Walnut Dressing

This is the best walnut dressing or vinaigrette! Made with walnuts, avocado oil, sherry vinegar and shallots you are going to love it's slightly sweet taste and how easy it is to make. Perfect for topping salads, cooked vegetable or meat dishes or using as a dip. It's also paleo, vegan and dairy-free!

I am so excited to share this walnut dressing recipe with you! It has the most incredible flavour. It uses healthy ingredients like walnuts, avocado oil, sherry vinegar and shallots to give it a unique taste that is sweet with just a little tang. This dressing is so easy to make and is paleo, vegan and dairy-free. It's perfect for salads, topping meat or vegetable dishes or using as a dip for your favourite raw vegetables, chips or crackers. I also love pouring it over grilled cabbage or romaine lettuce.

Why you will love this recipe:

• It has the most incredible flavour! Slightly sweet from the maple syrup with just a little tang from the vinegar you are going to love its unique taste.
• It's ready in just 5 minutes!
• This walnut vinaigrette dressing recipe is so easy to make because you just throw everything in your blender.
• It is so thick and creamy.
• It's such a versatile recipe - use this dressing for salads, cooked veggies, as a dip or for meat and fish dishes.
• It's a healthy dressing that is naturally gluten free, vegan, dairy free and paleo.
• If you love walnut dressing, you will also love walnut pesto!

Key ingredients and substitutions:

• Raw walnuts - walnuts form the base of this delicious, creamy dressing. I recommend using raw walnuts, not roasted walnuts for this recipe.
• Avocado oil - Avocado oil has a very neutral flavour so it's perfect for making dressings! If you don't have avocado oil you can use olive oil, but it will change the flavour slightly.
• Sherry vinegar - You can buy this online or from most specialty food stores. I do not recommend trying to replace this with another type of vinegar as it would really change the flavour of this dressing.
• Shallots - Find these next to the onions in the produce section. They add a unique savoury flavour to this dressing.
• Dijon mustard - This adds the perfect amount of tangy flavour to this dressing. You can use any type of dijon mustard that you like.
• Honey or maple syrup - either of these natural sweeteners can be used to give this dressing the perfect amount of sweetness.

How to make this recipe:

Step one:

All you need to do is put all the ingredients into your Vitamix or other high speed blender, and then blend all the ingredients until they are smooth. Then enjoy!

Tips and variations:

• If you stop blending this dressing part way through and let it rest for a few seconds and then start blending again it will get VERY thick. Because of this I recommend blending it all in one go rather than stopping and starting (unless you prefer a thick dressing that has more of a thick, dip texture).
• This recipe makes a large batch of dressing. If you want a smaller batch, simply cut the recipe in half
• This dressing is made with raw walnuts. I always recommend soaking and dehydrating your raw nuts (read more about why here) to enhance the flavour and increase the nutritional value.
• Instead of avocado oil you can use olive oil.
• If you don't have a Vitamix or other high speed blender you could make this dressing in a food processor instead.

How to use this dressing:

• As a topping for salads
• As a dip for raw vegetables
• As a topping for cooked vegetable or meat dishes
• As a dip for crackers or chips
• One of my favorites is to use it to top grilled cabbage or romaine lettuce

How to store:

Store this dressing in the fridge in an airtight container or jar for up to a week after making. It will thicken in the fridge so if you don't like a thicker dressing I would make a smaller batch and use it all initially.

Frequently asked questions:

Other recipes you will love:

• Homemade BBQ Sauce
• Pickle juice dressing
• Vegan Alfredo Sauce
• The Best Carrot Dip
• Vegan Cilantro Lime Dressing
• Cashew coconut butter

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