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If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I have a new salad obsession lately.
I don’t know about you, but I usually go through phases where I want the same salad every single day for a week or two straight, and then I finally get bored with it and move on to something new. A good salad dressing is KEY for me to enjoying salads, so I usually do a rotation of the Everyday Basil Vinaigrette from my cookbook (my all-time most favorite salad dressing ever), followed by my Raw Apple Cider Vinaigrette, and now THIS is the latest dressing in my rotation.
It all started with my recent trip to Berkeley, where an awesome team of people spent two weeks shooting the photos for my new cookbook. (So exciting!) While everyone munches on the recipes we shoot throughout the day, there’s not always enough sample food to feed everyone on set, so my editor offered to pick up some amazing salads from SweetGreen for lunch, too. I ordered their “Hummus Tahina” salad, and it turned out to be one of the most filling and satisfying salads ever.
The base of this particular salad is a combination of crunchy romaine and sturdy chopped kale, topped with local feta, tomato, red onions, cucumbers, hummus, falafel, and a creamy cucumber tahini yogurt dressing. If found the falafel to be totally unnecessary in the dish, so when I recreated it at home, I left that out and focused on creating my own version of their delicious cucumber tahini dressing. It totally makes the salad! I even added some cumin– a signature seasoning in hummus– so that you wouldn’t have to add the extra hummus to your salad, in case you don’t have the time or energy to make an extra dip. All of the flavor is there in this one dressing, so there’s no need to do the extra work if you don’t want to.
I’m sure this dressing would be delicious over any number of salad combinations, but I’ve stuck pretty closely to the formula that SweetGreen used– a combination of local red leaf lettuce and shredded kale, topped with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, spicy radishes, and a sprinkle of sheep feta for added creaminess and saltiness. (Though you can easily leave out the cheese for a vegan version.) I hope you enjoy it as much, and as often, as I do!
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Creamy Cucumber Tahini Dressing (Vegan)
Makes about 1 cup
Ingredients:
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1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
5 tablespoons raw tahini (no added oil)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped cucumbers (about 4 ounces)
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons water
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Adjust any seasoning to taste, and then chill until ready to serve. Like most dressings, the flavor gets even better the longer it sits, and it also thickens a bit. (Feel free to add a splash of water if you need to thin it out later.)
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 5 tablespoons raw tahini (no added oil)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped cucumbers (about 4 ounces)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth. Adjust any seasoning to taste, and then chill until ready to serve. Like most dressings, the flavor gets even better the longer it sits, and it also thickens a bit. (Feel free to add a splash of water if you need to thin it out later.)
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Nutrition
Per Serving: Calories: 485, Fat: 40g, Carbohydrates: 25g, Fiber: 4g, Protein: 14g
What I also love about this dressing is that it is oil-free as long as you use a raw tahini that has no added oil. Be sure to read the label! The brands I buy (like this one or this one) only have one ingredient on the label: hulled raw sesame seeds. You can also make your own raw tahini by simply using the same method I use for making raw almond butter. Just make sure you use hulled sesame seeds (like this brand), as the un-hulled version is super-duper-bitter and almost inedible. (Learn from my mistakes! Yuck.)
Enjoy!
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Reader Feedback: Do you go through salad rotations, too? What’s your favorite right now?Â
Do you think this would be a good dressing for just a massaged kale salad topped with extra veggies?
Yes, I use this dressing for everything lately!
Looks delicious! I’m going to try it.
I have used tahini to make dairy-free ranch dressing and was really impressed with how it turned out, so I can’t wait to try this! One issue I have had with tahini is that thickens up when mixed. How do you get around this issue??
I love super-thick tahini! I don’t mind it when the tahini in the jar is thick, because it gives recipes more structure, but if the dressing gets too thick I’d just add a little more water or lemon juice to help it thin back out. I usually just use the thick dressing as-is, and chop up my salad really well before eating so that it gets blended in to each bite.
I would love your ranch recipe please! 🙂
how long do these salad dressings last? Thank you
Since it has the fresh cucumber added, I would try to use it up in 5 days. The more moisture a recipe has, the more likely it is to spoil– but I had no problem finishing a batch of this size in about 3 days on my own!
I’m obsessed with your other tahini dressing and make it at least once a week. Can’t wait to try this one.
Sounds perfect for summer! Do you think it would still taste good if I replaced the lemon juice with vinegar? (citrus allergy)
I would use less vinegar, as it tends to be more acidic in flavor than lemon juice. Maybe just start with half the amount and add more water to thin it out?
Did you go to Herbivore? My daughter lives in Oakland so we go there when i visit. They have a lemon and Herb pasta that is amazing.
The salad was from SweetGreen– I think they just opened up a new location in Berkley. Our photographer has Celiac disease, so it was a great gluten-free restaurant for her!
Same here with the salads….will eat the same one for a week, two weeks until like you, I get bored and want something else. But it takes me a long time to get bored because I like plain and boring food. Overall. But then I love this salad dressing with the cucumber spin and no added oil. Oil-Lli dressing really churns my stomach! Yuck.
This looks delicious, I’m intrigued by the addition of cumin. I often add raw zucchini in place of some of the oil to my dressings, which really adds bulk and creaminess. I’ll have to give cucumber a try next! 🙂
Yum! This sounds amazing and delicious! I have always been a fan of your dressings, so I’m sure this one won’t disappoint either 😉
Can’t wait for your next cookbook!!
xo,
Jess