This Sesame Ginger Dressing is savory, a little punchy, and perfect on noodles, green salads, and grain bowls. In fact, it’s the Little Black Dress of your salad wardrobe—simple but stunning, and goes with everything.
When I first made this original ginger dressing recipe from Food and Wine in 2017, I was immediately hooked. In the years since then, I’ve tweaked the recipe some to make it into the legendary salad dressing it is now. I make it every time I’ve got a fresh knob of ginger in the fridge, and my sister requests it anytime we head to the beach.
When I added it to my salad dressing repertoire for my personal chef clients, it quickly became my most-requested dressing.
Why Make Creamy Sesame Dressing
- Just So Tasty: Seriously, this is my favorite ginger dressing of all time. Savory and delicious!
- So Many Uses: Think way beyond a simple green salad with this dressing. Great as a dip for crudité, especially carrots and cucumbers. Really good on cold soba noodles and grain salads too.
- Healthy: There’s no sugar in this dressing, and it’s low in calories. Compare to any store-bought version, and you’ll see the difference!
Jump to:
Ginger Sesame Dressing Ingredients
- Ginger: Fresh ginger is non-negotiable in this recipe, so don’t be tempted to replace with dried ginger.
- Red Onion: I love the depth of flavor this provides to the dressing, but I have also made this dressing when I didn’t have an onion on hand, and it still works. Feel free to replace with minced shallots or white onion.
- Tahini: Tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. In this recipe, it gives the ginger dressing a stronger sesame flavor (along with the sesame oil and sesame seeds). If you don’t have tahini, use 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise instead. Alternatively, for extra sesame flavor and a vegan sesame ginger dressing, replace the tablespoon of mayonnaise with a second tablespoon of tahini.
- Soy Sauce: For a gluten-free dressing, make sure you are using a gluten-free soy sauce like tamari.
- Grapeseed Oil: I like using grapeseed oil in salad dressing. It has a mild flavor, and is higher in vitamin E than olive oil. But feel free to replace it with a mild olive oil or vegetable oil.
How to make Sesame Ginger Dressing
Combine 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon minced red onion, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon tahini, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Turn off the blender and scrape down the sides. Next, turn the blender on and slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil. (Open the removable part in the top of the blender just enough to pour in the oil so the dressing doesn't splatter anywhere.) Blend until smooth.
Stir in pepper and sesame seeds.
Ways to Use Sesame Ginger Dressing
This makes a lovely sesame ginger dressing for noodles, especially with cold soba noodles. You can also use it to drizzle on top of grilled chicken, salmon, or tuna. And as a sauce for a grain bowl, it pulls everything together. Tastes best with crunchy vegetables like carrots, cucumber, radishes, apples, and pears.
Try it as another dressing option for Cucumber Carrot Salad, Beet Feta Salad, or an easy Accompaniment Salad—so delicious! This dressing also makes a great pairing for a Spring Mix Salad packed with spring veggies.
🧐 Recipe FAQs for Sesame Ginger Dressing
This dressing is almost always gluten-free—the only caveat is that some brands of soy sauce contain gluten. Most tamari soy sauce is gluten-free, and other soy sauce may be labeled gluten-free. Just look for one of those when you are buying ingredients for this recipe. Note that with store-bought ginger dressings, you may not know whether the soy sauce used is gluten-free or not. Or whether there are other ingredients that also contain gluten. Safer to make your own dressing!
This creamy dressing will last for about five days in the refrigerator. I like to store mine in a mason jar with a lid—you can shake it up before serving if it settles into layers.
I don’t recommend freezing this dressing, as it will separate when you defrost it.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
Note that tahini varies quite a bit in consistency between brands. If your tahini is thick like peanut butter, you may want to add a little bit of water to the blender to thin out the dressing to the consistency you want.
If you don’t have a blender, you can whisk ingredients together by hand. The final salad dressing will not combine in the same way it does in the blender, but it will still be delicious. Just make sure that your ginger and red onion are finely minced, as a big chunk of ginger is just not appetizing to bite into! As with the blender, combine the first set of ingredients first, then whisk in the oil at the end (before adding the pepper and sesame seeds).
Other Delicious Salad Dressings
A good salad dressing is one of my favorite ways to enjoy seasonal vegetables. No matter the season, you can always find vegetables to add to a bowl and drizzle with dressing. Try my Niçoise Salad Dressing next, or one of these favorites:
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Vanilla Bean Cuisine.
Sesame Ginger Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced red onion
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon tahini
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup grapeseed oil
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add dressing ingredients from ginger though soy sauce to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Turn off the blender and scrape down the sides.
- Turn on the blender and slowly drizzle in the grapeseed oil. (Open the removable part in the top of the blender just enough to pour in the oil so the dressing doesn't splatter anywhere.) Blend until smooth.
- Stir in pepper and sesame seeds.
Notes
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
Mimi Rippee says
This sounds perfect for a salad with grilled salmon. Thanks!
http://Www.chefmimiblog.com
Shagufta says
Hey,
thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. waiting for your more, best of luck with your next blog.
Chef Molly says
Thanks for commenting. Glad you are enjoying these recipes!