Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette
Tart and sweet, this Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette is a wonderful whole food plant-based salad dressing. This delicious oil-free salad dressing might just become your new favorite for salads, bowls, and more. You only need 5 minutes and a few simple ingredients to make this easy fat-free salad dressing.
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I love eating salads (no joke, I really do!) and I’m always looking for new and interesting oil-free salad dressing ideas. So the other day I set out to make a sweet and tart oil-free vinaigrette that would go well with my new kale salad with blueberries and grapes.
Thus this sweet lime oil-free vinaigrette was born! It’s super easy and quick to whiz up in the blender (and there’s an option to swap out an ingredient to make this dressing without a blender too). I am currently obsessed with this dressing and putting it on my salads, roasted veggies, grain bowls, and more.
I love the flavors of this dressing. Bright tart flavor from the lime juice goes so well with the dried herbs, minced garlic, salty miso paste, and sweetness from the date.
When you see store-bought vinaigrettes or vinaigrette recipes online, they’re pretty much always loaded with oil (and salt). Sometimes they also have sugar.
But this naturally sweetened lime vinaigrette without oil is just as delicious without all stuff you don’t want.
So if you’ve been looking for more oil-free salad dressing recipes or how to make a vinaigrette without oil, you’ve come to the right place.
I’m also getting a separate balsamic oil-free vinaigrette ready to publish next week for my whole food plant based pasta salad that I know you’ll also love! Sign up for my email list so you never miss a new recipe!
Ingredients
See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list (with amounts) and instructions.
- Aquafaba: Yup, the water that comes in a can of no-salt-added garbanzo beans (AKA chickpeas)! You can get a ton of this from cooking garbanzo beans from dried (I do this in my Instant Pot, see the Expert Tips section further down this page for more info). If your chickpeas came backed in salty aquafaba (check the sodium content in the nutrition label), then skip the miso paste in this recipe.
- Lime Juice: Fresh squeezed is best but bottled lime juice will work too.
- Medjool Dates: This sweet lime oil-free vinaigrette is naturally sweetened, with dates! It tastes delicious, but for alternatives that will work for a blender-free version, see the substitutions section below.
- Minced Garlic: This recipe only calls for a half teaspoon of minced garlic, so you can buy jarred minced garlic or a use a garlic press (or a knife) to mince a really small clove of garlic. Or use a quarter teaspoon granulated garlic (to taste).
- Yellow or White Miso Paste: This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. Please feel free to omit or use a pinch of salt if that is what you prefer.
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper: I always recommend fresh cracked black pepper because it tastes SO much better than store bought ground black pepper. It’s the difference between me hating and loving the spice! I use an electric pepper mill due to a disability in my hand that makes it hard to use a conventional pepper mill and it makes a big difference.
- Dried Herbs: I like to use dried thyme and dried peppermint leaf in this recipe.
Substitutions
- Aquafaba: This is a unique ingredient since it’s a little thicker (and has more body) than water. If you can’t find it, you can blend a half cup of water with a tablespoon or two of soaked raw cashews, soaked raw sunflower seeds, raw cashew butter, raw sunflower seed butter, or tahini. (Just using water might not yield delicious results.)
- Lime Juice: Even thought this is a recipe for sweet lime oil-free vinaigrette, it will also work with lemon juice or orange juice. You could also try it with your favorite vinegar; I will be coming out with an oil-free balsamic vinaigrette very soon!
- Medjool Dates: I used Medjool dates to sweeten this recipe naturally. Other options include pure maple syrup or date syrup. These options also allow you to make the recipe without a blender.
- Minced Garlic: If you don’t like raw garlic, consider using a quarter teaspoon of granulated garlic. Or you can omit it.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste: If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out.
- Fresh Cracked Black Pepper: You can omit this if you prefer. If you want heat, try crushed red pepper flakes or a little grated ginger.
- Dried Herbs: You can use whatever herbs you like. Dried Italian seasoning would be nice too.
How to Make Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette
- Blend most of the ingredients: Add the aquafaba, lime juice, pitted Medjool dates, garlic, and miso paste to the blender and blend until smooth (about 45 seconds for me).
- Taste Test: If you started with 2 Medjool dates (or even if you didn’t), taste the oil-free vinaigrette. Does it need more sweetness? Add another pitted date. More garlic? Add more of that. Blend until smooth again and move onto step 3.
- Add the seasonings: Add in the fresh cracked black pepper and the dried herbs. Blend on the lowest speed for 3-4 seconds or pulse it in.
- Storage: I like to store this immediately so I can refrigerate it so it’s cold for when I’m ready to eat it. Use a blender spatula if you have one to get all the contents out of the blender. As written, this recipe fits perfectly in a mini tulip Weck jar, but you can use any kind of airtight jar or container to store it. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Shake well before use.
Expert Tips
- Get lots of aquafaba: Make your own aquafaba by cooking dried garbanzo beans. I do this in my Instant Pot: Add 1 cup rinsed dried garbanzo beans and 4 cups of water to the Instant Pot, place on the lid and set the pressure valve to ‘sealing.’ Cook on high pressure for 42 minutes and let the pressure naturally release for 20 minutes. Carefully switch the pressure valve to ‘venting’ and release the remaining pressure. When the pressure float releases (check your manual if you’re not sure what this means) you can remove the lid. When cooled, separate the chickpeas from the aquafaba. It will last up to 5 days in the fridge or 3 months in a freezer-safe airtight container.
- Make this recipe without a blender: Don’t have a blender? No problem. Switch out the Medjool dates for a liquid sweetener such as date syrup or pure maple syrup (start with one tablespoon and add more to taste). Add all ingredients to a jar and either place a lid on and shake really hard or use a mini whisk to whisk it all together.
- Play with flavors: Once you know to use a half cup aquafaba as your base for an oil-free vinaigrette, it really gets fun to play around with flavors. Play with different fruit juices, vinegars, mustard, spices, and sweeteners to make your own blends!
Serving Suggestions
This sweet lime oil-free vinaigrette was created in tandem with my kale salad with blueberries and grapes because they go perfectly together!
However this oil-free dressing would also go well with my kale sweet potato salad or literally any other salad, grain bowl, or even roasted or steamed vegetables.
You can also use it as a tart and fun dressing for a fruit salad or as a dipping sauce for raw veggies.
And it would go really well on the pasta salad recipe I’m coming out with next week, though I’ve already got that earmarked for my oil-free balsamic vinaigrette! (You can use either of course!)
More Delicious Plant Based Recipes
- Green Smoothie
- Hummus Veggie Sandwich
- Chickpea Tuna Salad
- Portobello Pizzas
- Whole Food Plant Based Potato Salad
- Creamy Mushroom Stroganoff
- Butter Bean Scramble
- Golden Beet Beans and Greens
- Potato and Cauliflower Soup
- Cabbage Mushroom Soup
Sweet Lime Oil-Free Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 Blender see Notes section below for no-blender option
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Aquafaba, from a can of no-salt-added garbanzo beans (chickpeas), see Notes section below for substitutions
- ¼ Cup Lime Juice, fresh squeezed is best but bottled will work. Other fruit juices work too, like lemon or orange.
- 2-3 Pitted Medjool Dates, see Notes section below for substitutions
- ½ Teaspoon Minced Garlic, use a very small clove, jarred minced garlic, or ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 Teaspoon White or Yellow Miso Paste, see Notes section below for substitutions
- ⅛ Teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Dried Thyme, use any dried herbs you like, such as dried Italian seasoning
- ½ Teaspoon Dried Peppermint Leaf, optional
Instructions
- Blend most of the ingredients: Add the aquafaba, lime juice, pitted Medjool dates, garlic, and miso paste to the blender and blend until smooth (about 45 seconds for me).
- Taste Test: If you started with Medjool dates (or even if you didn't), taste the oil-free vinaigrette. Does it need more sweetness? Add another pitted date. More garlic? Add more of that. Blend until smooth again and move onto step 3.
- Add the seasonings: Add in the fresh cracked black pepper and the dried herbs. Blend on the lowest speed for 3-4 seconds or pulse it in.
- Storage: I like to store this immediately so I can refrigerate it so it's cold for when I'm ready to eat it. Use a blender spatula if you have one to get all the contents out of the blender. As written, this recipe fits perfectly in a mini tulip Weck jar, but you can use any kind of airtight jar or container to store it. Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Shake well before use.
Notes
- Aquafaba: This is a unique ingredient since it’s a little thicker (and has more body) than water. If you can’t find it, you can blend a half cup of water with a tablespoon or two of soaked raw cashews, soaked raw sunflower seeds, raw cashew butter, raw sunflower seed butter, or tahini. (Just using water might not yield the best results.)
- Medjool Dates: I used Medjool dates to sweeten this recipe naturally. Other options include pure maple syrup or date syrup. These options also allow you to make the recipe without a blender.
- Yellow or White Miso Paste:This is to replace the salt in the recipe, but I also love the little hint of umami flavors. Per Dr. Michael Greger of NutritionFacts.org, the soy in miso has a protective effect so the sodium in miso paste will not affect us negatively. If you’re fine eating salt (or if you eat the potassium chloride salt substitute) you can go ahead and use that. If you are totally avoiding added sodium, you can leave it out.
- Make this recipe without a blender: Don’t have a blender? No problem. Switch out the Medjool dates for a liquid sweetener such as date syrup or pure maple syrup (start with one tablespoon and add more to taste). Add all ingredients to a jar and either place a lid on and shake really hard or use a mini whisk to whisk it all together.
