10 BEST VEGAN SALAD DRESSINGS YOU CAN MAKE IN 5 MINUTES

Now that those hot summer days are here, all I want to eat for lunch and breakfast are salads – delicious, healthy and easy to make salads. And what can make any salad better? Some flavourful vegan salad dressings, of course!

Just because you’re following a vegan diet this doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy those crazy good salad dressings you loved so much before. Dairy-based salad dressings are very easy to ‘veganize’ and the end results are way healthier than any store-bought salad dressings. So trust me when I say that I must try making your own vegan salad dressings at home and I’m sure your salads won’t be bland anymore! A good dressing can turn any boring salad into a satisfying meal and you’ll be even happier to include more salads and veggies into your diet this way.

I invite you to check out this list with 10 of my favourite vegan salad dressings. As I said, all of them are extremely fast and easy to make – everyone can recreate them, even if they’re not an experienced cook. Just pick a vegan dressing that will go well with your desired salad, combine all the required ingredients and that’s it – your meal is ready!

Click the linked titles in order to access these vegan salad dressings recipes. You will find 4 of my own recipes here, but the rest of them are created by some awesome food bloggers I follow. Try at least one of these vegan salad dressings for your next salad and you’ll see the difference. Enjoy!

Vegan Salad Dressings

1. Celeriac Salad with Avocado Mayo Dressing

This celeriac salad is both crunchy and moist, but the really special part of this salad is actually the vegan avocado mayo dressing. This dressing is super flavourful, filling, and it will give this salad the perfect blend of tastes that I’m sure you’ll appreciate. It’s very healthy too!

2. Spinach Salad with Tahini Dressing

Tahini is one of my favourite ingredients to use for salad dressings because it’s very flavourful and delicious. My favourite combination is between this healthy spinach salad and tahini dressing. This dressing is ready in no time, it’s healthy and this salad can also be used for detox. Enjoy!

3. Creamy Vegan BBQ Ranch Dressing (Gluten-Free, Oil-Free)

This gluten-free and oil-free creamy vegan BBQ ranch dressing is just what you’re missing in order to complete your vegan BBQ menu. You can put this healthy dressing on anything, from salads to veggies and BBQ – everything will taste divine! This dressing also has a nut-free option in case you’re allergic to them.

4. Top 3 Salad Dressing Recipes I Love! | Asian / Avocado / Mustard

In this article you will find my top 3 salad dressings that I always love to make! These dressings are: Asian dressing, avocado dressing and mustard dressing. Use them for your favourite salads, and I’m sure you won’t regret it. All of them are delicious, healthy and very easy to make!

5. Vegan Caesar Dressing

In case you’ve been searching for the perfect vegan Caesar dressing for your salads, this is the recipe you’ve been looking for! Surprisingly, this salad dressing doesn’t use any cashews, oil or soy like your regular vegan dressing, but it uses pine nuts instead. Extra delicious!

6. Carrot Salad with Maple-Mustard Dressing

This maple-mustard salad dressing has a very special taste and I just love eating it with a baby carrots' salad – so crunchy and flavourful! Trust me when I say that this maple-mustard dressing has an incredible taste, it’s creamy, and it literally makes any salad way more exciting!

7. Creamy Italian Salad Dressing

Nothing is better than the good, old classic Italian dressing and this recipe will teach you how to make its vegan version. This salad dressing is creamy, finger-licking good and way healthier than the original recipe. Make a big batch and keep it in your fridge for your upcoming summer salads!

8. Cilantro Lemon Vinaigrette

If you’re a cilantro fan, then you’ll absolutely love this fresh vinaigrette made with lots of cilantro, lemon juice, garlic, honey and champagne vinegar. It tastes absolutely incredible and it’s so fresh you won’t even believe it! You can use it for any kind of salad you wish. Check it out!

9. Sweet Basil Vinaigrette

If you’re craving a healthy salad with a sweet taste, then this sweet basil vinaigrette will help you achieve this! This dressing is so simple that anyone can make it and the results are super delicious. You can use it for any kind of salad, especially those fresh summer salads!

10. GARLIC MISO SALAD DRESSING

If you love miso, then you must try making this garlic miso dressing at least once in your lifetime! The combination of garlic and miso is absolutely yummy and will turn any boring salad into a real masterpiece. Give it a try!

VEGAN QUESADILLAS

Here’s how to make delicious, cheesy vegan quesadillas that are just as good as the original Mexican recipe! Enjoy this quick, easy and healthy alternative!

Originating back in colonial Mexico, the quesadilla is not only the Mexicans’ favourite simple snack, but a worldwide popular dish, super easy to prepare and guaranteed to satisfy a crowd. Quesadilla consists of a corn tortilla – that is usually replaced with a flour tortilla in Northern Mexico and the United States – filled with cheese and other optional toppings, and then grilled to perfection.

Spanish settles developed quesadillas in Mexico in the 16th century; however, the tortilla was a Mesoamerican food that had been consumed many years before the colonial period. Therefore it can be said the humble quesadilla was a product of the Old World and New World combined and is a perfect example of “fusion food”.

Like every other dish that resisted the test of time, the quesadilla has changed throughout the years as people brought their own regional or preference-based variations to the recipe. In central and southern Mexico, the quesadilla is made out of thin corn masa tortillas, filled with stringy Oaxaca cheese (a typical Mexican cheese similar in texture and taste to mozzarella), and cooked on a comal griddle until the cheese has melted and the perfect consistency is achieved.

Mexicans just love their simple cheesy quesadillas, dipped in salsa and served as they are! But other fillings like cooked vegetables, potatoes, mushrooms, chorizo, sauteed squash blossoms (“flor de calabaza”), chicharron or other cooked meats are often used in addition or instead of the Oaxaca cheese. They are usually cooked without any additional oil and served with a variety of toppings such as green or red salsas, guacamole, onions, tomatoes or cilantro in order to perfectly complete its taste.

A delicious variation of the classic quesadilla is quesadillas fritas, which means the quesadillas are fried in oil instead of grilled. Traditional Mexican quesadillas are made by filling ready-cooked tortillas, then further cooking until the cheese melts, but the fried ones are prepared almost like empanadas, from uncooked dough (called masa). The dough is formed into small circles, topped with fillings and folded into a quesadilla that is fried until the exterior becomes golden and crispy.

Other variations include using wheat or white flour tortillas, especially in the United States or North-eastern Mexico, or a variety of fillings and toppings that are far from the simplicity of the authentic recipe, such as zucchini, goat cheese, spinach or tofu. Dessert quesadillas are an American take on the recipe and they exist in Mexican fast food chains all over the United States, filled with chocolate, fruit or caramel sauce.

It’s interesting to mention that, even though it has the same name, Salvadorian quesadilla has nothing in common with the savory Mexican snack quesadilla. The Salvadorian quesadilla is a thick, fluffy, sweet dessert cake often found in local bakeries and prepared with local unsalted queso fresco, or fresh cottage cheese.

Now that we traveled through the history of quesadilla, let’s see how we can prepare a delicious, vegan version of it right at home! For my vegan version of this dish, I used bell pepper, black beans, avocados and other yummy ingredients, all folded in a soft flour tortilla and cooked on medium heat until melty and delicious!

Looking for more saucesrecipes? Check out our favourite sandwich recipes here

Vegan Quesadillas

Quesadillas are some amazingly delicious Mexican snacks that you can easily make at home! The vegan recipe is extremely easy, delicious and healthy!

PREP TIME : 10 mins

COOK TIME :10 mins

TOTAL TIME : 20 mins

SERVINGS : 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 onion chopped

• 1/2 bell pepper diced

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 cup black beans drained

• 4 medium soft flour tortillas You can also use GF tortillas for the GF version

• 2 avocados peeled, halved, seeded and lightly mashed

• 1/4 cup minced cilantro or parsley

• 1 to mato diced

• ⅓ cup sweet corn

• ½ lime juiced

• 1 cup vegan mozzarella cheese shredded

For the seasoning:

• chili powder - to taste

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

• 1/4 tsp onion powder

• 1/4 tsp dried oregano

• 1/2 tsp paprika

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a small bowl, add all seasonings and mix to combine.

• In a medium pan over medium heat, saute the onion and the bell pepper in 1 Tbsp oil for 2 minutes. Add the black beans and seasoning mix. Cook for another minute. Transfer the mixture into a small bowl and set aside.

• Set another clean and dry pan on a medium heat.

• In a small bowl, lightly mash the avocados with a fork. Stir in the cilantro or parsley, the juice of 1/2 lime, add the chopped tomato and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

• Spread a quarter of the mashed avocado onto half of a tortilla.

• Top with the bean mixture and ¼ cup of cheese. Fold the tortilla closed over the filling.

• Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.

• Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, on each side, until crispy. Serve with your favourite salsa.

Baked feta pasta

THIS SIMPLE RECIPE HAS GONE VIRAL ON SOCIAL MEDIA, AND COULDN'T BE EASIER TO MAKE!

Where did this baked feta pasta recipe come from?

I first saw this meal idea on TikTok, and it’s since blown up across the whole internet. It’s easy to see why, as the pure simplicity of the dish for creating an amazing pasta sauce is genius.

After just a little bit of digging, it appears that the original source of this is Finnish blogger Liemessa, who posted this recipe for Uunifetapasta all the way back in 2019!

I’ve made a few changes to my version.

What do I need for this baked feta pasta?

Feta cheese: The main appeal of this dish is the big, satisfying block of feta cheese in the middle of the baking tray! You can just plop it straight out of the packet, but for mine I just trimmed it to 180g so that I had 4 x 45g portions (45g is a healthy extra A portion of feta on Slimming World)

Baby tomatoes: I bought the really tasty little piccolo tomatoes on the vine to make this, but any cherry tomatoes or baby plum tomatoes will do!

Oregano: I used dried oregano to add that herby flavour, but I’ve seen other version which stir in fresh basil after baking, and others using thyme or even tarragon.

Garlic: I finely chopped my garlic cloves before cooking, but alternatively you can just roast the cloves whole in their skins, and then squeeze out the soft flesh to stir into the rest of the sauce ingredients once cooked.

Red onion: I added in some red onion as I just fancied one extra veg option in there, and I thought it might balance the flavours nicely.

Olive oil: I’m sure you could get away with using low calorie cooking spray if you prefer. Most versions use copious amounts of olive oil, I used just a few sprays to cover the ingredients enough to roast them nicely. I have an olive oil sprayer (from Amazon) which is brilliant.

Pasta: Just use your favourite pasta for this! I bought a bit a fancy shaped pasta for my version, but any will work! You just need to cook the pasta separately while the ingredients are baking.

The really great thing about this recipe is that there are so many possibilities to try! I have seen lots of different herbs used, mushrooms, spinach, lemon zest, chilli… the world’s your oyster!

Can this be eaten cold?

Total winner, if you have leftovers of this, this makes a great cold pasta salad- serve it up with some crunchy lettuce and other Greek salad ingredients, and you have an easy packed lunch ready to go too!

Looking for more sauces recipes? Check out our favourite sandwich recipes here

Baked feta pasta

The simplest pasta dish and a viral sensation all over the internet! 0.25 syns per portion (for the olive oil spray) and using Feta as healthy extra

Total Time : 5 mins PANCooking Pan TimeCoC Cocking Pan Time :15 mins Fire : 577 kcal

Serves : 4

Difficulty : Super Easy

Ingredients

• 180 g Feta cheese (just in one block)

• 200 g baby tomatoes

• 1 red onion Peeled and cut into wedges

• 1 tsp oregano

• 2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped

• salt & pepper to taste

• 5-10 sprays olive oil

• 300 g pasta

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 200c

• In a small baking tray, place the feta in the centre and scatter the tomatoes, onion, oregano and garlic around the outside. Season with salt and pepper.

• Spray the ingredients with olive oil to lightly cover them.

• Pop the baking tray onto the top tray of the oven, and set a timer for 15 minutes.

• In the meantime, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, and drain it.

• Check the tray of sauce ingredients, the feta should have golden brown edges, and the tomatoes will look lightly roasted. leave in for another 5 minutes if you think it needs a little more time.

• Add the cooked pasta into the baking tray, and give everything a good stir so that the pasta is coated in the creamy, rich, herby, garlicky sauce.

• Serve immediately.

Notes This goes perfectly with a rocket salad or crunchy lettuce. See above for some more ideas on ingredients to add to this meal.