Creamy Ginger Miso Salad Dressing Recipe (Dairy-Free & Healthy!)

I often use cashews or other nut butters to thicken salad dressings, but once in a while I crave something a little lighter. So when I stumbled upon the Open Sesame Salad Dressing recipe in Blissful Bites, I knew that I had a winner. As I make it, it’s more of a creamy ginger miso salad dressing with a hint of sesame. And the surprising, low fat, high protein base is silken tofu!

Creamy Ginger Miso Salad Dressing made Dairy-Free and Healthy

Even tofu-haters will delight in the fresh and creamy vibe of this ginger miso salad dressing. I did alter the original recipe quite a bit, adding ginger instead of garlic, upping the sesame oil for a creamier and richer flavor, and spiking it with a little more vinegar to heighten the taste. Even with just that wee bit of maple syrup, this sesame salad dressing is surprisingly sweet, yet the overall flavor is somewhat mellow.

The light and smooth taste of this recipe, coupled with the fact that it is low in fat and a good source of protein, gave me the excuse I needed to pour this dressing on REALLY thick. In theory, the batch below could top anywhere from 8 large salads to 16 smaller ones. But when I felt like having a big bowl of steamed broccoli, carrots, and brown rice for lunch, I used this sesame salad dressing as my protein source and dumped on a full 1/2 cup – restaurant-style!

Special Diet Notes: Creamy Ginger Miso Salad Dressing

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, optionally gluten-free, nut-free, peanut-free, vegan, and vegetarian. Just be sure to pick your miso wisely – many brands contain gluten.

Creamy Ginger Miso Salad Dressing

Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

This wonderfully healthy and flavorful recipe is adapted from Blissful Bites: Vegan Meals that Nourish Mind, Body, and Planet by Christy Morgan.

Author: Alisa Fleming

Recipe type: Sauce

Cuisine: Asian

Serves: about 2 cups

Ingredients

1 (12-ounce) package soft silken tofu
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons white or light miso
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 teaspoons sesame oil
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons water, or more to thin as desired
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish (see note; optional)

Instructions

Place the tofu, vinegar, miso, maple syrup, sesame oil, ginger, and salt in your blender, and whiz until smooth, about 1 minute.
Blend in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it reaches your desired consistency.
Drizzle the dressing over salad, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Toasted Sesame Seeds: Heat shelled sesame seeds in a skillet, in a single layer, over medium heat while shaking the pan occasionally. Cook them for just a few minutes, or until they begin to look golden and smell fragrant. Keep a close eye, as they go from toasted to burnt rather quickly!

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 2 tablespoons Calories: 35 Fat: 1.8g Saturated fat: .3g Carbohydrates: 2.9g Sugar: 1.9g Sodium: 155mg Fiber: .1g Protein: 1.3g