventionally used in balsamic dressings, and Dr. Fuhrman does this for a very good reason.
(Science-y stuff alert! If you’re not about it just scroll down to get the recipe–I won’t tell!)
Walnuts Will Rock Your Nutritarian World!
According to Dr. Fuhrman’s The End of Dieting, numerous studies have shown that people who eat walnuts regularly have half the heart disease rates of those who rarely eat them. Even the smallest amount of these wonder-nuts (okay, that sounds funny) added to your diet can have heart-protective benefits.
Walnuts are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. You know that fat that everybody needs and every product claims to contain? Well, we need them for our heart and brain function, so you can ditch the fish oil supplements and reach for some walnuts instead!
But, by far, the most beautiful thing about walnuts is the fact that they allow more fat to pass through our (TMI alert) stool! That means if you’re eating them with let’s say avocados, your body is going to absorb less of the fat from those avocados! Can I get an a-men?!
Before you go running to the closest Panda Express to order up some Honey Walnut Prawns, remember that the key to getting the most nutrients from nuts and seeds is to eat them raw, and sparingly.
Buzz kill, I know!
But lucky for us we have two daily salads to enjoy this No-Oil Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing with! And if for some reason making this dressing can’t happen right now for you, then Dr. Fuhrman has it all bottled-up and ready-to-go for you right here:
Either way you’re going to want this goodness in your life and I hope you love this simple oil-free salad dressing recipe as much as I do!
No-Oil Walnut Vinaigrette Dressing
Maximize your salad with this oil-free, vegan salad dressing recipe from Dr. Fuhrman’s book, The End of Dieting! Made creamy with good-for-you walnuts and sweetened with raisins, this is going to be your new favorite nutritarian dressing recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup raisins
- 1 clove garlic or sub 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
Instructions
-
Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
Recipe Notes
Note: My good friend didn't like the thyme added in. If you're sensitive to dried herbs you may want omit the thyme entirely.
Stores for up to 10 days in glass storage container in the fridge.
The raisins are labelled wrong in the picture…
Lol! Thanks so much for catching that Liz! I will get on updating it 🙂
Wow! Awesome blog Kristen. I have just today started exploring an anti-inflammatory diet for my RA I have been diagnosed with and I think I’m going to find a lot of what I need here. You do a fabulous job – such good information and all so beautifully presented. I noticed the 1/4 cup walnuts error too, but I won’t say anything. I’m a copywriter and I make errors on my blog too. 😉
Hi Kathryn! Thanks so much! I’m so glad you are finding the blog useful–and I’m sorry to hear about your RA.
Lol, I keep thinking that I have to change that graphic, just never find the time! It’s hard when you don’t have an editor!
xo, Kristen
I just made this and it’s DELISH! 🙂 Thank you.
Hi Whitney!
So glad you liked it!! My all-time favorite no-oil dressing!
xo, Kristen
I can’t wait to make this! I’m doing it tomorrow!! Thank you Kristen, for all your hard work and great information! You rock!
Hi, How long can you keep it and how to store it. Thanks!
Hi! I store it in a glass mason jar and it keeps up to two weeks for me!
xo, Kristen
Is refrigeration necessary?
Hi Betsy! Yes, keep refrigerated! Very important to note!
xo, Kristen
Where do you buy your raw nuts?
Hi Erin!
I buy them at Trader Joe’s, Sprouts and occasionally at Whole Foods. Most of the time they are at TJs but buying in bulk is really helpful at Sprouts too!
xo, Kristen
Thank you so much for this recipe. I started the 6 week challenge for Eat To Live 2 weeks ago, but haven’t been able to eat salad because I didn’t like it without dressing (so eat other raw veggies). I made this today and loved it! I am excited for a large salad for lunch tomorrow!
Hi! Tried the recipe today and it is soooo tasty! I didn’t have raisins so uses dried cranberries. So glad I tried it made eating salad so much more enjoyable!
Thanks!
Miri
Hi Miri!
Yay!! I’m so glad you liked it and I think I’ll need to try it with cranberries–sounds so yummy!
Thanks so much for leaving a comment!
xo, Kristen
Welcome back Kristen, we missed you. I love this dressing and the
Dijon Date Dressing too (uses cashews) . In fact I just had it on my salad tonight!!
Hi Pam!
I’m so happy to be back! Oh, I’m so glad you are loving the dressing recipes!
xo, Kristen
This sounds awesome! I started eat to live today. I’ve been vegan for over a year, but as we all know, just because it’s vegan, doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Can I use this to marinade vegetable skewers for the grill? It’s tough to find a marinade that doesn’t use oil. If it would work, would you recommend doubling it for two adults? Thanks, and I love your blog!
Hi Kristi!
Yes, I agree completely about vegan vs. nutritarian! You could absolutely try this out as a marinade and please let me know how it goes! You don’t have to double the recipe, it makes about 2 cups of dressing!
xo, Kristen
I think you mean 1/2 tsp mustard. 1/4 cup would be a lot. Love your site!
Hi Catrina!
Thanks so much for pointing this out! I recently had a redesign and this definitely slipped through the cracks!
The correct measurement is 1 tsp.–and I just updated it on the recipe.
Hope you love this dressing as much as I do!
xo, Kristen
Another winner! A keeper that even my nonETL hubby enjoyed with me!
This dressing tastes amazing and so simple to make! I did not have any raisins on hand so I substituted with Medjool dates instead. My 12-year old daughter is trying to practice the nutritarian lifestyle because she says it makes a huge difference in her performance as an athlete and she is crazy about this dressing.
Hi Shari,
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I’m so happy (and very impressed) that your daughter is adopting a nutritarian lifestyle!!
I’m so glad you both loved this recipe as much as I do!
xo, Kristen
I made this and liked it, but did not like the addition of the thyme. For me, it gave it a funny taste.
Hi! I’m wondering if you’ve ever tried this recipe as written, but subbing out sunflower seeds for walnut? My 5yo is allergic to all the nuts. 🙁
Thanks!
Hi Maya!!
I’ve never personally subbed them out before, but I’m sure it would work! If you try it out please let me know what you thought!
xo, Kristen
I just made this and it is so yummy! I didn’t have raisins so I subbed dates. I’m trying to prep myself so I don’t wreck myself quite so badly this week! Lol! Thanks for all of your information and motivation!
Hi Kandi!
So, so happy you loved this dressing recipe and thank you so much for taking the time to rate it too!
LOL!! So happy you’re getting into prepping and finding the site helpful!!
Wishing you all the best!
xo, Kristen
Kristen,
This recipe looks fantastic!
That said, this isn’t oil free… not in the slightest.
For comparison’s sake, let’s take 1 cup of walnuts. 1 cup of walnuts = about 80 grams in total weight (Fats+Carbs+Proteins+Alcohols). 38/80 of the weight in grams is from polyunsaturated fat (oil). An additional 18/80 grams is from monounsaturated and saturated fats. Thus 56/80 grams, or 70% of the total caloric content of walnuts is from fat… it’s why they taste good, and along with the protein and photochemicals (like black-walnut’s anti-fungal properties), it’s why walnuts are a super-food, or at least a super good food for us.
I don’t know why on earth you would be concerned about a dressing that doesn’t have any polyunsaturated fats (oils) in it… both Omega 3 & 6 essential fatty acids can ONLY be obtained through the consumption of fats & oils. Even if you take them in supplement form… it’s a globule of fat/oil inside of a gelatinous capsule.
Furthermore, unless you’re ONLY going to use a vinegar as your dressing, or you’re going to add sugars / starchy thickeners to a vinegar base to attempt to accomplish a similar flavor and texture profile to an oil based dressing, you will end up with a less healthy, equal or greater in calories and with significantly less or no vitamins, essential fatty acids, photochemicals and minerals as you would by just using an oil based dressing.
Lastly, when you take something that helps you pass fats and oils through your system without digesting them, whatever that substance is that is cresting that action will also be pushing through any and all fat soluble vitamins and minerals that you ingest during the same digestive cycle, meaning that any fat soluble nutrients will pass straight through into your feces, and will pass through along with the greasy, smelly, unpleasant s**t that you’ll take by avoiding fat digestion. That’s why Olestra is literally only approved in the USA and zero other countries.
Hi Alex,
I think you might be confusing “fat” with “oil.”
There is no oil in this recipe.
Oil is a refined food where the nutrients and fiber have been processed out, leaving the fat.
A raw walnut (or any raw nut or seed) has its fiber and nutrients intact and is therefore a whole food.
A nutritarian diet is not a fat-free diet–it is a diet that seeks the highest-nutrient form of fat and that is found in raw nuts, seeds and avocado.
You may want to give this article by Dr. Fuhrman a read it goes over this principle in more depth.
And it would be wonderful if you didn’t rate my recipe based on a dietary principle you don’t agree with–this rating system is based on the taste and flavor of a recipe.
Thanks so much,
Kristen
For comparison’s sake, Alex, let’s pretend you actually comprehend what you read like, ya know, normal not rude people. And the word “Nutritarian”.
This Walnut Vinaigrette is WONDERFUL !
Kristen, i can see why it’s your “go-to” dressing—just became mine too (-;
Thanks so much for this YUM recipe !!
I just made this recipe and I only made a single batch. BIG MISTAKE. This stuff is incredible!
This dressing is delicious. I’ve marked it as one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing.
So wonderful to hear that, Sherrie! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review and rating!
xo, Kristen
The nutrition chart would be handy for those that need this info.l The outcome was a real winner, just want to know what my intake was.
So happy to see you enjoyed the recipe Shirley! If you have Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live book you’ll find the nutrition breakdown there! You can also run it through an online tool to get the info!
xo, Kristen
Hi I have celiac disease . Is the prep plan celiac friendly?
Hi Sherrie,
It can be modified for Celiac! It comes down to changing out the whole wheat pita breads. The readers who have use Siete almond flour wraps instead!
Thanks so much for your interest!
xo, Kristen
Have you ever substituted dates for the raisins? My mother is allergic and I would like to be able to share salads with her (secretly increasing her Nutritarianism). 😜
Hi Adria,
I’ve never done it myself but I’m sure it would work! Maybe start off with 2 dates since they are pretty sweet, then taste and adjust if necessary!
xo, Kristen
Just tried the dressing on my salade, OMG it’s amazing! It will make me eat more salades for sure! Thank you so much!
YAY!! So happy to hear that you love it! One of the all-time favorite dressings for nutritarians!
xo, Kristen
Do you soak the raisins first or do something to help them blend better? My high-speed blender did not blend the raisins well. Any tips? Thanks.
Hi Karen,
Oh I’m so sorry to hear that they didn’t blend for you–that’s frustrating.
No, I don’t soak them first. And I haven’t had a problem with blending them–I have a Vitamix.
Soaking them may help if you’re willing to try it again!
xo, Kristen
Just made this. I didn’t have raisins so I used dates, so good. Love your blog, thank you!
So wonderful to hear that it works with dates too!
Thanks so much for the lovely rating and comment!
xo, Kristen
So happy to hear that it works with dates as well!
Are Dr fuhrmans balsamic vinegar salad dressings manufactured using vegan methods… Free from gelatins, etc.?
Hi John,
I haven’t tried his dressings or vinegars yet but I am sure you could send a question in to his support team to ask that question!
This one is fantastic!!
Hi Iga! I’m so happy to hear that you tried and loved this recipe and thanks so much for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed it!
Delicious I made this and I love it . It’s quick and easy to make. Thank you very much
So happy to hear that, Tendai! And thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and rating!
xo, Kristen
I have Dr Fuhrman’s earlier program but feel cheated that I can’t get some of his latest recipes. Thank you for the updates.
Hi Muriel,
This is actually one of his oldest recipes that he’s made available online for free in the past few years. I’m grateful to him too!
xo, Kristen
Wonderful recipe , I used less balsamic vinegar and have added ground anise seeds or fennel seeds and nutritional yeast . I omitted the thyme.
I love your recipes and lifestyle.
Let the recipes coming lol
Hi Margriet, I love the seasonings you used and I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a rating and review!
Just made this and it tastes great, thank you!! I didn’t add the thyme and haven’t tried it on a salad yet, but the flavor is good. 🙂 Thankful to be able to eat healthfully, praise God.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it and I hope you end up loving it on your salad too!
What is a single serving size? 2TBSP? I tend to add too much dressing. Thanks!
I think 2 tablespoons is a great staring off point with this dressing!
Can cashews be substituted for the walnuts…my husband is allergic to walnuts
Hi Kimberly! Yes! Many people have made that substitution and still love the dressing!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’ve been vegan for 7 years, but am trying to put more nutritarian foods into my diet. I’ve heard rave reviews about Dr.F’s walnut vinaigrette.
Can you tell me how many servings this recipe makes, and how much to use (roughly) per serving?
So lovely to meet you Vanessa! Congrats on being 7 years vegan strong–that’s incredible!
I makes about 2 cups and I’d recommend 2 tbsp. per serving depending not he size of your salad.
I really like this dressing and have made it on a number of occasions without the raisins. i don’t prefer sweet dressings and the raisins or dates would make it too sweet for my tastes. I am wondering if the consistency would be better if I substituted something not sweet for the raisins. maybe more nuts? any suggestions?
Hi Heather! You can make any substitution you like. I’d just say that if you’re following the aggressive weight loss plan you’ll want to be mindful of adding the extra nuts.
I made this today it was SO GREAT thank you very much for sharing!
I’ve been vegetarian for years, but this way of eating is changing the way I think about food and I feel so energized and healthy when I eat like this. I really appreciate all you have done in putting together this excellent resource, it’s so helpful and inspirational. Thank you 🙂
Thank you so very much for your kind words about the site, Yasi! I’m also happy to hear that you’ve found a n ew favorite oil-free dressing recipe!
Can this dressing be frozen for later use? I tripled the recipe, thinking I would use it all, but it won’t be finished in 12 days.
THANK YOU for any responses!
Hi Matthew,
I haven’t experimented freezing this recipe yet but I think it should be okay. For sauces I always let them defrost on the counter then whisk them to together to reincorporate!
Kristen, your site is FANTASTIC! It is my Go To site for all things Nutritarian. I’m currently following the Aggressive Weight Loss plan, and it’s working well.
Keep up the great work on the blog and site.
I joined awhile back, and hope that I’m still a member.
Thank you so much for letting me know how much you appreciate the site and how you’ve found it helpful on your nutritarian journey!
Yes, I remember that you joined the prep program in 2019–thank you so much for the support! If you need to get any reactivation link please send a request to my support: k4mediagroup@gmail.com