This Sesame Ginger Dressing is probably one of the most addictive homemade dressings I’ve ever made. It’s sweet, salty, tangy, and has a super “zingy” fresh ginger bite. It’s one of those dressings that you’ll just want to keep dipping your spoon into. The type of dressing that will make you want to eat a salad just to serve as a vehicle for the delicious dressing (that’s not exactly a bad thing). But, if you’re like me, you’ll probably just end up drizzling it over everything!
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What is Tahini?
Tahini is a paste made out of ground sesame seeds. Think of it like peanut butter, but made with sesame seeds instead of peanuts! It’s one of the base ingredients for this dressing and can not be substituted in this recipe. The tahini not only adds sesame flavor to the recipe, but it also helps thicken the dressing. You can usually find tahini in the grocery store either near the peanut butter, or near the middle-eastern ingredients in the international aisle.
Can I Substitute the Rice Vinegar?
I don’t suggest substituting the rice vinegar in this recipe. Rice vinegar has a uniquely mild flavor and acidity compared to other vinegars, which keeps it from overpowering the other flavors. While you might be able to use another type of vinegar, you’d probably also need to adjust the amount or the ratio of other ingredients to compensate for the increased acidity.
How Long Does This Sesame Ginger Dressing Last?
Because this dressing uses fresh ginger and garlic, I suggest keeping it stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. But it tastes so good that hopefully you’ll finish it off before then!
How to Use Sesame Ginger Dressing
This dressing goes great over crunchy salads, like my Crunchy Cabbage Salad, but it can also be poured over cold noodle salads, used to dip egg rolls or dumplings, or poured over rice bowls. The sky’s the limit and I’m sure once you’ll taste it you’ll want it on everything!
Sesame Ginger Dressing
Servings 10 2 Tbsp eachIngredients
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.30)
- 1/2 cup neutral oil* ($0.32)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar ($0.53)
- 2 Tbsp soy sauce ($0.12)
- 3 Tbsp honey ($0.36)
- 1 Tbsp tahini ($0.19)
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.05)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic and grate the ginger (I use a small-holed cheese grater)
- Add the minced garlic, grated ginger, oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, tahini, and toasted sesame oil to a blender. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Serve over salad or as a dipping sauce.
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Equipment
- Garlic Press
- Grater
- Small Blender
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Sesame Ginger Dressing – Step by Step Photos
Begin by mincing two cloves of garlic and grating about 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger. I like to use my garlic press to easily mince the garlic and a small-holed cheese grater to easily grate the ginger. Ginger grates easier if it’s frozen (the little hairs don’t clog the grater). I don’t even bother peeling it, I just make sure the peel is very clean.
And that’s what it looks like once the garlic is minced and ginger grated (for everyone who is visual, like me).
Here are three of the most important ingredients in this dressing: rice vinegar, toasted sesame oil, and tahini. Toasted sesame oil has a much stronger nutty flavor than regular (or un-toasted) sesame oil. You can usually find it near other Asian ingredients in the international aisle.
Add the 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 Tbsp grated ginger, ½ cup neutral salad oil, ¼ cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, 3 Tbsp honey, 1 Tbsp tahini, and ½ tsp toasted sesame oil to a blender. Any neutral-flavored salad oil, like peanut, canola, grapeseed, sesame (un-toasted), or safflower will work fine.
Blend until the dressing is smooth and creamy. If your dressing ends up being really thick and you’d like it a little more pourable, simply stir in a tablespoon or two of water.
Enjoy the sesame ginger dressing poured over your favorite salad, or as a dipping sauce!
I love that you feature old recipes which I’ve never seen. This one looks amazing.
Hi! My dressing was too thick and I added water as suggested, but once refrigerated overnight, it keeps thickening back up. I don’t want to add too much water to where it loses flavor though. Any other suggestions?
Thanks!
I’d add a few drops of soy sauce and a tiny squeeze of honey the next time. ~ Marion :)
I substitute the fresh ginger and garlic in this for jarred ginger/garlic paste (essential for curries!) and I like using natural peanut butter instead of tahini. It works out wonderfully!
This also makes a great marinade for tofu, and a great dipping sauce for rice paper wraps.
My kids adore this and so do I! Use with grilled chicken, cabbage slaw, and so much more!
Another wonderful recipe! I doubled it even on the first batch. Since I am a low-hassle chef, I did not grate the ginger or dice the garlic- I let the blender do the work. So much yum! Can’t wait to use it to dress up some raw veggies this week.
I love this site and recommend it frequently for making cooking for oneself an affordable option that many of us are capable of doing.
I made this instead of my usual peanut dressing this week. It may just be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. I put it over my cruciferous salad (kale, broccoli, purple cabbage + carrot and bell pepper), which went on top of a roasted sweet potato. I could eat this everyday and die happy.
I used this dressing to make a cold Asian noodle salad for dinner tonight and it was so delicious! Absolutely perfect on a 100 degree day. Thank you!
This is exactly what I’m about to do! Noodles and maybe some shrimp
I have used this and it is really good.
To make a totally different flavour that is really good on a fresh green salad or carrot salad (sans vinegar), I have done this using Goat’s milk instead of the rice vinegar.
What are your thoughts on adding to salmon then baking?
Sounds wonderful!
Do you have to use tahini? Is there a workaround for this? Thank you!
I’m going to try subbing in peanut butter, which I’ve seen used as a substitute for tahini in other recipes. No promise it will work though!
Perfect recipe for a self-spoiling Saturday night!! Love the sesame sauce :D A dish I’d be proud to serve to any special guest or feast on myself
I love the Self Spoiling! Happy to hear you loved it!
This is very tasty and simple. It’s good over sliced cucumbers and red onion!
Thanks Kathy!
Hi Beth,
Could I use agave nectar instead of honey? I made it with honey in the past, just hoping the result will be as yummy?
Thanks!
Val
I’ve actually never worked with agave nectar, so I’m not sure how that will affect the flavor. My instincts tell me that it should be pretty similar, though. :)
I sub agave for honey all the time in recipes, particularly Asian stir-fry sauces, and it’s just fine. Agave adds sweetness without any overpowering flavour, unlike maple syrup (which can be too flavourful). I think agave would be fine in this recipe.
I make this ALL the time. To the question of the dressing being too thick sometimes (sometimes mine comes out thick for some reason. Barometric pressure? Hahaha…) I just thin it out with a little water at a time. Mine has so much flavor, the water really doesn’t really dilute it.
I might have drank this straight out of the blender….
I Year ya, sister! Me too!!! 🤣
I have ginger paste in a tube . 1 tablespoon of paste equals 1 tablespoon of grated ginger. What is the measurement of ginger for this receipe?
It’s hard to say exactly, I would go for 1.5 to 2 Tbsp. You can always add more if you want a stronger flavor.
first time I made this it was perfect. Second time was super thick! I don’t know where I went wrong! Flavour is still bang on. Any advice for thinning it out?
Was it cold when it was thick, by any chance? This one does thicken up quite a bit when cold. I’m not sure you could add anything to adjust the viscosity without also changing the flavor, unfortunately. You may be able to add a tad more oil, but any significant amount will probably dilute the flavor.
Delicious! Using it for a cabbage carrot salad. The balance of ingredients is always spot-on with your recipes!
My dressing was delicious but came out thinner than typical salad dressing . I used a food processor rather than blender – could that account for the difference?
This dressing will be quite thin when at room temperature. It will thicken a bit when refrigerated, though.
Thus dressing is amazing! Even my 4 yr old likes it!
So easy! I did the proportions just like the recipe says and it turned out exactly perfect.
Try using somen noodles as a salad base cold please any Asian noodles work well make it with them cold they are also used fried in many Japanese home dishes
This is the tastiest dressing ever! I never seem to have good luck with homemade dressings (which is silly because it seems like the easiest thing to do) but this came out over-the-top! I’m trying to think up an Asian-style pasta salad to toss with this. Or, really, as many ways to use this dressing as I can! Thanks Beth!
I blended this up with a hand blender for quite a while and it was still pretty fiberous. I ended up filtering it through a strainer. I lost about 1/4 cup but the end result was much smoother. The taste was delicious.
Love this dressing. I make it every week:) Instead of the tahini I used peanut butter instead. I’m a big fan of ginger so instead of grating the ginger I puree it with the vinegar, drain, then proceed with the recipe.
p.s. we have several copies of your book in our library and whenever I put it our for display someone always checks it out.
This is a very yummy dressing! I’m just not sure why mine congealed after mixing. I added some water to liquify it again, but it just stayed jelly. I followed the recipe exactly except I used sunflower oil instead of vegetable, but I can’t imagine that made a difference. Any ideas?
I don’t know, that’s very strange! Tahini sometimes has that texture, but with only 1 Tbsp in the entire batch, it’s not enough to make the dressing congeal.
This is amazing! I’ve made it twice now- once with fresh ginger and once with canned ginger. Fresh is definitely the way to go, but canned can work in a pinch. My lactose-intolerant husband was wary of this dressing because it looks so creamy, but there’s no dairy involved, which is neat. Thanks Beth!
I added some leftover adobo pepper, that I bought for the sweet potato burgers, and WHOA. It was really good but man oh man it had a kick!! Love this!
Is there a significant difference between rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar? I have the later, but lately I’ve come across many recipes that call for the former (probably on your site!). I just want to know if I should make the investment or if they are interchangeable.
There isn’t a difference between rice vinegar and rice wine vinegar, but there IS a difference between rice wine vinegar and rice wine (mirin). Most vinegar is made from wine or another alcohol that has been further fermented, so “rice vinegar” is just the shortened name. Rice wine, on the other hand, has a much different flavor than rice wine vinegar.
Well, I’m about a year late commenting on this, but I just made it the other day. It was delicious and reminded me of the dressing you get at Japanese restaurants.
The only issue I had was that mine turned out too thick. I used olive oil instead of veg oil, and I think that’s what did it. I might add in some canola oil to thin it out a bit unless, Beth, you have another suggestion??? Regardless, both my husband and my 15yo daughter loved it.
Also, I made my own tahini, which is *super* easy to do. If anyone is interested, there are instructions here: http://greek.food.com/recipe/homemade-tahini-73859?scaleto=.5&mode=null&st=true
I scaled it down to 1/2 cup because I didn’t need much. Also, you can find bags of sesame seeds in the ethnic aisle of many grocery stores. I bought a 14-oz bag for $3.19. Otherwise, they’re so expensive to buy in the little jars in the spice aisle.
Thanks, Beth! I use your site all the time to plan my weekly meals. This + the Crunchy Asian Salad went really well with your Easy Sesame Chicken.
Ooh, I need to try to make my own tahini! Thanks for that link! :D The oil may have made a difference in the texture, but you can also just try adding a splash more oil in general to loosen it up.
WOW! Awesome recipe! My daughter & UI have been looking for a way to make our own Chinese Chicken Salad but could never figure out the dressing. we usually end up buying the packages from Costco, which not only more expensive, but the chicken tastes “off” to me. This way we used all of our own ingredients.
Making this for sure. I’ve been buying the bottled stuff for too long!
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? This is the most delicious salad I’ve ever put in my mouth. And I didn’t even add the tahini, because I live in South Dakota and apparently they don’t believe it in over here! LOVE THIS RECIPE.
<3 Sarah
This was so delicious. I made two of your recipes last night. My husband said to me, “If you ever feel like you’re a bad cook, think back to this meal and know you’re not.”
Fantastic recipe! Love your budget-friendly approach! Thanks for sharing.
OMG…just made this dressing a few days ago and it is SO good. I left out the tahini, but followed the other instructions exactly. Tastes just like the salad dressing at my favorite sushi restaurant.
P.S. – I didn’t feel like breaking out my big blender, so I combined everything in my mini chopper – worked great!
Tae- I’m not really concearned about the veg oil, but that’s just me! :) sometimes I buy canola, sometimes vegetable oil blend, but I don’t use enough of either to really worry about it. You have to pick your battles and I choose to not sweat the details :)
this dressing was awesome!! i made it last night. i used agave instead of honey (but used about 2/3 as much because it is a bit sweeter) and put in a splash extra soy sauce (the reduced sodium kind). i’m not sure if i used enough ginger, so i will be sure to measure 4 inches next time, but it was still delicious.
also, i switched canola oil for the vegetable oil, because I’ve heard it is healthier. Our local health food stores do not even stock vegetable oil, for example – what are your thoughts on that? is veg oil fine to use? thanks for the recipe!
As usual Beth, this dressing rocks, thanks so much. Please do more dressings & sauces like Orange Poppyseed or Balsamic anything…
Oh thank you! I have been looking for and trying different dressings. I love the Asian Chicken Wrap at Costco, but their dressing is too high in sodium… This just might be the trick!
Anon- yeah, I forgot to snap a pic of the tahini but I would say that it adds a lot of flavor, plus it acts as an emulsifier. I make hummus fairly often so I always have some in my fridge :)
Laurabeth- i dont have the nutrition info but there are several websites online that allow you to enter ingredients and calculate recipe nutrition (try sparkpeople.com). And I agree, portion is key ;)
LauraBeth, you can eat any of them, just eat when you are hungry and only eat until you are full not stuffed!
Anyway, my comment is about tahini. I do not see it in the pictures. It is pretty expensive and if you only use 1 Tbls, a container will last me a lifetime. Does it help the taste that much?
Do you have the nutritional information for your recipes? My husband and I are watching what we eat I and would love to know which of your recipes I can use! :)
Dearest Beth –
I came across someone’s pin of your taco bowl – and when I finally came to your website to get the recipe I was bowled over by your recipes!! They are so great – I’ve been pinning and trying ever since! Thank you so much for great ideas and food – it has helped me get back into the kitchen – essential to my meal planning – thank you! From – another Beth!
I looooove rice vinegar!!! :) I sometimes sprinkle some on my rice for a “kick”!
Not more than one week refrigerated because you’ve got fresh ingredients in there (ginger and garlic).
Yum! I can’t wait to try it. How long would you say the shelf life of this is? Refrigerated, I’m assuming? Thank you!