Our weather this week has still been cruel, we had a little sunshine peak through this afternoon while I was at work and the wind and clouds crept back by the drive home. Not fair! But I’m trying to make the most of the icky weather catching up with the DVR during my indoor workouts and utilizing more time to create recipes. Since I had a very cooked dinner last night, I was craving a huge salad tonight and had a lot of spinach to use up in my fridge. Balsamic vinegar is one of my favorite flavors that I haven’t had in awhile and I wanted it in a creamy, protein-heavy salad dressing. So enters my favorite creamy ingredient – hemp seeds of course! :-)
Why? Because it’s one of the most nutritious and easily digested foods and an awesome protein source. And they contain plenty of good nutrients compared to nut-based creamy sauces. And they’re so simple to prepare and turn into amazing cream sauces thanks to the Vita-Mix, or any high-speed blender, and no soaking needed. So I experimented with a rich, creamy, protein-heavy salad dressing that can turn a light salad into a meal salad. Surprise, it was a success!
Balsamic Hemp Dressing
- 1 cup hemp seeds
- 3 tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp. tahini
- 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup water
Place all ingredients into a high speed blender and blend to a smooth and creamy texture. Will cover a 4-6 serving salad.
The dressing is thick enough to be a dip or spread for raw wraps. And the balsamic flavor was satisfyingly strong and tangy. I loved that it turned a lightweight salad into a satisfying creamy mess with plenty of zing and a rich, smooth texture. If you’re a balsamic fan, give this dressing a try.
The dressing looks great! It’s nice and thick which is perfect. I hate thin dressings. I like things to be well coated which is why i think i am hooked on making my own dressings w/ vegenaise.
Then again, i do like light vinaigrette from OJ, citrus, touch of oil and agave, etc. I guess it depends but yours looks wonderful.
I’m the same way with dressings, sometimes I want something hearty and rich, other times something simple and light like just throwing an orange and some ginger into the Vita-Mix.
Mmmmm, this looks so thick and creamy! I’m always so impressed with all of your homemade dressings!
Thanks, I’m having so much fun creating dressings that I haven’t bought a pre-made dressing in ages! :-)
I really want to make homemade dressing now that I have a vitamix! I love how you come up with so many good ones! I bought a pack of hemp seeds yesterday!!!!
Hope the weather gets better there!!
That’s awesome you got hemp semps, can’t wait to see what you make with them! I’m a huge fan of hemp-based cream sauces and the Vita-Mix rocks for that.
mmmmm this looks awwwwesome! <3