Creamy Maple Tahini Dressing (Vegan)

This creamy maple tahini dressing is perfect for drizzling over salads and macro bowls, or used as a dip! Whip it up in 5 minutes and store it in the fridge for 2 weeks or more. Vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free and paleo!

A good dressing really adds life to a salad, and I have a particular weakness for creamy dressings. From green goddess dressing to creamy cilantro lime dressing to homemade ranch dressing, they add a certain richness to a recipe.

This maple tahini dressing is perfect if you are craving a creamy dressing but are avoiding animal products/dairy.

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

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

Ingredients you’ll need

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.

Shake it up, baby

To make this dressing, you simply need a jar. It makes just under 1/2 cup, so a 1/2 pint jar will do the trick. Shake it up until everything is completely combined. Check the consistency, and add additional water if needed to thin it out.

If you find the tahini is thick and stuck into the corners, use a spoon to scoop it out and mix the dressing up.

How to use it

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 go-to 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.
• Falafels- tahini and falafels go hand in hand. Check out these crispy baked falafels.
• Condiment– spread this dressing out on a pita, wrap or sandwich. Top with microgreens, radishes, or your favorite veggies.

Swaps + variations

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

More dressings

• Easy Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette
• White Wine Vinaigrette (my FAVORITE all purpose vinaigrette)
• 5-Minute Asian Salad Dressing
• Fresh Rasbperry Basil Vinaigrette
• Roasted Strawberry Black Pepper Vinaigrette