Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Hello, my chickpeas! I'm sure I've said this before on other posts, but I truly believe that a great salad dressing is what makes or breaks a good salad. And today, I'm sharing one of my absolute favorite salad dressings: Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing!

This dressing is oil-free, easy to make, and PACKED with flavor. It is sure to brighten up any salad combination you choose! 

Let's get into it!

Ingredients

• Sun-dried tomatoes: I use these Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes from Mezzetta, but any brand will do the job! Many sun-dried tomatoes are sold in jars with oil, so if you choose to use one of these just note that the recipe won't be fully oil-free. If using the oil-soaked ones, you can also skip the step of soaking the tomatoes as they should already be soft. 
• Red wine vinegar and water - these take up the bulk of our dressing. The red wine vinegar has such a lovely flavor when combined with the sun-dried tomatoes. We also include water just so that the vinegar isn't too overwhelming!
• Garlic powder, onion powder, & oregano - these are all for some extra flavor! The garlic powder and onion powder are blended into the dressing, while the oregano is mixed in at the end. Oregano can sometimes give off a bitter flavor when blended, so this is why we mix it in at the end instead.
• Tahini and coconut yogurt - both of these provide a bit of creaminess, and also some flavor. Tahini on its own has a sort of bitter taste, but it works really well when combined with all of our other bright flavors. The coconut yogurt has a very nice tang to it that works well with our vinegar and tomatoes. My favorite coconut yogurt is Culina, but use whatever makes you happy!
• Maple syrup - for just a bit of sweetness! Most store-bought salad dressings have lots of highly processed sugar in them, so I love that this recipe allows us to use a less processed sweetener AND decide how much of it we want! 

How to Make Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Keep scrolling for the full recipe, but this one is pretty straight forward!

1. Soak your sun-dried tomatoes to soften
2. Blend up most of the ingredients
3. Stir in some seasonings 
4. Add to your favorite salad and enjoy!

Tips & Tricks

• As always, please think of this as a template and adjust as you'd like! You can do less water if you want it thicker, more maple syrup if you want it sweeter, etc. 
• I love using this on simple side salads, but you can add it to whatever salad you'd like! Honestly every salad that I've put it on so far has worked beautifully!
• I've used this as the dressing on pasta salad and even on my cowboy caviar and really enjoyed it!
• Interested in other oil-free plant based salad dressings? Check out my Oil-Free Zesty Italian Dressing next!

Enjoy!

Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Recipe by Delaney Romero - Joyful BalanceCourse: Salads, DressingsCuisine: Italian

Yield

1

cup

From Start to Finish

15

minutes

This is my go-to salad dressing, especially in the summer! The sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and coconut yogurt make the perfect amount of zing, and pretty much go well with whatever salad you'd like. Note that the "From Start to Finish" time includes 10 minutes to soak your sun-dried tomatoes - after that it's only a matter of blending and then stirring in some seasonings at the end!

Ingredients

• ¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes*

• ½ cup red wine vinegar

• ½ cup water

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder

• ½ teaspoon onion powder

• ½ tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 tablespoon tahini

• 2 Tbsp plain coconut yogurt*

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of pepper

• 1 teaspoon oregano

Directions

• If your sun-dried tomatoes are dry and NOT stored in oil: add sun-dried tomatoes to very hot water and allow to soak for 5-10 minutes. This will allow them to soften.
  
  If your sun-dried tomatoes are packed in oil: these should already be soft, so no need to soak. Move on to step 2!
• Remove sun-dried tomatoes from soaking water (or from oil, if packed in oil). Add sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, water, garlic powder, onion powder, maple syrup, tahini, plain coconut yogurt, and salt to a blender. Blend until very smooth.
• Pour into container of choice and stir in pepper and oregano.
• Use on top of any salad you'd like! Enjoy!

Notes

• *Sun-dried tomatoes: I use these Sun-Ripened Dried Tomatoes from Mezzetta, but any should do the trick! Just keep in mind that using sun-dried tomatoes that are packed in oil will cause this recipe to not be oil-free.
• *Plain, unsweetened coconut yogurt: I use Culina "Plain and Simple" Coconut Yogurt, but any should do the trick! You may also use other plant-based yogurts, but just know that it will alter the taste a bit. I find that the coconut is the best in terms of flavor in this dressing.

Happy cooking, friends! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your dressing-making ways.

Stay joyfully balanced!