This tangy tiger nut vinaigrette dressing is simple, healthy, and delicious! It only takes five minutes to make and is creamy, versatile, and best of all, it’s customizable to your tastes.

salad with tiger nut salad dressing and a jar of tiger nut butter

Tiger nut spread with pantry staples like oil, vinegar, and honey (plus a little water and some salt and pepper) come together to create a naturally gluten free, nut free, and dairy free salad dressing that’s great for every day or special occasions. Tiger nuts aren’t actually nuts–they’re more closely related to tubers–so this quick at-home recipe is an ideal replacement for your favorite store-bought dressing.

Keep reading for more information on the ingredients, tips for making, and the full DIY tiger nut salad dressing recipe.

Ingredient Notes

Use plain tiger nut spread for the best outcome–a sweetened version will change the overall taste of the dressing.

If you don’t have tiger nut spread on hand, you can use peanut butter or almond butter instead, but it will no longer be nut-free.

Any acid can be swapped for the apple cider vinegar. Lemon juice, lime juice, white or red wine vinegar, and rice wine vinegar are all perfectly acceptable substitutes.

You can make tiger nut butter at home by blending raw tiger nuts and an unflavored oil at a 2:1 ratio, but you can also make it even easier on yourself by using a ready-made tiger nut spread, like this one from Natureul! It’s USDA certified organic and naturally allergen-free, so it’s a great choice for those with dietary restrictions.

How to Use Tiger Nut Salad Dressing

Drizzle over salad ingredients and toss to coat, or serve on the side and add as needed. That’s it! It balances crunchy, topping-packed salads or easily jazzes up a simple green side salad.

You can also use tiger nut salad dressing as a dip or a marinade for meats and vegetables, and it makes a great spread for sandwiches or wraps.

How To Make Tiger Nut Salad Dressing

Ingredients

½ cup Tiger nut butter, homemade or store-bought
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
¼ cup filtered water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender or dressing shaker and blend on high speed (or shake vigorously) until ingredients have combined and emulsified.
Taste and adjust ingredients as needed, repeating step one every time ingredients are added.
Serve and enjoy!

Tips for Making Tiger Nut Salad Dressing

Use a blender or a salad dressing shaker
Though you can certainly mix this by hand, you can speed up the process enormously by using a standard blender, immersion blender, or a salad dressing shaker to combine the ingredients. If you don’t have any of these, a bowl and a whisk (or a fork!) will do just fine.
Adjust the consistency
Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the consistency of salad dressings–some like them more runny, some like them extra thick and creamy. You can tailor this tiger nut vinaigrette to your preferred consistency by increasing or reducing the amount of water you add to it. You can even omit the water entirely and add more tiger nut butter to thicken things to the max!
Spice it up
This tiger nut salad dressing is delicious as-is, but you can boost it by adding virtually any spices and seasonings you desire. Italian seasoning, Herbs de Provence, Cajun seasoning, hot sauce–you name it, you can absolutely try it in this dressing.
Warm the tiger nut butter first
Tiger nut spread, like other nut butters, can sometimes be tricky to incorporate into more liquid-like ingredients. You can prevent sticking to utensils and make it easier to blend by popping the tiger nut butter in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before adding the remaining ingredients and mixing! This is especially helpful if you’re combining ingredients by hand.