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Healthy Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dip has the creaminess and the sharp flavor you love, but it is lighter than the usual bottled dips or dressings. You only need six ingredients and a few minutes and you’ll be ready to dip your veggies. Or thin it out just a bit and it doubles as one of my favorite delicious easy gluten-free salad dressing recipes.
Originally published on April 16, 2012. Post and photos updated on February 6, 2016.
A Healthier Blue Cheese Dip with Greek Yogurt
I LOVE blue cheese. There aren’t many things that aren’t made better by adding blue cheese. Grilled chicken salad or , a black and blue steak, pizza, sandwiches, and even hot dogs. I could go on and on.
But blue cheese dressing, well, yes, in concept, I love it. But most brands of blue cheese salad dressing in a bottle have these little, tiny granules of blue cheese which are totally not satisfying when you are craving that tangy flavor that you only get from nice, big crumbles. And let’s not even talk about all the preservatives and other ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
If you go to a restaurant that makes their own salad dressings, their versions are usually pretty darn delicious. But they, along with most recipes you’ll find, are loaded with lots of mayo or heavy cream or oil. Obviously, it’s perfectly fine to have on occasion, but not something I want to douse my salad with or dunk my veggies into on a daily basis.
And since I could practically eat it by the spoonful every day, I knew I had to come up with my own version – chunkier than the bottled stuff, lighter than the other homemade stuff, and definitely healthier and more protein-packed than both.
So I went to my old standby – Greek yogurt.
Ingredients
Plain Greek yogurt: I usually use nonfat to keep it light, but you can use whole milk yogurt to make a keto blue cheese dressing.
Apple cider vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Dry mustard
Cayenne pepper: Just a pinch gives these dressing a little zip, but you can omit it.
Crumbled blue cheese
How to Make Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing or Dip
All you need to do is stir together your Greek yogurt with all of the other ingredients except the blue cheese until it is smooth. Then gently stir in the blue cheese so it doesn’t break up too much.
This is thick enough to be a great dip for veggies, but it is equally yummy as a salad dressing. I like this consistency for spooning over a nice wedge salad, but you can always add a little more olive oil and/or apple cider vinegar to thin it out if you prefer.
Serving Suggestions
You can use it for veggie platters, wings, salads like this Strawberry Wedge Salad, and to cool off your favorite kicked up dishes.
Blue cheese dressing does not contain many vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients. But it can increase the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamins A, D, E, and K from the diet. Moreover, it provides calcium and phosphorus which are great for bone health and energy production.
Blue cheese dips are often the star ingredient on a veggie platter, rather than a supporting role, so they are thicker and have a more concentrated blue cheese flavor. On the contrary, if you're looking to make a blue cheese dressing, or even turn a blue cheese dip into a dressing, you'll want to thin it out a bit.
While you may use more than 1 tablespoon on your salad or as a dip, this amount would have minimal, if any, effect on blood sugar levels, and the amount of added carbohydrates is insignificant. Typically, blue cheese dressing does not contain added sugars.
There are lots of other recipes so might be worth finding one with less liquid to dry ingredients: more cheese, or other dry ingredients like mustard powder or onion powder. You can thicken it by blending some of the cheese in or adding more cheese by crumbling.
Overconsumption of blue cheese can add excess calories and saturated fat to the diet. 1 oz of blue cheese contains 8.14 g of fat, of which 5.3 g is saturated fat. This type of fat can raise cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.
Switching from saturated fats to unsaturated fats like vegetable oils (including olive or rapeseed oils) can help lower cholesterol levels when consumed as part of a balanced diet. Avoid salad dressing ingredients that are high in saturated fat, like sour cream, melted butter and blue cheese.
There are dozens of varieties of blue cheese. The four classics are French roquefort, English stilton, Italian gorgonzola, and Spanish cabrales. But today, blue cheese is made in many countries and in a growing variety of styles.
Since blue cheese contains a high amount of sodium, it can increase your blood pressure levels. A high-sodium diet makes controlling blood pressure difficult, and healthy individuals should consume no more than 2,300 milligrammes of sodium per day.
The compound spermidine, present in blue cheese dressing, is a natural polyamine that slows the aging process and can potentially promote cardiovascular health. Spermidine also additionally has an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
The delicious crumbles that make blue cheese dressing a fan favorite can also make it dangerous for a balanced diet. Packed with sodium and saturated fat, this popular option can be full of extra calories. But if it's your favorite dressing, there's a silver lining – there are plenty of great substitutions out there.
However, a general comparison shows that one serving, or two tablespoons, of ranch dressing has around 140 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 2 grams of carbohydrates. Comparatively, there are only 120 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 3 grams of carbs in two tablespoons of blue cheese dressing.
Why does my homemade blue cheese dressing get watery? As blue cheese dressing sits, the water in the sour cream can begin to separate. That's natural. Just stir the dressing before you spoon it onto the salad or sandwich.
Blue cheese is made using Penicillium, a type of mold that's responsible for its unique taste, smell, and appearance. Unlike other types of mold, Penicillium does not produce toxins and is safe to consume.
It's one of those foods that's best eaten fresh or within a few days. Can blue cheese dressing be frozen? I would not recommend freezing this dressing as it contains dairy. Dairy products can separate when frozen and then thawed.
However, a general comparison shows that one serving, or two tablespoons, of ranch dressing has around 140 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 2 grams of carbohydrates. Comparatively, there are only 120 calories, 12 grams of fat, and 3 grams of carbs in two tablespoons of blue cheese dressing.
Caesar dressing. Made up of mayonnaise, cheese, salt and oil (and all too often, anchovies), Caesar tends to be one of the least healthy options out there. Those ingredients cause it to be high in both saturated fats and sodium.
In addition to being used as a salad dressing, blue cheese dressing pairs well with a number of ingredients like chicken, turkey, garlic bread, and corn. It can be used as a dressing for sandwiches or wraps or incorporated in dips with other ingredients like cream cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce.
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