Homemade Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing is made with creamy tahini, mellow white miso, carrot, and ginger, and it is the perfect complement to Asian dishes such as sushi and salad! This Japanese ginger salad dressing is easy to make, and it's vegan and gluten-free.

Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing

I like to pick up veggie sushi at my local Whole Foods for a quick meal sometimes. It’s just around the corner from my house, and they always have at least one vegan option at the ready. If for some reason they don’t, the people behind the counter are happy to make something for me.

Their sushi used to come with a sesame ginger miso dressing, which I loved. They even had little bottles of it for sale. But for some reason, they’ve stopped making it, and sushi just comes with soy sauce now. Honestly, I’m just not crazy about dipping my sushi in soy sauce. I know it’s customary, but now that I have the taste for sesame ginger miso dressing, I just can’t go back.

Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing with veggie burger

Dojo's Carrot Ginger Dressing

I originally created this recipe to go with my Hajiki Tofu Burgers. The burgers are based on an old favorite of mine from Dojo in New York City, and they’re always served with a yummy carrot ginger dressing. Since creating my recipe I’ve made it many times, and I've deemed it worthy of its own blog post.

carrots, ginger, miso, tahini, vinegar, agave, tamari, and ginger

What you Need

You only need a few ingredients to make this recipe.

Tahini
Rice vinegar
Mellow white miso
Water
Carrot
Tamari
Ginger
Agave

See the recipe card for exact amounts.

How to Make Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing

This dressing is super easy to make!

First you chop up a carrot, and peel a piece of ginger.
Then you throw them together in a blender with tahini, rice vinegar, tamari, miso, water, and agave. You blend everything together until it's smooth and creamy. It comes together super quickly in my Blendtec.

dressing with carrots, sesame seeds, and tomatoes

What is Tahini?

Tahini is a paste that’s made from ground sesame seeds. It can be bitter straight of out the jar, but when mixed with other ingredients, it magically transforms into a lush and creamy paste. I use it regularly to make salad dressing, but it can be used in many different ways.

In most grocery stores, tahini can be found near the peanut butter. Some grocery stores also keep it in the ethnic food area. Seed and Mill is one of my favorites.

Tahini’s thickness can vary from brand to brand. You may need to use more water than I’ve listed here, if your tahini is on the thicker side. If you make this dressing in advance and refrigerate it before use, it will probably thicken, so you might want to add a little more water to get it to the desired consistency.

What is Miso?

Miso paste is usually made from fermented soybeans, but I have seen chickpea miso, too. It comes in several varieties. Typically, the darker it is, the stronger and saltier the flavor. Two of the most common types are red miso and mellow white miso. I like using the mellow white kind for recipes like this, because it doesn't overpower the dish.

Miso is often found in the refrigerated area of grocery stores, near the tofu. I like Miso Master's Mellow White Miso.

Miso is an ingredient that readers ask if they can skip. I don't recommend skipping it here, because it adds to the dressing's flavor.

Rice Vinegar

Make sure you use rice vinegar instead of white vinegar – regular white vinegar will make the dressing far too sour.

Serving Your Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing

Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing the perfect companion to store-bought sushi or homemade sushi bowls. It's also great with spring rolls. Use it as a salad dressing, veggie dip, or sandwich spread, too! It's really delicious on just about anything!

How long will Sesame Ginger Miso Dressing last?

Store your dressing in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.