Vegan dill dressing is thick, creamy and so easy to make. This tahini dill dressing has just 6 simple ingredients and comes together in under 5 minutes. Perfect for salads, potato salad, pasta salad or as a dip for veggies. You won’t believe how fresh and delicious this creamy dill dressing is!
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make – no blender or fancy equipment is needed to make this vegan dill dressing. Simply chop the dill and stir together all the ingredients in a bowl. Allow to thicken and it’s ready to serve.
- Simple ingredients – most of the ingredients (besides the fresh dill) are pantry staples that are easy to keep on hand. The tahini creates the creamiest dressing without any added dairy or oil.
- Versatile – use this dressing in so many different ways. It’s incredible on salads or as a no-mayo potato salad dressing. I also really enjoy this creamy vegan dill dressing as dip for fresh veggies or poured over roasted veggies in a grain bowl.
Ingredients
- Tahini – tahini is a paste made from ground up sesame seeds (just like almond butter or peanut butter). It’s thick and creamy and has a nutty slight sesame seed flavor Tahini makes the creamiest dressing without any dairy or mayo.
- Water – water helps to thin out the tahini to make the perfect consistency for pouring.
- Apple cider vinegar – apple cider vinegar helps to balance out the dressing, providing it with tangy acidity without overpowering the dill.
- Fresh dill – for the best flavor, I recommend using fresh dill. If you only have dried dill and are craving this dressing, you can use dried dill but the flavor won’t be as intense.
- Spices: Salt and garlic powder – salt helps to brighten all the flavors of the dressing and the garlic powder provides garlic flavor without overpowering the fresh dill flavor. I find that fresh garlic in dressing can sometimes steal the spotlight from other flavors.
How to make vegan dill dressing
Start by finely chopping the fresh dill. Take the dill off the stalk then finely chop the fronds.
Add the tahini, apple cider vinegar, dill, salt and garlic to a bowl. Stir well until the mixture is well combined. It will be very thick.
Add the water and stir well. Be sure that the mixture is well combined. Note that the dressing will look very thin at this point.
Allow the tahini dill dressing to rest 3-5 minutes until it has thickened up.
Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.
Top tips
- Use dried dill in place of fresh dill (you only need 1.5 tablespoons of dried dill).
- Don’t have tahini on hand? Use unsweetened sunbutter, cashew butter or almond butter.
- When refrigerated, tahini based dressing tend to thicken up and can be hard to pour. Allow the dressing to sit out for 5 minutes to thin out a bit. If needed, add a tablespoon or two of water to the dressing to thin it out after refrigerating.
Ways to use creamy vegan dill dressing
Common questions
What is tahini
Tahini is a paste made from grinding up sesame seeds (just like almond butter). It’s got a unique flavor – it’s earthy, nutty and has a unique flavor thanks to the sesame seeds.
Tahini is usually used in Mediterranean dishes like hummus and works really well in both sweet and savory dishes. It’s thick consistency makes it a great substitute for mayo or heavy cream in many dishes, and it’s one of my favorite ingredients to work with!
Where can you buy tahini
You can find tahini in most grocery stores, usually with the nut butters or in the International Foods Section.
My favorite places to buy tahini are Trader Joe’s (the flavor and price on point), Whole Foods 365 Brand, Thrive Market or Soom Foods. Soom Foods tahini is thinner than the other tahini brands I mentioned but is very good and works the same in dishes.
Other dishes that have tahini
If you are worried that you will be buying tahini for a recipe but then will have so much leftover and not know what to do with it. I’ve got you covered. Here are some of my favorite ways to enjoy tahini:
What can you use instead of tahini
Instead of tahini, you can also use unsweetened sunflower seed butter, cashew butter or almond butter.
If you don’t have those on hand, you could also make this with 1/2 cup of soaked cashews, 1/2 cup of soaked sunflower seeds or 1/2 cup of hemp hearts (no soaking required). You would have to blend this mixture up with the water and apple cider vinegar before stirring in the dill and spices. If you blend the dill, the dressing will have a green tint.
If you are not sure how to soak cashews or sunflower seeds, check out this Cashew Caesar Dressing for tips.
Can you use dried dill to make dill dressing?
This vegan dill dressing is best with fresh dill, but you can use dried dill in a pinch. I would start with about 1 tablespoon of dried dill (since dried dill is so much more flavorful than fresh, don’t add too much to start with).
If you find the dressing doesn’t have the dill flavor you were looking for, add more dried dill ½ teaspoon at a time.
Can you double the recipe
You can easily double or triple this recipe, just be sure to use a large enough bowl or container to be able to stir the dressing well. For ease, you may decide to blend the ingredients together for larger batches. Don’t blend in the dill or the dressing will have a green tint.
Storing tahini dill dressing
- Fridge – store leftover dressing in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Freezer – freeze the dressing in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing the dressing using 2 tablespoon Soupercubes, so you can defrost 1 serving of dressing at a time.
Substitutions
- Tahini – you can also use sunbutter, cashew butter or almond butter (each of these will give the dressing a slightly different flavor). Also you could use cashews, sunflower seeds or hemp hearts (see the tips above on how to use these).
- Apple cider vinegar – you could also use lemon juice or white wine vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar in this recipe.
- Fresh dill – use about 1 tablespoon of dried dill or you could use a different fresh herb like parsley, cilantro or chives.
- Garlic powder – use fresh garlic if you like a more garlic forward dressing. If you don’t have garlic powder or can’t tolerate garlic, omit it.
If you love homemade salad dressing, you should try
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Finely chop the dill. Pull the dill off the thicker stalks and finely chop the fronds.
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Add the tahini, apple cider vinegar, fresh dill, salt and garlic powder to a bowl. Stir well to combine. This will be thick.
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Add the water and stir well until all the tahini and water are well combined. This will be very thin.
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Let the dressing rest for 3-5 minutes to thicken.
- Use dried dill in place of fresh dill (you only need 1.5 tablespoons of dried dill).
- Don’t have tahini on hand? Use unsweetened sunbutter, cashew butter or almond butter.
- When refrigerated, tahini based dressing tend to thicken up and can be hard to pour. Allow the dressing to sit out for 5 minutes to thin out a bit. If needed, add a tablespoon or two of water to the dressing to thin it out after refrigerating.
Note: This recipe makes 1.25 cups of dressing. Each serving is 2 tablespoons.
See how I calculate food cost.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Amount per Serving
Where does nutrition info come from? Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy, sourced from the USDA Food Database.