HookedOnPlants

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4 ingredient dressing

Power to the Pickle Salad Dressing | 4 Ingredients + Oil-Free

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This dressing will be your new best friend when learning to love salads. Pairing a salad up with this drizzle of goodness will leave you wanting even more of those green leafies. Now that’s a craving we all need more of in our lives.

If you’re wondering… why no oil? Here’s a great post all about it from No Meat Athlete.

Don’t stress about it when you’re eating out or trying new vegan alternatives every now and then… but cooking without oil at home is too easy not to do, and you’ll get the benefits of dodging those empty, refined fat calories and have more room for nutrient-dense, beneficial, whole plant food calories.

The magic ingredient in here is pickle juice!! Don’t throw that stuff out! It’s amazing in hummus, sauces, dressings…

I usually just wing it with the ingredients, but had to measure it out for you guys and share because it’s just too good and I use it too often not to.

Make a big batch like this recipe, and keep the leftover dressing in the fridge for easy salad makin’ all week long.

No excuses. Bring out your inner Popeye and love your greens.

My go to for salads: avocado, tomato, green onion, kale (massaged in the dressing first), romaine, sprouts, and other kind of greens I have growing in the garden (arugula, mustard greens, herbs), some hemp seeds, and sometimes raisins.

What’s your favourite salad combo? Leave a message on instagram to me @hookedonplants.

Let’s just get right into the recipe.

Creamy Lemony Nooch Dressing | Oil-Free & 4 Ingredients

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You’d have a tough time trying to find a day to look in my fridge without seeing a jar of this Lemony Nooch dressing.

I’m telling you now… triple or quadruple this recipe so you can have this amazingness available in your fridge for up to 10 days, and finally get excited to make friends with salad er’yday.

This dressing works with any kind of salad. Greens, beans, grains, legumes, you name it, just add it, and it’s all better.

The best way to use this is to mash your torn up kale leaves in the dressing, and let it sit for 10 minutes in your salad bowl (this softens the kale), then add the rest of your salad ingredients and toss it all up! I try to get a salad in my system on the daily, and this dressing makes it easier than ever!

The nooch, paired with the dijon creates a cheeziness and creaminess without the need for any oil!

If you’re looking for more oil-free salad dressings, here’s a few to play around with.

Feel free to use apple cider vinegar to instead of lemon, and add a bit more maple syrup if you like it sweeter!

Benefits:

  • Nooch (Nutritional yeast) is packed with vitamin B12 (which everyone needs to make sure they get in their diet either by supplementing or eating B12 fortified foods like nooch’ or fortified plant-based milks), and has a cheesy flavour! It’s so delicious to sprinkle on anything, and add to any sauce to get that creamy, cheesy taste.
  • Lemon is detoxifying, great for your skin, high in Vitamin C and helps indigestion.
  • Oil-free dressing means you’re salad will be mega healthy! Oil is a refined fat, without fibre and with minimal nutrients. So if you’re trying to keep your salads low in empty calories, yet nutrient-dense and delicious, try ditching the oil and using these ingredients to create the creamy dressing you’re after!

 

5.0 from 2 reviews
Creamy Lemony Nooch' Dressing | Oil-free & The Best
 
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An oil-free, yet creamy dressing that will make any salad a winner. This is my go-to! Triple the recipe so you have it on hand for easy salad making anytime.
Author:
Recipe type: dressing, sauce
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 3 tbsp lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar)
  • ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1-2 tbsp water, optional (depends on how thick or thin you like it!
  • * I recommend tripling this recipe and keeping a jar of dressing in the fridge ready to go*
Instructions
  1. Pour all ingredients (except for the optional water) in a mason jar and shake! Or, pour all ingredients into the bottom of your salad bowl, and whisk!
  2. Add a bit of that water if you want a thinner dressing.
  3. *I recommend adding some kale to the dressing in your bowl, and mashing it in the dressing with your salad tongs, then letting that sit a few minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients. This provides a delicious massaged kale base for the rest of your salad. My usual salad for 2 consists of 4 leaves of the massaged kale, tomato, ½ avocado, 1 pear, 2 green onions, 1 head romaine, 1-2 tbsp raisins and sunflower seeds.