Creamy garlic & dill dressing (Perfect for salads & veggies!)

I’m finding every excuse to use it – tossing it into potato salad, blending it into dill pickle hummus, and making it rain over pierogi.

But my favorite way to make the most of that vibrant flavor is with creamy dill dressing. It adds brightness to any leafy green salad (without a drop of dairy or oil).

This tangy dressing comes together in minutes and is ideal for meal prep. Just stash it in a jar, and keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Give it a quick shake or stir, and it’s ready to enjoy.

Thanks to a base of cashews, it’s silky, pourable, and thick enough to dip. Keep a batch on hand, and give your spring and summer produce a glow-up.

In this post:

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Raw cashews: Raw cashews make this dressing wonderfully creamy and full-bodied. Look for them with other nuts at the grocery store.

Choose raw cashew pieces over whole since they’re usually less expensive. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s.

Tamari: This Japanese soy sauce adds salt and umami. Tamari is usually gluten-free. I recommend using a low sodium variety.

It can be replaced with any other soy sauce, nama shoyu, or coconut aminos, if you prefer.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice adds a bit of acid. For the best flavor, freshly squeezed is best.

Garlic: Choose firm garlic that doesn’t have dark spots. For less garlic bite, use ½ teaspoon granulated garlic instead.

Dill: Fresh dill weed makes this dressing sing. However, in a pinch, it can be replaced with 1 teaspoon dried.

Granulated onion: I prefer granulated onion over powder because of its pop of flavor. However, it can be replaced with onion powder if you prefer.

Salt: A pinch of salt brings this dressing to life.

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

1. Combine the following in a high-speed blender:

• Raw cashews
• Water
• Tamari
• Lemon juice
• Garlic
• Granulated onion
• Salt

Note: If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you’ll likely need to soften the cashews first. I give 3 workarounds in the notes section of the recipe card.

2. Stir in freshly chopped dill. Then move the dressing to an airtight container, and transfer to the fridge, where it will thicken.

You can tweak this dressing recipe to suit your needs & preferences with these adjustments:

• For a green dressing (as shown above), blend the fresh dill into the dressing instead of stirring it in separately
• For less raw garlic bite, replace the garlic clove with ½ teaspoon granulated
• When dill is out of season, use 1 teaspoon dried dill instead of fresh
• To keep this dressing gluten-free, use gluten-free tamari
• For a soy-free option, use coconut aminos or soy-free tamari instead of standard tamari

This flavorful dressing works well on leafy green salads, drizzled over grain bowls, or used as a healthy veggie dip.

• Toss it with a romaine lettuce salad with pickled red onions & lemon & garlic croutons
• Drizzle it on a vegan chef salad
• Serve it as a dipping sauce with a mezze-style falafel platter
• Add it to a rainbow veggie board for dunking carrots, cauliflower, celery, sugar snap peas, bell peppers, and radishes
• Spoon it on vegan pierogi quesadillas

Store garlic & dill dressing in an airtight container or jar in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 5 days. Stir before using.

This dressing also freezes well in a freezer-safe container. When you’re ready to use it, move it to the refrigerator to thaw.

📖 Recipe

Creamy garlic & dill dressing (vegan)

Author: Cadry Nelson

5 from 2 votes

This dill-icious dressing bursts with the flavors of spring. It's made with a dairy-free cashew base, which makes it ultra creamy, and it's dotted with freshly chopped dill.

Drizzle this garlicky dressing over leafy green salads, grain bowls, or use it for dunking crunchy raw veggies or warm bread.

Makes about ¾ cup of dressing. (About 2 Tablespoons of dressing per serving.)

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 2 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 4 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 people

Course: Dressing

Cuisine: American, Vegan

Keyword: dairy free, dip, gluten free

Ingredients

• ▢ ½ cup water
• ▢ ½ cup raw cashews*
• ▢ 1 small garlic clove
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon tamari
• ▢ ½ teaspoon granulated onion or onion powder
• ▢ Pinch of salt
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

Instructions

• ▢
  In a high-speed blender, combine water, raw cashews, garlic, lemon juice, tamari, granulated onion, and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, stopping once or twice to scrape down the sides, if necessary, for even blending. (You'll know it's done when you stop hearing crunching sounds.)
• ▢
  Once the dressing base is smooth, add freshly chopped dill, and stir to combine (so that the dressing is speckled with dill, not blended).
• ▢
  Enjoy right away on a salad. Or move the dressing to a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use. It will continue to thicken in the fridge.

Notes

*If you don’t have a high-speed blender, you have three options for a standard blender. Pick one of the following:

1. Grind the dry, raw cashews first in a coffee grinder until they become a flour, and then put them in the blender with the other ingredients. (My favorite option!)
2. Soak the cashews in water overnight and drain before following the recipe.
3. Cover the cashews in boiling water and let them soak 10-20 minutes before draining and using.

Storage instructions

Store dressing in an airtight container in the fridge. It will continue to thicken. It will keep for up to 5 days. 

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Nutrition

Calories: 62kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg