I feel like we could all use a little bit of sunshine in our lives, am I right? We’re due for yet another snowstorm here in Chicago this week, meanwhile I’m over here buying spring dresses and getting excited for all of the daily walks I’m going to take once baby boy #2 is born.
One way you can add a little sunshine to you life is with this beautiful, bright dressing. It’s essentially a turmeric tahini dressing with brightness from lemon and a hint of sweetness from maple syrup. You’re going to fall in love!
What you’ll need to make this sunshine dressing
This beautiful sunshine dressing is a fresh take on my absolute favorite tahini sauce. It’s creamy and the perfect mix of tangy & sweet. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- Tahini: instead of a dairy base in this dressing we’re using creamy tahini. The neutral flavor helps all of the other flavors to come together beautifully.
- Lemon juice: add a little brightness with fresh lemon juice.
- Maple syrup: you’ll want to naturally sweeten the sunshine dressing with just a bit of pure maple syrup.
- Turmeric: a little ground turmeric gives this sunshine dressing a gorgeous yellow color while adding some great anti-inflammatory properties
- Herbs & spices: for flavor boosts we’re using freshly grated ginger, garlic powder, salt & pepper.
- Water: you’ll also want a bit of water to thin the dressing to your liking.
Simple ingredient swaps
While I suggest making the recipe as-is for the perfect taste & texture, there are a few ingredient swaps that I think would work well:
- If you’re out of tahini, feel free to sub an all natural, creamy cashew butter. It won’t quite be the same but should be still delicious!
- Feel free to use honey in place of the maple syrup. Just note that it will likely taste sweeter, so start small.
- If you don’t have any fresh ginger you can use about a 1/4 teaspoon of powdered ginger to start and add more to taste.
How to make sunshine dressing
This salad dressing couldn’t be easier to make!
- Mix it. In a medium bowl, mix together the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, ginger, turmeric, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Thin it. Add 2-3 tablespoons of warm water to thin out the dressing so that it’s nice and pourable. Start with 2 tablespoons and add another one if necessary.
- Adjust & serve. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary, and enjoy!
Make it your own
This easy sunshine dressing is great for customizing to really make it your own! Here are some suggestions:
- Add in a few tablespoons of plain greek yogurt to make it even creamier and add a boost of protein.
- Blend in some fresh cilantro, parsley or basil to add an herby twist.
- Stir in a little dijon mustard for extra zest.
- Sprinkle in some cayenne pepper for a kick of heat!
Ways to use sunshine dressing
This flavorful sunshine dressing is so versatile and delicious paired with tons of different recipes. Feel free to double it if you’re topping a big salad or serving as a dip!
- Drizzle it on a veggie-packed quinoa salad or grain bowl.
- Pour it over some sheet pan veggies, roasted carrots or as a dip for sweet potato fries!
- Add it to a crunchy broccoli salad or shredded brussels sprouts salad.
- Use it as a dip for any fresh vegetables. Perfect for a veggie-packed charcuterie board!
- Put it on your fav proteins like salmon, grilled or baked chicken and even homemade burgers.
How to store this sunshine salad dressing
Store this creamy sunshine dressing in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If the sauce appears too thick for your liking when you take it out of the fridge, simply add a bit of water and mix it well.
More dressings & sauces you’ll love
Creamy Feta Yogurt Dressing (or dip!)
Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing
I hope you love this creamy, flavorful sunshine dressing recipe! If you make it be sure to leave a comment & a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Sunshine Dressing
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons drippy tahini
- ½ lemon, juiced (about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1-2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons warm water, to thin dressing
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mix together the tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, ginger, turmeric, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of warm water to thin out the dressing so that it’s nice and pourable. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This dressing is perfection! I was a bit lazy to walk to the lemon tree, so I used what was in front of me: a naartjie squeezed out. I bought the tahini especially for this recipe, and I can see myself making this over and over again! I didn’t have fresh ginger, so I added garlic. Sorry! I know I hate when people change recipes and comment, but my message is: this is delicious, easy, versatile, and adaptable. Thank you!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
This is SO delicious and truly does not take long to make at all. The most time intensive part was grating the ginger but it was 100% worth it! My new favorite dressing.
One of my favs, too!!
I was in need of a homemade salad dressing, and this truly hit the spot! <3
Perfect! So glad you found this one 🙂
Trying to find my healthy self again…thank you for some amazing recipes!
Of course! Enjoy!
So good! I even added some greek yogurt to my leftovers and drank it as a smoothie 😀
This is probably my favorite dressing/sauce ever. Sooooooo good on salad, roasted vegetables and chicken. I follow the instructions exactly.
Excellent! I am so glad you are loving this dressing 🙂
This is probably my all time favorite multi purpose salad dressing / sauce ever. It is perfect on a salad, over roasted veggies, over chicken. I LOVE IT. I did not use fresh ginger. I had the Trader Joe’s frozen ginger cubes and substituted with that. This is so, so good!
Yes! This is the best, glad you are loving this dressing 🙂
This was the perfect refreshing dressing for the quinoa veggie bowl I made for lunch today! My bowl had red and white quinoa, broccoli, fermented garlic pepper sauerkraut, and Roma tomatoes, and the dressing complemented it beautifully. I especially love the turmeric and tahini flavors together!
Just amazing. I struggle to find dressings because I don’t like vinegar. This is a beautiful, bright, zesty mix that leaves me smiling! Just finished off a few carrots drizzled with this and I loved every bite. Thanks so much!
Aw I’m SO glad to hear this, Maddie! Thanks so much for the kind review 🙂
This dressing is SO good! I have made it 3 times in the last 2 weeks. I love ALL of your recipes so much. I have 2 favorite ‘go to’ recipe blogs I use and ambitious kitchen is one of them. Thank you for such delicious and healthy recipes!
Aw thank you so much, Erryn! I’m so glad you love this + my other recipes 🥰
Not usually a tahini fan but something about this recipe caught my eye. Did not disappoint!
Oh, amazing! So happy you loved it.
This is by far one of my all time favorite dressings. I’ve mostly used it for grain bowls and to drizzle on salmon. It is PHENOMENAL the flavors all work so perfectly together. Huge fan.
That’s amazing, I’m so happy you’re enjoying it so much!!
Or any of your menu plans for people with histamine issues. I am also Paleo
This sunshine dressing is AMAZING!!!! I use it for everything now!!! I use it on salads, roasted veggies, for dipping….. and admittedly– I have been known to just enjoy a big spoonful!! Thank you!
So glad you love it!! New fav for us, too 🙂
This sauce is amazing!! It’s the perfect combination of bright and sweet and is so versatile! It’s packed with healthy ingredients and is so easy 🙂 I highly recommend!!
So glad you loved it! It’s my new fav, too 🙂
This dressing is AMAZING! Such a good combination of flavors!
Glad you loved it!
This dressing is my new fave dressing. I’ve used it this week on the AK roasted cauliflower/carrot/quinoa salad and on a kale salad with avocado and smoked salmon. Sooo good. This will be a staple dressing in my refrigerator going forward. It was so quick + easy to make. I’m terrible about making salads at home, but with this dressing I could eat a salad every day!
So happy to hear that! One of our favs, too 🙂
yummy & goes great on everything!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
LOVE this dressing! Used fresh garlic and wow….tossed it with roasted veggies and spinach and served with grilled burgers. Huge hit and will be making it again and again! Thank you!
So delicious!!
I made the dressing exactly as instructed and we loved it! Instead of using a bowl to mix it up in, I put the ingredients in my small chopper because my tahini wasn’t drippy but a little hard. It needed a bit more warm water but turned out terrific. This one is a keeper.
Perfect! Great idea. Glad you enjoyed!
Delicious! I’ve never made a dressing with tahini before and had no idea what I’d been missing. This is divine – I’ll be putting it on everything!
Right?? So delicious! Glad you loved this one 🙂
This dressing is so delicious and easy to make! It was the perfect drizzle over a kale salad with delicata squash. My only complaint is that my dressing didn’t turn out as yellow as yours.
Absolutely! You could try adding a bit more turmeric if you’d like a yellower color, but the taste is what matters 🙂
This was another amazing recipe! I drizzled it on roasted veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and sweet potato) and quinoa and it was a gamechanger – so flavorful and made my dinner ‘pop.’ Thank you!!
Amazing! Love that idea 🙂
This dressing is perfect over a nice kale salad with butternut squash and goat cheese. Delightful like everything @ambitiouskitchen makes.
So glad you loved it!
From one struggling Chicagoan to another, this looks amazing!
A little sunshine this winter!!