Creamy Maple Tahini Dressing (Vegan)

Maple tahini dressing is a creamy vegan dressing that goes perfectly on almost any salad! Whip it up in 5 minutes and store it in the fridge for 2 weeks or more. Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and paleo!

Craving a creamier salad dressing but staying away from animal products/dairy? Then look no further because this creamy maple tahini dressing will be absolutely perfect for you!

Not only is it nice and creamy, but there are only 4 simple ingredients in this tahini dressing, and you probably already have them all in your pantry.

Tahini, maple syrup, lemon juice and water…all of these ingredients are wholesome and nutritious, making this tahini dressing so much better for you than the bottled stuff with all those unpronounceable ingredients!

Don’t forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!

What’s in a maple tahini dressing?

You only need four simple ingredients…and water is one of them, so maybe we could even call this a 3-ingredient dressing?

1. 1. Tahini– aka: sesame seed paste. I always have some on hand so I can make my favorite homemade hummus recipe! It is creamy and oily like a natural peanut butter, and can be found with the nut butters, in the natural foods aisle, or online.
   2. Maple syrup- just a touch is needed to balance the flavors of tahini which can sometimes have a *slightly* bitter taste. Make sure you use the real deal maple syrup and not imitation, so you get all the nutritional benefits!
   3. Lemon juice- without the lemon juice, this dressing is pretty one-dimensional (aka: boring!). A touch of acid like lemon juice brightens up the flavors.
   4. Water- I’m calling this ‘ingredient’ optional, but it can be added to thin out your sauce if you’d like. If you are getting towards the bottom of your tahini bottle and it is drier, you may need more water to thin it out. I added a couple of tablespoons, shook it up, then added more as needed.

What goes well with a vegan tahini dressing?

This dressing goes well on almost any salad, but a few of my favorites are:

• Buddha bowls- a grain bowl with quinoa, chickpeas and roasted veggies. These are great for meal prep! Find my Chickpea Buddha Bowls here!
• Kale salad- load it up with all sorts of goodies! Sunflower seeds, maybe some feta (unless you are vegan obviously!), dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and lots of other veggies. Find my favorite Kale Barley Salad recipe here!
• Roasted vegetables- you don’t have to limit this vegan tahini dressing for salads, it is GREAT on roasted veggies as well! We love it on roasted or baked sweet potatoes, roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli…the sky is the limit!
• Raw vegetables- this vegan tahini dressing also makes a great dip for veggies and dip! You may wish to reduce the water to keep it nice and thick for dipping.

Here are some ingredient swaps you could try with this maple tahini salad dressing: 

Think of this maple tahini salad dressing as a blank canvas…you can totally mix it up and try a new version each time you prep it!

• swap the maple syrup for honey or coconut sugar
• swap the lemon for lime juice
• add in some spices; cinnamon, turmeric, garlic (powder or freshly pressed) are all great choices
• add in some chia seeds for an imitation poppyseed dressing. You’d probably need to serve this fresh before the chia seeds absorb too much moisture and thicken

Looking for more dressing or vinaigrette recipes?

• Check out this Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (which is another creamy vegan-friendly dressing)
• This Easy Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette
• This White Wine Vinaigrette (my FAVORITE all purpose vinaigrette)
• This 5-Minute Asian Salad Dressing
• This Fresh Rasbperry Basil Vinaigrette
• This Roasted Strawberry Black Pepper Vinaigrette