Tangy homemade vegan Lemon Herb Salad Dressing is the perfect complement to your summertime salads! It makes a great dip for cut vegetables, too. This easy to make recipe is vegan, oil free, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you may have noticed that I’ve been sharing a lot of dressing recipes lately. Why? Because it’s salad season! I get requests from health coaching clients and blog readers asking for dressing recipes. Often, they’ve been using flavored vinegars or bottled dairy-free dressings, and they’re looking to shake up their salad routine.
I have a lot of salad dressing recipes here my blog already, but they’re mixed in with salad recipes. Most of them are versatile, and I often use them as sandwich spreads or dips, too, so I feel they’re worthy of their own posts.
I’ve also been sharing a lot of dressing recipes because I’ve been super busy. You may remember that I mentioned back in May that my schedule’s been a little nuts. I don’t want my blog posts to fall by the wayside when I’m focusing more on health coaching and cooking classes. Dressings are easy to whip up and photograph. My schedule is calming down now, but I’m still catching up on things that go backlogged while I was busy.
Trader Joe’s Lemon Herb Salad Dressing Copycat
This Lemon Herb Salad Dressing is based on one that comes with my favorite pre-packed kale salads from Trader Joe’s. If they bottled it, I’d buy it, but it only comes with the salad. And the last time I bought the salad it was in really rough shape. Rotting spinach = bad. It was inedible, and I haven’t picked up another since.
The Trader Joe’s dressing is oil-based, and although I don’t follow an oil-free diet, I don’t like to consume it in excess. My Lemon Herb Salad Dressing is cashew-based. It’s flavorful and creamy, and super easy to make.
How to Make Lemon Herb Salad Dressing
How to Make Lemon Herb Salad DressingIt couldn’t be easier to make this recipe! You just throw all of the ingredients into a blend and mix until it’s smooth! I like to use my Blendtec‘s Twister Jar, which I find works best with cashew-based sauces, to mix this recipe.
Storing Your Salad Dressing
Storing Your Salad DressingThis dressing will last in your fridge for about 5 days. It freezes well, and it will last in your freezer for about 6 months. I like to make extra and freeze it, so that I have it at the ready if I get a hankering for it.
This dressing does thicken after it’s been in the fridge for a while. If that happens, just mix in a little more water until it’s the consistency you prefer.
Raw Cashews
Make sure your cashews are raw—unroasted and unsalted. Soak them in water for about 2 hours before you’re planning on making the salad. If you forget, you can soak them in boiling water for about 20 minutes. If you have a high-speed blender, you might not need to soak your cashews as long. I have a Blendtec, but I still soak my nuts ahead of time.
Creamy Vegan Lemon Herb Dressing
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked for two hours, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup loosely packed fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Instructions
- In a food processor or high speed blender, mix together the cashews, lemon juice, water, garlic, apple cider vinegar, mustard, onion powder, and sea salt until smooth and creamy. Pulse in the parsley and thyme.
Always looking for better salad dressings! Loved the creamy chipotle lime one! Can’t wait to make this!
Thank you, Bec! I’m glad you enjoyed the chipotle lime dressing. I hope you like this one, too!