The Best Healthy Ginger Tahini Dressing

Looking for salad inspiration? Ginger and tahini come together with other delicious flavors for an unusual but healthy salad dressing. This easy salad dressing recipe takes just a few minutes to make. Shake up your salad routine with fresh, vibrant flavors!

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Many winters ago, I came across a recipe much like this one. It claimed to be “detoxifying” and perfect for recovering from holiday overindulgence. The detoxifying claim seems pretty fair, though we aren’t going to eat all that much of the dressing at once. Probably. It is good enough to eat with a spoon…

At the time, I was living in the Chicago suburbs where January is cold and dark, and spring is still months away. Fresh, vibrant dressing for my salad? And good for me? That sounded good– and it was!

Though I have lost the recipe, I still make something like it now and then. Not just in winter, either! I may have inadvertently changed it over the years– kind of like a game of telephone where minor changes have crept in unawares. Whatever the original was, it was close to this.

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What’s So Healthy About This Salad Dressing?

Most store bought salad dressings are a nutritional disaster. From sugars to inflammatory oils to colors to preservatives and much more, they are packed with ingredients I avoid. Maybe once in awhile when I eat out, I won’t think about it, but these dressings aren’t something I want to eat often or serve my family.

It’s especially ironic on salad– supposedly good for us, we pour a bunch of stuff over it that is seriously working against us? Not really my thing.

It is true that you can buy some better versions now. This is great, especially if you don’t want to make dressing, or for some reason it is hard for you to do. Most of those still aren’t perfect, but they are better. However, they are really expensive.

Happily, making dressing at home with ingredients you are happy to consume, flavors you love, and nothing that you are allergic to is easy. In a few minutes, your dressing is ready to serve. With leftovers for future days! In the end, I make the dressing for better nutrition and health.

That said, the flavor is another reason I keep making my own. Fresh ingredients make delicious food. Plus, controlling the proportions means it isn’t too sweet or too sour, too acidic, too thick or too runny… Just the way we like it.

Ginger tahini dressing has only beneficial ingredients.

ginger

While the ginger is a big contributor to the flavor of this dressing, it is also good for us in many ways. Packed with antioxidants, ginger can support digestion, immune health, pain relief, and may be anti-inflammatory.

tahini

A paste made of sesame seeds, tahini also contains antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory and many other health benefits. Mine was made of just sesame seeds plus a little salt, so nothing weird. Sesame is an increasingly common allergen, so ask before serving to guests!

olive oil

Well known for its beneficial properties, olive oil is a staple in many health-conscious kitchens. Happily, it is also delicious! I try to source 100% olive oil; many olive oils are diluted with cheaper oils. Learn more about that here.

lemon juice

Not only does lemon juice taste great and add part of the flavor in this recipe, but it is good for us. Fresh-squeezed, raw lemon juice is especially good for detoxifying, protecting our liver, digestion, and more.

apple cider vinegar

When you use the kind with “the mother”, or the living source of the good bacteria, apple cider vinegar can aid blood sugar management and has antimicrobial tendencies and other helpful properties.

garlic

Among its many medicinal uses, garlic can help us fight off colds and such– and it has longer term health benefits as well. There isn’t much garlic per serving in this salad dressing, but every little bit helps!

raw honey

While sweet and delicious, raw honey has traditional medicinal uses now borne out by science. You don’t want to eat tons of it, as it is a sugar source, but modest amounts of raw honey can be good for you. It could pose risks to young babies, but you probably aren’t feeding ginger tahini dressing to babies.

How to Make Ginger Tahini Dressing

Gather your ingredients. Mince or grate your ginger and garlic. You can peel the ginger if you like; I sometimes do, but not always. When I do, I scrape it with a spoon to easily remove the thin peel.

It works to simply stir the dressing ingredients together. I have done this and eaten it that way. It is, of course, a bit chunky. If you don’t mind bits of garlic and ginger in your dressing, you can do it this way and stir before you serve so the garlic and ginger distribute throughout.

Ideally, I use an immersion blender to smooth the dressing and make sure the flavors are even throughout. A wide mouth mason jar is perfect for this task– simply measure everything into it, blend it with your immersion blender, and serve and store from that same jar. Less cleanup!

If you don’t have an immersion blender, a small food processor or blender will do the job for you.

While you can store your dressing in whatever container works for you, I love the convenience of these lids. They fit wide mouth mason jars, and you can pour and close them easily. I use them most for salad dressings in pint-sized jars, and they are also great anytime I make berry sauce for pancakes or desserts.

I write with a dry erase marker directly on the lid so everyone knows what it is, then wipe off with my finger before washing the lid. These have been worth the $4 I paid for each.

Uses for Ginger Tahini Dressing

Salad is the obvious choice, but not every dressing pairs well with every salad. This dressing has a somewhat odd mix of flavors– I associate ginger with Asian cuisines and gingerbread, but this dressing is like neither of those. Tahini evokes Middle Eastern vibes, and the garlic and lemon support that, but it isn’t Middle Eastern, either.

Maybe this dressing is its own thing. It tastes good with:

• lettuce, of course, and it can also stand up to cabbage’s more robust flavor
• fruits– apple, orange, pomegranate, etc.
• nuts
• cucumber
• carrot
• radish
• most plain vegetables
• plain meat, like chicken or turkey that aren’t already heavily seasoned

I don’t think this dressing is great with:

• cheese
• very flavorful meats, like leftover taco beef or pepperoni– too much clashing flavor!
• tomatoes– others may disagree, but I don’t think the flavors mesh well.

Make Ginger Tahini Dressing Your Way!

• too thick? Add more lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, oil, or some water.
• too thin? Add a little more tahini.
• adjust the honey to your taste– lemon juice, vinegar, and tahini all benefit from honey, so you could use less of one of those.
• not sure about tahini? It can taste bitter. Start with less and add more if you are new to tahini.
• you can leave out the vinegar, substitute a different one, or use extra lemon juice instead.
• can’t have lemon? Another citrus juice could work, but it will taste quite different. You can leave the lemon juice out and add a bit more vinegar if you need to for taste.

Need other salad dressing ideas?

Try creamy cranberry dressing or honey mustard dressing!