10 Unhealthiest Salad Dressings, Ranked by Saturated Fat 

In a perfect world, we'd have all the time to make our favorite foods from scratch. Homemade foods generally taste better, and we have more control over their healthfulness than we do with store-bought foods. Take salad dressings, for example. Buying them from the grocery store is easier, but premade bottled salad dressings often pack in many unwanted ingredients.

For instance, creamy bottled dressings like blue cheese, ranch, or Caesar, tend to be higher in saturated fat because of the buttermilk and oils manufacturers use. In small amounts, saturated fat can be a part of a balanced diet, but the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends sticking to no more than 13 grams daily. Consuming too much of this fat can lead to high levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.

If you're watching your saturated fat intake, keep an eye on bottled dressings, which are sneaky sources of this heart-threatening nutrient. To help, we've compiled a list of the very unhealthiest salad dressings on grocery shelves.

You may notice that even the fattiest dressings contain a few grams per serving, which may not seem like much initially. However, each serving is just two tablespoons, so loading up your salad with a larger portion can be too easy, sending the saturated fat content skyrocketing.

For example, 2 grams of saturated fat accounts for 15% of the AHA's recommendation or 10% of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans' Daily Value (DV) of 20 grams. Adding just one more tablespoon will bring you up to 23% of the AHA's daily cap.

Because of this, it's important to be aware of the brands that contain more saturated fat than others. Read on for our list of these 10 popular bottled dressings, ranked by their saturated fat content—starting from the least fatty and ending with the dressing with the highest amount. And for better-for-you options, check out the 11 Healthiest Salad Dressings To Buy.

The Best of the Worst… Ken's Country French with Orange Blossom Honey

This Ken's Country French with Orange Blossom Honey has 2 grams of saturated fat per serving, which isn't terrible, but when you consider the 9 grams of added sugar on top of that, this choice becomes one you may want to skip over. The American Heart Association recommends women limit their added sugars to 25 grams per day and men to 36 grams, so eating a dressing that contains 9 grams in just two tablespoons can quickly add up.

RELATED: 11 Best Low-Sugar Salad Dressings

Kraft Chunky Blue Cheese

Kraft Chunky Blue Cheese is a classic and affordable choice, and its 2 grams of saturated fat aren't as bad compared to some of the other blue cheese options on our list. However, this dressing does use a preservative called sodium phosphate (also found in many bacon and sausage brands), which research has shown can lead to accelerated aging and vascular damage.

Kraft Buttermilk Ranch

Kraft Ranch probably feels like a reliable choice because you can find it at most grocery stores. If you're concerned with keeping your saturated fat intake on the lower end, try sticking to the 2-tablespoon serving by measuring it out to give you some peace of mind. Or, you can try Marzetti's Simply Ranch, which has only 0.5 grams of saturated fat per serving.

RELATED: I Tried 10 Popular Ranch Dressings & the Best Was Tangy and Delicious

Hidden Valley Ranch

6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

One of the most classically known brands of ranch dressing, Hidden Valley is always an easy choice. Again, its 2 grams of saturated fat isn't terrible compared to some options further down on our list, but it's still important to be mindful of if you're trying to stay within a 13-gram goal for the day.

RELATED: 9 Best & Worst Ranch Dressings on Store Shelves, Say Dietitians

Ken's Chunky Bleu Cheese

You'll find palm oil—which is 50% saturated fat—in Ken's Chunky Bleu Cheese, which adds to the overall saturated fat content of this dressing. Also, with almost 300 milligrams of sodium in a 2-tablespoon serving, the sodium content is getting a little high for those wanting to stay below the 2,300-milligram limit recommended by the FDA.

Marzetti Chunky Blue Cheese

With about 23% of your recommended daily saturated fat intake, Marzetti Chunky Blue Cheese is getting into dangerous territory for those watching their fat intake. However, even though this one has 3 grams of saturated fat per serving, it is also free of sodium phosphates and has a smaller list of ingredients than many of the other blue cheese options available. So whether you avoid this one or not really depends on what you value the most when it comes to choosing a dressing.

Ken's Buttermilk Ranch

Another dressing that has almost 24% of your recommended daily saturated fat intake, Ken's Buttermilk Ranch

RELATED: 9 Healthiest Bagged Salad Kits—and 3 To Avoid

Ken's Creamy Caesar

Because they're creamy and often made with buttermilk, bottled Caesar dressings are usually higher in saturated fat. Take Ken's Creamy Caesar, for example. With 3 grams of saturated fat per serving, it's higher for those looking to watch their intake.

RELATED: 10 Best & Worst Caesar Salad Dressings, According to Dietitians

The Salad Dressing (Tied for) Highest in Saturated Fat is…Marie's Chunky Bleu Cheese

With 3.5 grams (27% of the AHA's recommended daily cap) of saturated fat, Marie's Chunky Bleu Cheese has the highest saturated fat content of any blue cheese dressing on the list. However, if you're concerned about sodium, it's nice to know that this dressing also has lower sodium levels than the other choices.

The Salad Dressing (Tied for) Highest in Saturated Fat Is… Marie's Caesar

Marie's Blue Cheese and Marie's Caesar have the highest saturated fat content, with 3.5 grams per serving. For a healthy bottled Caesar dressing, try brands that use avocado or olive oil instead, like Primal Kitchen's Caesar Dressing.