Asian sesame vinaigrette is so easy to make and uses simple ingredients! Soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, toasted sesame oil, fresh ginger, and sesame seeds make up this delicious and flavorful salad dressing!
Be sure to try my sesame vinaigrette on this Asian sesame chicken salad!
Why You’ll Love Asian Sesame Vinaigrette
Easy to make – This sesame vinaigrette can be ready in less than 10 minutes. You don’t need any special equipment to make it and it uses mostly pantry ingredients.
Versatile – Not only is this sesame salad dressing great for salads, but you can also use it as a marinade for chicken, toss it together with rice noodles or ramen, or use it as a drizzle for a rice bowl like these Asian steak bowls.
Ingredients Notes
I am Sauce – Always use low sodium soy sauce when making my recipes otherwise you’ll risk them turning out too salty. For gluten-free, use low sodium tamari.
Rice Vinegar – Sometimes labeled as rice wine vinegar. It’s a mild flavored vinegar with a hint of sweetness.
Honey – Used to sweeten the sesame vinaigrette and balance the acidic and salty flavors. You can also use maple syrup.
Toasted sesame oil and avocado oil – Be sure to use toasted sesame oil and not just regular sesame oil. The flavor is not the same. I also like to use avocado oil or any other neutral oil because the toasted sesame oil has such a strong flavor.
Ginger – Fresh grated ginger is key to giving this vinaigrette a fresh flavor with a hint of spicy.
Sesame seeds – Make sure your sesame seeds are fresh. Due to the oils in them they can go rancid. I recommend toasting the sesame seeds for an extra nutty flavor.
Tips For Making Sesame Vinaigrette
- For extra nutty sesame flavor, toast the sesame seeds before adding them to the vinaigrette.
- The easiest way to grate ginger is with a microplane zester.
- Store the vinaigrette in a glass jar with a plastic lid. The dressing separates so you’ll need to shake it before each use. The plastic lids are great because they won’t get rust on them like traditional metal lids for jars do.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap honey with maple syrup or 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
- Use a 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger instead of fresh ginger.
- If you don’t have rice vinegar you can use white vinegar. You may find that you’ll want to use less or increase the sweetner because it has a sharper taste.
- Garlic lovers, feel free to add a 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder or 1 clove of grated garlic to the vinaigrette.
- Make it spicy and add 1/2-1 teaspoon of sriracha.
Ways to Use Asian Sesame Dressing
Salads are the obvious way to use this Asian sesame vinaigrette. I love pairing it with this cucumber avocado salad, Asian edamame salad and Asian cucumber sesame salad.
It’s a delicious marinade for grilled chicken and salmon.
And I love to toss it together with rice noodles or ramen noodles.
Storage
This is one of my favorite vinaigrettes because it keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks! I store mine in a jar with lid so that I can easily shake it before each use.
More Salad Dressing and Vinaigrette Recipes
Homemade dressings and vinaigrettes are so much better than store-bought and they only take minutes to make.
If you love creamy salad dressing try my creamy poppy seed dressing and creamy balsamic dressing.
For healthier versions of classic salad dressings, make this healthy ranch dressing and homemade Caesar dressing.
And finally, for the perfect fall vinaigrette, try this apple cider vinaigrette.
Did you make this sesame vinaigrette? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Calories: 89kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 0.2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 61mgPotassium: 13mgSugar: 6gCalcium: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
