Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing
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This Japanese carrot ginger dressing is vibrant, versatile, and downright delicious. Just whiz a few ingredients together in your blender for a fresh and zesty dressing you can drizzle on any salad. It's easy to make and it's ready in under 5 minutes!
For another versatile Asian-inspired dressing, try oxur sweet and savory sesame ginger dressing that tastes great over crunchy greens.
This carrot ginger dressing recipe is our take on the delightful dressing that comes on any salad we've ever tried at a Japanese restaurant. It's sweet, tangy, and creamy with a recognizable bright orange hue. It brings to life anything it's drizzled over.
Is this Japanese salad dressing authentic?
It's not likely youād be served this salad dressing in Japan, but it is a familiar staple in Japanese-American restaurants. It's typically served over some crisp iceberg lettuce with maybe chopped carrots, tomatoes, or cucumbers.
Ingredients notes
This zesty carrot ginger dressing uses a simple combination of ingredients, and you're likely to have most of them on hand!
- Carrots: humble carrots add subtle sweetness and give this dressing its bright orange color. Plus, most of us have a bag of carrots hanging out in our fridge, right?
- Soy sauce: we use regular gluten-free soy sauce but you can use low-sodium soy sauce, gluten-free soy sauce, or tamari.
- Avocado oil: avocado oil or any other neutral oil work in this dressing.
Other ingredients you need are fresh ginger, seasoned rice vinegar, onion, and sesame oil.
How to make carrot ginger dressing
This ginger carrot dressing is a quick and easy way to add tons of flavor to salad. It turns out best in a high-speed blender or food processor, but you can also use a basic blender for a slightly less creamy texture.
- Place all the ingredients into your blender and blend until smooth.
- If you like a thinner consistency, add a splash of more oil or water. Taste and add a pinch of sea salt, if desired. That's it!
Is this carrot salad dressing healthy?
Yes! With three whole carrots blended into the dressing, it's basically like serving vegetables over vegetables. It's made with fresh ingredients, and it's much healthier than anything you can buy at the store.
How to use this carrot ginger dressing
This Japanese carrot ginger salad dressing tastes delicious on all sorts of side salads from simple crunchy greens to Asian-style salads. It's really versatile so you can also use it as a sauce for salmon, drizzle it over a grain bowl, spread it on a sandwich or wrap, or use it as a dip for fresh spring rolls.
If you're looking for another Japanese dip to serve beside it, try our ponzu sauce recipe!
Recipe FAQs
How long does this dressing keep in the fridge?
You can store this Japanese salad dressing in a sealed jar or container in the fridge for up to a week.
How much dressing does this recipe make?
This recipe yields just over a cup of dressing. It will likely make more than you need so will have leftovers you can use throughout the week on another salad, as a dip, or drizzled over steamed veggies.
Why does the dressing separate?
This ginger carrot dressing does not emulsify so you can expect the ingredients to naturally separate when it sits. Simply give it a shake or a stir to bring it back together before serving.
Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing Recipe
Ingredients
- Ā½ lb carrots (3 medium, coarsely chopped)
- Ā½ cup avocado oil
- Ā¼ cup peeled (chopped fresh ginger)
- Ā¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten-free, if needed)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth.Ā½ lb carrots, Ā½ cup avocado oil, Ā¼ cup peeled, Ā¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons chopped onion, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- Add more oil or water if you like a thinner salad dressing.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our salad recipes!
I hate to say this but this recipe was very bland. Nothing like what Iāve had in a Japanese restaurant. No kick whatsoever. It needed more rice vinegar for me possibly because I use natural rice vinegar not the seasoned? But more than that it needed way more onions plus some sweetener to cut the vinegar while still tasting the tang. I also added some miso paste to it, which helped it get it closer to a a restaurant flavor I am use to and closer to my other Carrot Ginger Dressing recipes that Iāve made in the past. I like to try other peopleās versions of the same recipe and I am sorry to say this was disappointing. I know everyoneās taste is different as I can see from all the positive reviews, but this just didnāt cut it for me without all the tweaks I did to it
I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t love it as much as we do!
Amazing dressing-thank you. Most of the ones I have made have sugar as one of the ingredients. I know seasoned vinegar has a little sugar in it, but I love the taste of this without the additional sugar. I followed the recipe to the tee, but may actually add a little more ginger next time.Ā
Perfect! One of my beefs with eating salad (heh) is that I donāt have a good recipe for dressing, and the commercial dressings are all so unhealthy. This is just delicious, everyone loves it. Thank you for the recipe.Ā
You’re very welcome! If you’d like to try more homemade salad dressing recipes, we have TONS here: https://www.theendlessmeal.com/category/recipes/dinner/salads/salad-dressing-recipes/ š
Oh my goodness super delicious!!
Iām Japanese by the way, thank you for sharing it š
You’re very welcome!!
This tastes exactly like the dressing from my favorite sushi spot. Thank you for figuring out how they make it!
Wow. So good. Thank you.
I’m so happy to hear it turned out well!
Thanks so much for helping me find this recipe Kristin! When I first moved to Chicago in the late 80’s I worked part time as a waitress in a Japanese restaurant. Besides the wonderful employee meals they provided at the beginning and end of the shifts, the staff was also allowed to have as much miso soup, rice and salad as we wanted which included this wonderful dressing. Curiously, in so many years since, I have never tried making this dressing myself, but it has now become one of my staples with your wonderful recipe. As I am writing this to you, I am finishing off the bottom of my first beautiful jar of this dressing, straight from the bottle with a spoon ā¤?Thank you for posting this recipe!
That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for coming back to share your story and tell us how much you love the dressing!
Perfection!
I am so glad I misplaced the recipe I previously used and found this.
Really appreciate the nutrition facts too!
I’m so happy to hear the recipe was a hit!
What other oils can be used in place of the avocado oil ?
Any neutral flavored oil will work well. š
Delicious! I have now figured out a way to get my daughter to eat salad!
Fantastic!
Should the carrots be cooked to soften before blending?
I blend them raw but if you don’t have a high powered blender then cooking them might help to blend them smooth. š
What is the shelf life of this dressing?
5-6 days in the fridge. š
I’m so happy I found your recipe. I love Japanese dressing and will make it all the time now. It’s even better than the one at my local sushi restaurant!
That’s so great to hear!
Oh man. This stuff is SO good. I could eat this stuff with a spoon. Okay, okay. I did eat it with a spoon. Thank you for this recipe. I will be eating this on a regular basis going forward.
Ha ha I’ve totally done the same! So happy to hear you love the recipe!
Hi Jocelyn,
This is a great one to start with since it is so easy. Hope you love it!
Umm carrot and ginger are perfect together. Can’t wait to try this on my next homemade salad. I never make dressings unfortunately but this looks delightful. Must try.
Yes! You totally made me want sushi now! This is my fave dressing at our favorite sushi place. Yummmmmmmyyy!! Printing this now! š
It’s my favourite too! I was so happy that it turned out just the way I wanted it to š