Miso Tahini Dressing (with Orange Juice)

This miso tahini dressing recipe is quick, easy to make and has a perfectly balanced flavor. It’s creamy with great umami flavor from the miso paste and some sweetness from orange juice.

Use as a dressing for your favorite salads or drizzle (as a sauce) over grain bowls and other meals.

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Miso Tahini Dressing Ingredients

This recipe is very quick and easy to make. With only a few ingredients you can easily create a delicious sauce.

Key Ingredients

You’ll absolutely need these for a great tahini dressing:

• Fresh orange juice: Nothing is better than the fresh citrus flavor of orange juice. This adds needed liquid to the dressing and lots of sweetness. While fresh juice is preferable, any type of orange juice can work.
• Miso paste: As one of the main flavoring ingredients in this recipe, miso paste is a must! I tested the recipe with white miso paste, but any type should work. This adds a great umami flavor and perfect amount of saltiness to the dressing.
• Tahini: This creamy ingredient makes for a rich and delicious sauce. Tahini has a nutty and slightly bitter flavor which is perfectly balanced by the sweet orange juice. While I haven’t tested it, other nut or seed butters may work well. Almond butter or sunflower seed butter come to mind (but I can’t guarantee it’ll work).
• Garlic: This is technically optional, but I love the sharp flavor some raw garlic adds to this dressing. Leave out the garlic if you aren’t a fan of raw garlic or use ½ teaspoon garlic powder for a milder option. Depending on the size of your cloves, 1-2 is the right amount so the garlic flavor doesn’t overpower everything else. Even if you’re a garlic lover, I don’t recommend going overboard because the flavor comes through strongly.
• Apple cider vinegar: You almost always need acidity for perfectly balanced flavor. Tahini is slightly bitter while the orange juice is sweet, so adding tangy apple cider vinegar is a great addition. Lemon juice could create an even more citrusy tasting sauce.

Optional Ingredients

Some extra ingredients that may help you to get a great flavor or texture include:

• Salt: I find miso paste offers enough salt for my tastes, but you can add extra salt if needed.
• Water: With the amount of orange juice you’ll use, you likely won’t need extra liquid. However, if you want a thinner sauce, add small amounts of water to reach the consistency you prefer. The dressing thickens when refrigerated, so leftover sauce may benefit from a small splash of water (add 1-2 teaspoons at a time).
• Maple syrup: Depending on how sweet you want your dressing, add up to a tablespoon (15 mL) of maple syrup. If your orange juice is particularly sweet, this may be unnecessary.

How to Make Orange Miso Dressing

This easy miso tahini dressing recipe comes together in minutes with 2 basic steps.

Step 1: Mix Ingredients

Mix this dressing in a medium-sized bowl or use a small blender.

If you have a small blender, simply add all the ingredients and blend. Depending on the power of your blender, it may be helpful to crush or mince the garlic cloves first.

If using a bowl, you’ll either need a fork or small whisk to blend everything together.

To start, dissolve the miso paste needs into your orange juice. Keep whisking until there are no clumps left.

Then add the remaining ingredients and whisk until combined. It takes 30 seconds or so for the tahini to blend evenly with the orange juice and create a thick and creamy sauce.

Whichever method you use, taste the dressing before serving.

Add some maple syrup if the sauce tastes too bitter. Add a pinch of extra salt or splash of water to get the flavor and consistency to your liking (if needed).

Step 2: Serve Dressing

After blending or whisking the dressing together, you can serve it right away. Toss onto your favorite salad or use as a sauce for a grain bowl.

This is a great dressing for kale salad!

How to Serve a Balanced Vegan Meal

I consider a balanced meal one that contains a good source of plant-based protein, carbohydrates, fats and lots of vegetables or fruits.

Since this is a sauce, it’s not meant to be a balanced meal on its own. You should add it to a salad or grain bowl to complete the meal.

This dressing provides plenty of healthy fats from tahini. There’s some plant-based protein and fiber in tahini too.

Orange juice provides some carbohydrates, in the form of natural sugars.

To create a balanced meal, I’d look to add lots of vegetables, some more plant-based protein and healthy carbohydrates to the meal (some people may prefer lower carb options).

My favorite way to serve this dressing is over a kale salad that’s packed with fresh kale, grated carrot, slivered almonds, cooked and shelled edamame and green onion. This creates a nutrient-packed and satisfying meal!

It’s also delicious over any type of grain bowl made with vegetables, a cooked grain and some plant-based protein (edamame, tofu, tempeh, beans, lentils).

How to Refrigerate and Freeze this Dressing

Refrigerate leftover dressing in an airtight container. It should last anywhere from 5 days to a week. It’s a great sauce to meal prep so you can add something creamy and delicious to meals through the week.

If you don’t think you’ll use the full amount in a week, freeze the dressing can in any freezer-safe container. When ready to use it, simply remove from the freezer and thaw in your fridge for a day or so.

If you make this recipe, please rate and comment below to help others benefit from your experience!

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