This flavorful Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing recipe with miso is fantastic on salads, noodles, and slaws. It's a delicious blend of sweet, savory, nutty, and tangy. So healthy and easy to prepare! (Vegan, gluten-free, refined oil-free.)
Sauces and dressings can really make a dish blossom, and this Asian Sesame Dressing is one of my new favorites!
It's infused with Asian-inspired flavors like rice vinegar, tamari, lime, miso, garlic, and ginger.
Then we add two different kinds of sesame goodness! Both from creamy tahini and sesame seeds. (And even toasted sesame oil if you wish.) The flavors are bright, bold, and so delicious.
Best of all, it's easy to prepare in 10 minutes or less. Let's get to it!
Ingredients for Sesame Ginger Dressing
For this recipe, you'll combine:
- Rice vinegar: I use unseasoned vinegar which doesn't contain added sugar and salt.
- Tahini: This is a condiment made from ground sesame seeds. Be sure to find a good quality tahini. I use natural, organic tahini without any added oils. (Currently I use the Whole Foods 365 brand.)
- Tamari: I use regular, but you can use low sodium if desired. You can also substitute soy sauce, but I use tamari for gluten-free.
- Fresh lime juice: You'll need one tablespoon for this recipe, which is about a half lime.
- Pure maple syrup: This helps balance the flavors and adds a touch of sweetness. But use more for an even sweeter flavor.
- White miso: This is a fermented soybean paste with savory, umami, salty flavor. (So tasty!) You can omit it if you don't have it, but I really enjoy the depth of flavor it provides.
- Fresh ginger: I use about a teaspoon of freshly grated ginger, but you can adjust the amount as you see fit.
- Garlic: Most of the time I use garlic powder for convenience, however a fresh minced garlic clove works great too.
- White sesame seeds: These add subtle nuttiness and great texture. You can use raw or toasted - your choice.
Customizing
Make it spicy: Include a pinch of red pepper flakes to taste. Or you could also try black pepper or sriracha to spice it up.
Adding oil: Feel free to add a couple teaspoons toasted sesame oil to the mixture. (This adds extra sesame flavor as well!)
Flavors: Fine-tune the recipe with more or less of the flavors you enjoy. Adjust the amount of garlic, ginger, tamari, maple syrup for sweetness, or creamy tahini as you see fit. Fresh herbs like cilantro or chives would be tasty as well. I find it's a pretty forgiving recipe, so play around and have fun.
Preparing
There are three different ways to make this, so choose what works best for you!
- Whisk: Add everything to a mixing bowl, and whisk until smooth. (This is what I do most of the time.)
- Shake: Add all the ingredients to a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid and give it a good shake.
- Blend: For an ultra-smooth & creamy texture, use a small high-speed blender. Then stir in the sesame seeds after you blend.
Serving
Leafy salad: Enhance your salads with a healthy drizzle of this flavorful dressing. (One of my favorites is this Asian Chopped Salad pictured above.) Or just enjoy it over a simple bed of greens or veggies.
Coleslaw: Toss it with an Asian slaw or cabbage salad. Include shredded cabbage, carrots, ramen, cilantro, or whatever else sounds good.
Noodle salad: Create a ramen noodle salad (or your own favorite noodle) with veggies, edamame, nuts, herbs, or a protein of choice. Then pour this dressing over the top and toss it all together.
Marinade: You could even use this as a marinade or sauce for your vegan chicken, tofu, tempeh, etc.
Storing
Store this Asian dressing in a sealed glass jar or other airtight container in the refrigerator. (Just give it a stir again before serving.) I find it keeps for about 5 days, but use your best judgement.
For more inspiration, also browse all oil-free salad dressing recipes.
Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar, unseasoned
- 2 Tbsp. tahini
- 1 Tbsp. tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp. white miso
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (or 1 clove, minced)
- 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds (or more)
- Optional: 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil, red pepper flakes
Instructions
Choose one method of preparation:
- Whisk: In a small mixing bowl, add all ingredients. Whisk until miso clumps are smoothed out and dissolved.
- Shake: Add all ingredients to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until combined.
- Blend: In a small high-speed blender, add all ingredients except sesame seeds. (I use a small Nutri-Bullet which works great.) Blend for 20-30 seconds or until smooth. Then stir in sesame seeds after blending.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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