Miso Sesame Dressing

This Miso Sesame Dressing is savory, salty, and a little spice! It has umami flavor and it's delicious on salads, bowls, roasted veggies, fish, seafood, and more! It calls for a few simple ingredients and it comes together in just 5 minutes.

Jump to:

• Why You'll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• Variations and Substitutions
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Serving Suggestions
• Storing and Make Ahead Options
• FAQs
• Similar Dressing Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Amazing flavor - Miso and tamari have an umami flavor you won't find in most other condiments. They're savory, salty, and just so good! With toasted sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and rice vinegar, this dressing is bursting with flavor!

Great for more than just salads - Although dressings of any kind, including this one, are most often used for salads, there are lots of other dishes you can use them for! Add this dressing to salads, grain bowls, and rice bowls, toss it with roasted veggies, grilled shrimp, or salmon, and drizzle it on burgers, sandwiches, and wraps. The options are endless!

Easy and great for meal prep - This dressing comes together in just 5 minutes and you can make it in the same jar you'll store it in! Just shake all the ingredients together and you're done! It stores really well for up to a week in the fridge so it's great for meal prep and easy to double or triple.

Ingredients

• Toasted sesame oil - This is the star of this dressing and it gives it a ton of flavor. You don't need too much of it to notice it in your dressing. Make sure to use toasted sesame oil which has a dark brown color. Raw sesame oil is light in color, similar to regular seed cooking oils.
• Extra virgin olive oil - I like to balance the toasted sesame oil with another oil that's not as strong. This can be olive oil, avocado oil, or raw sesame oil. Raw sesame oil (light in color) is the best option here but olive oil is much more common so I went with that.
• Tamari - I like using tamari which is a more pure soy sauce without any additives. It has a richer, more umami flavor than regular soy sauce. It's a great choice for anyone trying to avoid gluten because regular soy sauce often isn't gluten-free.
• Miso paste -
• Rice vinegar - Every dressing needs to be balanced out with some form of acid which in this case is rice vinegar. I like using plain rice vinegar made with just water and rice. Avoid seasoned rice vinegar which often has sugar or corn syrup.
• Honey - A little bit of sweetener, in this case honey, helps to balance out the saltiness of miso and tamari and the fats from the sesame oil. You can also use maple syrup or agave.
• Ginger - Grated raw ginger will give you the best flavor. You can use ginger powder in a pinch but I don't recommend it. I actually like using ginger juice by The Ginger People. It tastes just as fresh as grated ginger, it mixes in really well, and it's perfect for any dressings or dips you want to be super smooth.
• Garlic - You only need one grated clove of garlic for a ton of flavor. It's not very strong in the dressing but if you don't like raw garlic at all, you can use garlic powder instead.
• Toasted sesame seeds - This is optional but I like adding toasted sesame seeds to the dressing. I use brown sesame seeds and toast them in a pan over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Be careful, they can burn really quickly!

Variations and Substitutions

• Different sweeteners - If you don't want to use honey, maple syrup or agave are also great options. Alternatively, you could also use granulated sugar but it might take a few minutes to dissolve in the dressing.
• Soy sauce - If you don't have tamari, you can use regular soy sauce. I prefer tamari because it's gluten-free and has a richer, more umami flavor than soy sauce.
• Garlic powder - Use ½ teaspoon of granulated garlic or garlic powder instead of grated raw garlic if you prefer.
• Ginger juice - I absolutely love adding bottled ginger juice to dressings and sauces. It makes recipes that call for fresh ginger so much easier and quicker! I always keep it on hand in the fridge.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add everything into a medium bowl and whisk vigorously until well-mixed and emulsified.
2. Alternatively, you can also do this in a jar and just shake everything up to mix the dressing. I find the miso blends in better sometimes with a whisk.

3. Add toasted sesame seeds and whisk again. This step is optional.
4. Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use.

Serving Suggestions

Salads and bowls - This dressing is amazing in salads and any kind of rice or grain bowl. Try it with this Salmon Kale Salad! It's delicious on salads with any lettuce as a base and it's especially great in salads with veggies like carrots, beets, cabbage, edamame, avocado, red onion, or cucumber.

Roasted veggies - Because the dressing has toasted sesame oil, I don't recommend using it for cooking but you can drizzle it over your roasted or grilled veggies after you cook them as a glaze! It would be amazing on roasted eggplant, peppers, onion, zucchini, or even brussels sprouts, similar to these Soy Glazed Brussels Sprouts!

Fish and seafood - Just like for veggies, this dressing would make a delicious glaze for roasted or grilled fish and seafood! Try brushing it on roasted salmon or shrimp with a side of rice and this Cucumber Mango Salad. So good!

Burgers and sandwiches - Brush your patties with the dressing or drizzle it over your toppings for an Asian cuisine-inspired burger, sandwich, or wrap.

Storing and Make Ahead Options

Fridge: You can store any leftover dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. This makes it perfect for meal prep!

Freezer: It's generally not a good idea to freeze dressings because they tend to separate and not have the same consistency once defrosted but if necessary you can freeze it in a freezer-safe container for 2-3 months. You'll probably have to whisk it or shake it in a jar again to get it smooth once defrosted.

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