No Salad Dressing? 5 Ways to Become the MacGyver of Salads

Last updated on July 4th, 2024 at 09:36 pm

Having an amazing salad and realizing you've got no salad dressing on hand can be a drag. If you can think like MacGyver though, all will be well.

Salads are awesome! They’re a healthy meal (or precursor to a meal) and there is an infinite number of variations to what you can do with a salad. You can literally do anything with them. You know what else is awesome? MacGyver. He could make the best of any situation just with what he had on-hand. Here are a few ways that you can become the MacGyver of salads!

All of the quotes in this post are from the 1985-1992 MacGyver TV Series starring Richard Dean Anderson.

Salad with vegetables and herbs

Sour Cream instead of Salad Dressing

You just made a great-looking salad when you realize that you have no salad dressing! What to do? Well, sour cream really works in a pinch. Additionally, if you’re looking for a lighter option than salad dressing, sour cream really fits the bill. Sour cream comes in at about 80 calories for 2 tbsp. whereas salad dressings can typically be over 200 calories.

Plain sour cream will work just fine. But if you’re feeling adventurous, try this quick recipe to jazz up your salad!

  • 2 tbsp. sour cream
  • 1/4 tsp. cumin
  • dash of chili powder
  • dash of paprika
  • garlic salt – to taste

Mix everything up in a small bowl and then spread out over your salad. You won’t miss that heavy, oily salad dressing. I make this for vegetable dips as well.

Imagination is the most important thing the human mind has.

Salt & Pepper

As many things as people put on their salads, I rarely see anyone throw salt & pepper on them. But guess what? Some of the best salad ingredients work with a salad because of the salty flavor they bring to the dish. Bacon bits, tortilla strips, and even croutons add a salty and spicy flavor that makes a salad more satisfying. In the absence of those, you can go with plain old salt & pepper. I keep extra packets from restaurants in my purse just in case.

You can do anything you want to do, if you put your mind to it.

Hot Sauce

This is really popular with a lot of my guy friends. They’ll put hot sauce on their salads when there’s no salad dressing around. Heck, they’ll put it on their salads when there’s plenty of salad dressing around.

Well, I tried it and guess what? It’s not so bad. I wouldn’t throw some really hot fire sauce on it, but a well-flavored sauce with some heat does a salad good.

Brace yourself. This could be fun.

Fried Egg

Another way to get your salad nice a creamy and satisfying without salad dressing? Fry an egg and pop the yolk all over your salad. I admit I was a bit hesitant about this one, but it really tastes amazing! Add a little salt & pepper and you’re good to go!

Egg whites are good for a lot of things – lemon meringue pie, angel food cake, and clogging up radiators.

Cooked Vegetables & Leftovers

When you’re down and out with no salad dressing and dry salad, start looking around for leftovers. Specifically cooked veggies & meats. Most cooked meats & veggies still hold onto some moisture and flavor which can have you forgetting about the lack of salad dressing right away. Toss ’em right on top of your salad and enjoy!

Well, when it comes down to me against a situation, I don’t like the situation to win.

Being the MacGyver of Salads

MacGyver could get out of just about any situation with his brain, imagination, and whatever he had on-hand. Adding some of his out-of-the-box thinking to your culinary habits can make you not only the MacGyver of Salads, but of the entire kitchen as well.

Writer & Blogger

I'm an aspiring writer from Santa Monica, CA who writes about a little bit of everything. I love paranormal stuff, working out, nature, wildlife, and general humor.

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