Summer’s abundant produce is always a good excuse to fit a jumbo salad into our daily diets and to experiment with homemade salad dressings and vinaigrettes. I’ll admit Sweet Dijon Dressing is usually the go to because it’s so simple. However, I had yet to successfully create a dressing that would satisfy my husband’s greatest craving. He could practically live off of a sesame-soy dressing. It sounds simple enough, but the at-home blends just weren’t working until this Maple-Miso Salad Dressing.
The salty miso and soy sauce are tempered nicely with a bit of maple syrup to create a well balanced salad dressing. Plus, using just a touch of sesame oil rounds it out, but keeps the overall dressing very low in fat.
My husband agreed that this one is really good, and though quite different from his usual oil-laden, store-bought version, he is happy to make the transition …
Special Diet Notes: Maple-Miso Salad Dressing
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, peanut-free, nut-free, vegan, plant-based, and vegetarian.
For gluten-free: Replace soy sauce with wheat-free tamari or Coconut Aminos.
- ¼ cup mellow miso (such as a mild white soy miso or a barley miso)
- ¼ cup + 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce or wheat-free tamari (for gluten-free, see above for a soy-free option)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger powder
- Place all ingredients in a bowl, and whisk until smooth. Alternately, you can place the ingredients in a blender and quickly puree until smooth.
Maple Syrup is such a precious commodity these days, so I rarely use more than a couple of tablespoons in a recipe, which is really all you need to get its full flavor benefit. Since you are using just a bit, don’t skimp, buy pure maple syrup, not imitation!
Miso is sold in the refrigerated section. It is readily available in natural food stores and Asian markets, but these days you can probably even locate it in the mega-marts. It will range in price, but I usually go for one of the less expensive versions for around $3 to $4 a tub. The one I used is soy-based, but for a similar taste, you can choose barley miso or chickpea miso, which is a bit sweeter.
Coconut Aminos from Coconut Secret is an amazing new substitute for soy sauce. It is completely soy-free, but mimics the traditional flavoring remarkably well. I have seen this product in natural food stores such as Whole Foods (along with a similar brand), but you can also purchase it online from shops like iHerb. – I shop on this site a lot, if you haven’t shopped there before, you can use my coupon code ALI029 at checkout for $5 off your first purchase. It isn’t cheap, but I think worth it for a splurge and if used in small quantities since soy sauce is just so awesome!
6 Comments
I actually found this to be too salty.
The saltiness could vary by brand of miso a little. Sorry it didn’t work out perfectly for you Isel!
Made it was Super Yummy Thank you .Namaste 🙂 Oh I use Freshly Grated Organic Ginger Root And I used Coconut Amino ..
Good call on the fresh ginger and glad to know it worked well with the aminos for you. 🙂 Thanks for your feedback June!
I made this dressing for lunch just now, served over a roasted veggie/romaine salad and it is incredible!!! I used red miso since that’s what I had but I love the sweet/savory taste to it. Great recipe, thanks so much!
Red miso – I will have to try that! Glad you are enjoying it Kristen!