Making your own salad dressing at home is easy, delicious, and can save you an absolute ton of cash! This sesame ginger dressing is a delicious and versatile dressing that has a nutty flavor with a bit of spicy heat thanks to freshly grated ginger.

This dressing is wonderful on all kinds of salads and noodle dishes. It's also great as a dipping sauce for dumplings, spring rolls, or other hand-held tasty treats! Let's get mixing.

Why should I make my own sesame ginger dressing?

Food without flavoring is a little bland, and dressings can elevate your salads to the next level. Making your own sesame ginger dressing is an easy way to have fresh, delicious dressing at your fingertips.

When you make the dressing yourself, you have complete control over which ingredients to include. As an added bonus, it costs you less than you'd pay at the store. It also allows you to create dressings that might be difficult to find-like this sesame ginger dressing.

For more delicious dressing ideas, check out my Salad Dressing 101 post. You'll find helpful tips and easy recipes for salad dressings that'll fit any flavoring need!

A small glass dressing cruet filled with sesame ginger salad dressing sits beside a big bowl of salad.

What ingredients do I need for this ginger dressing?

You don't need much to make this ginger salad dressing. It only takes a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time.

Extra virgin olive oil-The base of the dressing
Toasted sesame seed oil-Adds the sesame flavor to this dressing
Seasoned rice vinegar-Rice vinegar that has salt and sugar added
Soy sauce-Adds a salty taste to your dressing. We like to use low-sodium soy sauce, but if you are gluten-free, tamari or coconut aminos will work as well.
A clove of garlic
Honey-Adds a touch of sweetness to balance the salty tang of the dressing
Peeled and grated fresh ginger-It wouldn't be a ginger dressing without it!

Wholefully Protip

You can buy seasoned rice vinegar in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets. However, you can also make your own by combing ¼ cup of rice vinegar with four teaspoons of sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt.

What if I don't have extra virgin olive oil?

No worries! If you don't have a good extra virgin olive oil on hand, you can use any neutral oil. Avocado oil is one of our faves when we are low on olive oil.

Finished salad dressing mixed in a bowl, with fresh ingredients around it.

What tools do I need to make this sesame ginger dressing?

There's only one thing you need to make this dressing, and that's a mason jar. It couldn't be simpler: just add your ingredients to the jar, tighten the lid, and shake it until it's well combined. If you prefer something else to do the blending, you can use a blender or a food processor to mix the dressing.

How do I store my sesame ginger dressing?

You'll need an airtight container to store your dressing. Remember that mason jar you used to mix it? That's the perfect container! You could also use any glass or plastic containers as long as they're airtight. Your dressing should be stored in the fridge and not left out on the counter at room temperature.

Top view of pouring dressing onto an asian-inspired salad.

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How long will this sesame ginger dressing be good for?

Because this dressing has a vinegar and oil base, it's safe to keep in the fridge for up to two weeks. Make sure it's in an airtight container to maintain its freshness.

Wholefully Protip

Your dressing may look a little lumpy or solid when you pull it from the fridge. That's natural, and you can quickly bring it back to its original smoothness by allowing it to warm up a bit and then giving it another shake.

Can I use dried herbs in place of fresh ones?

Absolutely! You can substitute one teaspoon of garlic powder for the fresh garlic, and you can swap out two teaspoons of ground ginger for the fresh ginger.

If you choose to use dried herbs, you should let your dressing sit for a couple of hours before using it. This will allow the flavors to really mix together. Fresh herbs will only need to sit for about half an hour to get the same effect.

Close view of sesame ginger salad dressing in an easy pour bottle.

What foods can I use this sesame ginger dressing with?

Sesame and ginger are staples of many Asian cuisines, so this dressing works well with Asian-inspired salads or slaws. This dressing also makes a fantastic marinade-it is especially great for marinating chicken drumsticks or for using with meat in the slow cooker. We also love it on cold noodle salads.

Is this dressing vegan? What about gluten-free?

This dressing isn't gluten-free because it contains soy sauce, which is fermented and not distilled. If you wanted to make your sesame ginger dressing gluten-free, you can substitute tamari or coconut aminos.

Do check that the rice vinegar is labeled as gluten-free, as some can contain malt.

The only ingredient in this recipe that is not vegan is honey. If you want to avoid the honey, you can swap it with agave or maple syrup.

Looking for more homemade salad dressings?

We have a whole collection of salad dressing recipes, including:

📖 Recipe