5 Salad-Defining Dressing Recipes

The dressing is the key to making a good salad great — here are 5 simple vegan dressings you can whip up at home

Romesco-inspired roasted red pepper dressing on a veggie salad. Photos: Mer Schwartz

A good salad requires tender love and care for each ingredient, not only to make it delicious but fulfilling as well. What’s the point of putting time into washing and drying lettuce, thinly slicing vegetables, chiffonade-ing herbs, toasting nuts in some cases and searing tofu in others, if we fall flat on the dressing? The dressing is what ties each ingredient together and lifts the salad up out of its bowl. You might even say a salad is defined by its dressing (Hi Ceasar). It can carry the salad in every which direction — toward a coat of creaminess or a shimmer of sweet tang.

If you’re making a salad chances are you already have the ingredients on hand for making your own dressing too. You wont regret the few extra stirs of elbow grease and there’s endless room for creativity and flexing to your own taste.

Tips for getting started:

1. I find that incorporating finely chopped versions of the ingredients in the salad straight into the dressing adds a nice compliment of flavor and texture.
2. I make dressing directly inside of a measuring cup—helps for eyeing things out and pouring when it’s ready!

Here’s a list of simple recipes to get the dressings flowing, drizzling and dripping. Make them your own!

Romesco-Inspired Roasted Red Pepper Dressing

• 1 whole roasted red pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon agave
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar OR the juice of half a lemon
• Salt + pepper

Blend all ingredients until smooth.

For the delicious salad pictured above: Toss lettuce alone in a light coating of lemon and oil. Top with hearts of palm, roasted chickpeas in lemon, roasted red pepper, and almonds. Drizzle roasted red pepper dressing on top!

Vegan Caesar Dressing

Grilled Caesar!

• 1 handful raw pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• 1 tablespoon drained capers
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon agave
• Splash of acidity (apple cider vinegar, white balsamic, or lemon juice)
• Water
• Salt + pepper

1. Blend all of the ingredients thoroughly with a hand blender or food processor to a smooth consistency. (If you don’t have a blender, I recommend mashing the nuts with a mortar and pestle to a paste or get wild with a plastic bag and something to bang with)
2. Add light streams/drops of cold water and mix to loosen for drizzling (the water is added after to uphold the creamy consistency)

Chunky Greek Dressing

• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon diced red onion
• 1 tablespoon diced carrot
• 1 tablespoon chopped chickpeas or crumbled tofu
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt + pepper

Stir ingredients together thoroughly.

Carrot Ginger Dressing:

• 1 carrot, finely grated
• 1–2 inch chunk of ginger, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Stir all ingredients together thoroughly!

Grilled Citrus Chimichurri Dressing

• 1 lemon, halved (optional brown sugar on flesh side)
• ½ an orange, halved
• About ½ cup lemon + orange juice
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 diced shallot
• ¾ cups chopped parsley (optional: add mint)
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat the grill to the highest heat. Sear the lemons and oranges flesh side down until charred. Let cool and juice into a measuring cup.
2. Mix in the shallot, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the chopped parsley (and other herbs if using). Whisk in the olive oil.