The Highest-Rated Salad Dressing Isn't Kraft Or Ken's, According To Consumer Reports

Bottled salad dressings are a convenient commodity, saving you time and effort on homemade salad dressing. Plus, with the wide range of mayo- and oil-based dressings on the market, you can keep multiple bottles stocked to help vary your weekly salad menus. While you might reach for tried-and-true brands like Kraft or Ken's, a recent Consumer Reports ranking of salad dressings places Annie's at the very top.

According to Consumer Reports, Annie's Organic Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette achieved a mid-to-high range overall score, beating out vinaigrettes and mayo-based dressings from popular brands like Newman's Own, Hidden Valley, and Marie's. Annie's Organic Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette is USDA organic and non-GMO, with 70% less fat and 55% fewer calories than regular raspberry vinaigrette, with a mere 45 calories per serving. In fact, it's the low sodium, fat, saturated fat, sugar, and calorie count that earned this dressing a perfect nutrition score. Even if you aren't restricting calories, Annie's beat out many full-fat, high-calorie favorites like Hidden Valley Ranch. As for taste and texture, Consumer Reports trained tasters gave Annie's an above-average score.

Annie's may be an organic, high-end brand, but you can find its bottled salad dressings at many national grocery chains like Safeway. Customers on Instacart raved about the flavor and nutritional benefits of Annie's Organic Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette. One proclaimed, "This product is my go-to salad dressing — flavorful (but not overwhelmingly so) tangy, refreshing — and it had both the amazingly low sodium and low calories."

Annie's may be famous for canned beans and macaroni and cheese, but its line of salad dressings is equally reputable. In fact, in our ranking of 14 bottled salad dressings, one of Annie's vinaigrettes came in third place. But the fruity, delicately sweet, and tangy lite raspberry vinaigrette won the heart of consumers on a much broader scale than a single taste-test. And there are plenty of salads, dishes, and marinades to use it on.

On salads, Annie's Organic Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette would work beautifully with summery ingredients like a fruity California-style salad with berries, pecans, and feta cheese over a bed of baby spinach. The sweetness of the dressing will also complement more peppery or spicy greens like arugula and radicchio on this strawberry arugula salad, for example. Cheese pairings other than feta include goat cheese, so you could try the raspberry dressing on this French-inspired arugula and chevre salad. Use it to brighten up the bitter char of roasted vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and cabbage wedges to transform them into warm salad recipes. 

Instead of as a salad dressing, use the raspberry vinaigrette as a reduction sauce to brush over an umami-rich salmon filet like this recipe for simple classic blackened salmon. Lastly, this dressing will make a great marinade for other types of meat like chicken or pork; raspberry vinaigrette-marinated pork chops would be a sophisticated and delicious main course.