Creamy, dreamy, garlicky dressing….dairy-free and delicious. Roasted garlic, dates and mustard are easy to blend with olive oil and apple cider vinegar into creamy perfection. You’ll want to put this tasty vegan salad dressing on all the things….from simple salads to sammies, wraps and grain bowls. Finger lickin’ good stuff.
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I think most people would eat more salad if they had an amazing dressing prepped and waiting to drizzle onto the simplest of greens. This Creamy Roasted Garlic Dressing is so good I could drink it. Yeah…I’m talking uber delish!
It’s easy to roast whole heads of garlic or make garlic confit, any time you’re already turning on your oven….and then store in the fridge until you wanna whip up a batch of this incredibly creamy dairy-free garlic salad dressing.
Unfortunately, store bought dressing is always loaded with preservatives, and other additives that aren’t so healthy, making the salad a less than desirable choice for those watching their weight and/or their health. Homemade dressing, where you can control the ingredients, is always a better choice. Even when pressed for time, you can always make a batch of my simple everyday salad dressing.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Roasted garlic: Roasted garlic is easier to digest than raw garlic and gives a punch of natural flavor to this delicious dressing. Roasting whole heads of garlic is super simple…and then so easy to add to this dressing. Get the full directions on this easy oven roasted garlic recipe.
- Vinegar: I used apple cider vinegar. You could substitute with unsweetened rice vinegar, white wine vinegar, white vinegar or even lemon juice.
- Dates: Buy medjool dates with the pits still in, they’ll retain their moisture and be soft enough to easily blend when you manually remove the pits. If your dates are on the dry side, soak briefly in boiling water to soften them up.
- Mustard: I like regular creamy dijon mustard in this recipe. Use ground mustard seeds if needed or sub with yellow mustard, spicy brown mustard or grainy dijon.
How to make Creamy Garlic Dressing
You’ll need an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor for this recipe. Before you begin making the dressing, you’ll need to make some roasted garlic. I usually roast garlic as part of my weekly meal prep, or anytime I know I’ll have the oven on already. It stores beautifully in the fridge, making it ready when you are!
Pour olive oil, vinegar, mustard, spices and dates into blender cup or tall sided jar.
Squeeze cooled roasted head of garlic over blender cup until all garlic pulp has been released.
If you’re using roasted garlic confit, put whole roasted garlic cloves into blender. Blend until creamy. Then add ¼ cup water and blend again.
If too thick, add more water 1 tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition.
Pour dressing onto your favorite greens and veggies, toss well and enjoy.
How to Store and Serve
- Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for 10 days, freezer for 3 months.
- This dressing freezes beautifully, so go ahead and make a double or triple batch. Freeze in ½ cup silicone molds, then transfer into freezer safe zip top bags that are clearly labeled.
- Drizzle over baked sweet potatoes stuffed with roasted veggies.
- Amazingly delish choice for a pasta salad dressing.
- Pass around the creamy garlic dressing when serving nourish bowls filled with an assortment of cooked grains, greens, legumes and cooked vegetables.
Debra’s Pro Tips
- Anytime your oven is already on (like when baking vegan enchiladas, shepherd’s pie or no beef stew) is a great time to roast some garlic bulbs…then you’re always prepared to make this dressing on a whim.
- Make sure the roasted garlic head is cool before attempting to squeeze out the pulp….the garlic goodness will be HOT and STICKY and can burn if it’s too hot and touches your skin.
- You don’t need to make a fancy salad when you’ve got a dressing so tasty….just a simple bowl of greens is great.
- Extra dressing? Make tomato and onion salad and use the creamy garlic dressing instead of the basil balsamic. Pure yum!
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Garlic Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 medjool dates remove pits and roughly chop
- 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 head roasted garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Directions:
- Place olive oil, mustard, roughly chopped dates, vinegar, salt + pepper in a tall container, or blender.
- Squeeze roasted head of garlic over the container until all the garlic pulp has emerged. If you're using cloves of garlic confit, just add them to the container.
- Puree until smooth. Then add ¼ cup water and blend again. You can add more water 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency emerges.
- Store dressing in glass jar with tight fitting lid in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Roasted garlic https://debraklein.com/roasted-garlic/
- Trim off end (not root end) of head of garlic to barely expose garlic flesh. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place cut side down in a small baking dish. Add fresh rosemary, if desired. Cover tightly with foil and bake in preheated 375 oven for 45 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Note
The nutrition calculations were done using online tools. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you used. You are ultimately responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information is accurate, complete and useful.
Linda
I really like this recipe and it is easy…I blackened the individual cloves in a skillet rather than roasting them and it softened them just fine. Also, I put a 1/4 c parmesan cheese in it and liked the improvement. But, my husband and I liked the basic recipe a lot and will use it regularly. Thank you!
Debra Klein
You’re welcome. I’ve never tried whole cloves in a skillet!
Adinah Kranzler
Hi Debra
What can I substitute for oil?
Debra Klein
You can substitute the oil with tahini….but keep in mind that the tahini is much thicker….so use half as much. Blend. Consider the thickness and add additional water, if needed for a pourable consistency.
Christina Pastan
I refuse to buy bottled salad dressings, but also realize it takes an effort to make them from scratch. I love this recipe because it’s easy and fresh and it has been my go to salad dressing for years.
Debra Klein
Totally agree….love this delicious homemade dressing for meal prep!