4 Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes

Last Updated on February 15, 2022 by Anne-Marie

Make vegan salad dressing with soft tofu in your blender. You won’t believe these four vegan salad dressing recipes are dairy-free.

4 Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes in bowls and a glass jar with salad, tomatoes, forks, and napkins.

Why this recipe works

Check out these vegan salad dressing recipes if you need to avoid all things dairy.

When I discovered I had food sensitivities to things like whey in milk products and refined sugars, the biggest challenge was salad dressings!

Most store bought salad dressings contain sugar, even the more natural, wholesome brands. How hard could it be to make a sugar free salad dressing? It was so frustrating!

After plain red wine vinegar and olive oil got too boring, I decided to make my own dairy free salad dressing that was also sugar free.

These are also naturally gluten free, dairy free salad dressings.

Bowls and jars of vegan salad dressing with plates of salads on a wooden cutting board with napkins and forks.

Making a vegan dressing with tofu

For some vegan dressing inspiration, I went through my cookbooks and researched how to make an easy salad dressing. I didn’t want anything to complicated.

Tofu Cookery by Louise Hagler got me thinking about making a vegan salad dressing recipe with tofu. Hmmmmmm, interesting!

I quickly learned that soft tofu made a creamy vegan salad dressing with the addition of vinegar and maybe some kind of oil. (Seriously, you can’t tell it’s tofu.) I didn’t miss the dairy at all.

All I had to do with the tofu and vinegar (plus optional oil) was add some spices and other flavors. It was time to experiment!

All the dressings make wonderful dips for vegetables or crackers, too.

If you’re not vegan, you can also use these dairy-free dressings on grilled meats, chicken, and seafood.

Overhead view of plates of salad and small bowls and jars of salad dressings with napkins, cutting boards, and slices of limes.

Four vegan salad dressings you’ll love

I came up with four types of vegan salad dressings that everyone, not just vegans, can enjoy:

Creamy Vegan Italian Dressing

This is so creamy, you won’t be able to tell it’s made with tofu.

Creamy Italian poured on salad with tomatoes on a blue plate with a fork on a woven mat.

Sundried Tomato & Balsamic Vegan Dressing

I love sundried tomatoes, but prefer the dry packed sundried tomatoes over the ones packed in oil for this salad dressing recipe. Usually these type of sundried tomatoes have to be soaked in hot water to soften them.

If you can only find ones packed in oil, cut back or eliminate the olive oil in this salad dressing recipe.

If there are chunks of tomatoes in the dressing, that’s OK.

Sundried Tomato & Balsamic Vegan Dressing in a jar with a plate of dressed salad with fork and napkin.

Dill & Lime Vegan Dressing Recipe

If you don’t have limes, you can use lemon juice instead.

A cup of Dill & Lime Vegan Dressing Recipe with a plate of salad, tomatoes and lime on a wooden cutting board.

Spicy Sesame Ginger Vegan Salad Dressing

You can add more sriracha to this vegan salad dressing if you all things spicy. However, it’s supposed to be like the ginger salad dressing that’s served at Japanese restaurants. Just a bit creamier and spicier. So don’t go overboard!

You can buy roasted black sesame seeds at many Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, they’re usually kept in the spice section of your grocery store.

Don’t make this an oil-free salad dressing as the roasted sesame oil adds a needed, special taste to the salad dressing.

To make this a sugar free salad dressing, you can use powdered stevia, powdered monk fruit or Swerve Sweetener.

● This dressing would be terrific on stir fry or rice noodles.

A small bowl of Spicy Sesame Ginger Vegan Salad Dressing with salad and a gold fork on a wooden cutting board.

How to make vegan salad dressing

You’ll need to invest in one of the best high speed blenders or mini food processors to make these four vegan salad dressing recipes.

Why?

Because you need to emulsify the tofu with the vinegar and the oil. Shaking it in a Mason jar won’t quite work since soft tofu is the consistency of pudding.

Here’s Amazon’s recommendation for the best high speed blenders. I’m a Blendtec blender gal, especially since after my kids broke the jar, Blendtec replaced it no questions asked.

If you don’t want to invest in a blender, try using one of the best mini food processors to make vegan salad dressing recipes. They’re cheaper and can be used for chopping herbs, nuts, grinding salt, and making dips, too.

A plate of lettuce dressed with a vegan salad dressing recipe.

Tips for making the best vegan salad dressing

When cooking with tofu, buy organic tofu if possible. At my grocery store, sometimes the organic stuff is cheaper than the tofu made from conventionally grown soybeans.

Everyone has different preferences. I’m not a big fan of pepper, so I don’t add a lot. But if you want more, add more!

The best thing to do is to taste your dressing before adding it to your salad. Use a leaf of lettuce and dip it into your dressing.

What’s missing? Could it use more salt, pepper or vinegar? Maybe a squeeze of lemon? Add a little more of whatever you think it needs.

While I use dried herbs like dill and oregano in these recipes for convenience, if you have fresh in your garden USE THEM! Nothing like fresh herbs – delicious and fragrant!

Since dried herbs are more potent, you’ll need three times as much fresh as you do dried.

So if the recipe calls for 1/4 teaspoon dried dill, use 3/4 teaspoon fresh chopped dill.

A plate of cucumber, lettuce and carrots dressed with a vegan salad dressing.

I recommend using cold pressed, unfiltered, extra virgin olive oil in any non-dairy salad dressing except for the Spicy Sesame Ginger Vegan Salad Dressing which uses roasted (also called toasted) sesame oil.

However, if you’re wanting an oil-free vegan salad dressing, you can leave the olive oil out or use something like Coconut Manna, which is a coconut butter and not an oil per se.

If any of the dairy free dressings are too thick, add a little water or unsweetened coconut or soy milk.

Put leftover vegan salad dressing in a sealed container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Shake before serving.

Several plates of salads, vegetables, and bowls of vegan salad dressings.

More vegan recipes using tofu

Vegan Cornbread

Vegan Tofu Sour Cream

Vegan Key Lime Mousse

Espresso Chocolate No Bake Pie

Yield: 6 SERVINGS PER DRESSING

4 Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes

Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes - a small bowl of Spicy Sesame Ginger Vegan Salad Dressing with salad and a gold fork on a wooden cutting board

Make vegan salad dressing with soft tofu in your blender. You won’t believe these four vegan salad dressing recipes are dairy-free.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Creamy Vegan Italian Dressing

  • 1/4 pound soft tofu
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon high-quality olive oil (optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
  • pinch black pepper

Sundried Tomato & Balsamic Vegan Dressing

  • 1/4 pound soft tofu
  • 1 tablespoon high-quality olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sundried tomatoes (softened in hot water, if needed)
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch black pepper

Spicy Sesame Ginger Vegan Salad Dressing

  • 1/4 pound soft tofu
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon roasted (or toasted) sesame seed oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon powdered stevia, monk fruit sweetener, or Swerve Sweetener
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
  • 5 drops sriracha sauce
  • 2 pinches roasted black sesame seeds

Dill & Lime Vegan Dressing Recipe

  • 1/4 pound soft tofu
  • 1 tablespoon high-quality olive oil (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon lime juice
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried dill
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • pinch black pepper

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients in a high-speed blender or mini-food processor.
  2. Blend until ingredients are combined and the dressing is creamy.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

2 tablespoons

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 39Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 96mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 2g

Nutritional information is automatically calculated per the ingredients list. Serving size may not be accurate. Please double-check with your preferred nutritional app for the most accurate information.

Originally published on March 21, 2011. Updated with new pictures and information.

6 thoughts on “4 Vegan Salad Dressing Recipes

  1. Wendy (The Local Cook)

    I have to admit I’ve not cooked much with tofu, but I love the idea of using it in creamy dressings. Thanks for the inspiration! Glad you shared this post at the salad recipe roundup.

    Reply
  2. Cassandra

    I love making dressings! I’m always looking for new ideas. So, I was wondering … where’s the lime in the Dill and Lime?

    Reply
    1. Anne-Marie Nichols Post author

      Shaking my head, laughing. I’ve added it to the recipe. It was there, I just didn’t type it up correctly!

      Reply
  3. Kristi Rimkus

    I’m always looking for healthy, low calorie dressings. When you’re watching calories, you are right, the same old dressings get very boring. These look delicious.

    Kristi

    Reply

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