Salads are a big part of my weekly menu and I’m not talking about little itty – bitty side salads. No I am talking about Big Beautiful Salads – BBS for short! Thankfully hubby Tom also likes these salads and we can make a meal out of them. Like most people we enjoy a creamy salad dressing with all those lovely greens and vegetables. With a little experimentation I came up with a creamy delicious no oil balsamic dressing that works well with so many different types of salads. You are going to love this one!
Creamy Balsamic Dressing
I used to make a smaller amount of dressing but I was constantly having to make dressing so I increased the recipe and it yields 24 ounces. It will last a week in the fridge – but you will most likely use it up before the week is out! It’s wonderful on a green salad, broccoli slaw or potato salad. The dressing gets thicker after it chills in the fridge. I try to keep some dressing made and in the fridge at all times. Preparation is key to being able to eat healthy when hunger strikes! I use the Costco Balsamic vinegar for this dressing. The cannellini beans make it thick and creamy. It doesn’t taste “beany” – you would never know it was made with beans.
Big Beautiful Salad
Salads are a big part of my weekly menu and I’m not talking about little itty – bitty side salads. No I am talking about Big Beautiful Salads – BBS for short! It’s also delicious on Chopped Salads. Thankfully hubby Tom also likes these salads and we can make a meal out of them. Like most people we enjoy a creamy salad dressing with all those lovely greens and vegetables. With a little experimentation I came up with a creamy delicious no oil balsamic dressing that works well with so many different types of salads. You are going to love this one!
It’s wonderful on a green salad, broccoli slaw or potato salad. For the slaws I prefer it made with a white balsamic to keep the salad from looking dingy. It’s also yummy served as a dip for the Fresh Spring Rolls or the Crispy Spring Rolls. The dressing gets thicker after it chills in the fridge. I try to keep some dressing made and in the fridge at all times. Preparation is key to being able to eat healthy when hunger strikes! I use the Costco Balsamic vinegar for this dressing. The cannellini beans make it thick and creamy. It doesn’t taste “beany” – you would never know it was made with beans. Make the Asian variation to use as a dip for the vegan Sushi Rolls.
Nutmeg Notebook Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 box or can of cannellini beans no salt added rinsed and drained either a 13.4 oz box or 15.5 ounce can
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar *
- 4 Medjool dates – pitted depends on how sweet you like it – you could use less or more
- 4 teaspoons Dijon Mustard or no salt added mustard
- 1 cup unsweetened plant milk
- 2-3 teaspoons Garlic & Herb no salt seasoning or you could use 2 fresh garlic cloves Use Mrs. Dash
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients together in a high power blender like a Blendtec or Vitamix until smooth and creamy. It thickens after chilling in the fridge.
- If you have a regular blender you might try soaking the dates in warm water to soften them so they will blend better.
- I keep it for 5 days in the fridge no problem. Some people tell me they freeze some of it and then when they need more they thaw it out.
- You can sub date syrup for the dates but remember that the fiber in the dates helps the dressing thicken up.
Notes
Get Healthy 
Stay Healthy One Meal At A Time
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A Nutmeg Notebook Online Course. Beautiful Chopped Salad Course Link
Tami Kramer’s Beautiful Chopped Salad Course includes a complete full color 40+ page recipe PDF eBook and 12 instructional videos. In the course Tami will teach you how to batch prep salads, what to shop for, and tips to ensure that your stored salads will last for a week. She will share different methods for chopping salads, and all the details about how she tops these beauties. Included are 25 different ways to top a chopped salad, 5 oil free salad dressings, gluten free croutons and crunchy toppings, hummus, salsa’s and more! Please enjoy the course videos at your own pace. There are approximately 2 1/2 hours of instruction spread over the 12 individual topic videos. When completed you will be well on your way to enjoying these beautiful, chopped salads as often as you wish, perhaps even daily as Tami does.
We are also Holland Bowl Mill Affiliates. The 15 inch Holland Bowl Mill Cherry fruit bowl has a permanent home on our kitchen island. It’s beautiful and useful. The heart shaped bowl makes me happy – I love everything heart shaped! We use our 15 inch Beechwood & cherry bowl (his and her’s) to chop our salads everyday. Eating a salad for one meal every day helped me lose weight and become a size 4. I still eat a salad for one meal a day but now it’s a Big Beautiful Chopped salad and it helps me stay a size 4! See the Chopped Salad Blog Post to find out how you can incorporate a chopped salad into your daily food plan and how you can get a free mezzaluna knife with your Holland Bowl salad bowl order when you use our Holland Bowl affiliate link as well as free engraving and free shipping.
Great post Tami. What brand of garlic herb seasoning do you use?
Hi Diana I use Mrs Dash usually but I just found a new one at Costco called Garlic Saltless seed-free made by Engage Organics and its good too!
Thanks Tami! I am making this today.
I hope you like it Donna – its our go to dressing!
Looks great Tami! How is the bod & feet? I am so glad to hear all is well! We have had a couple cooler days but going to get warmer again…
Hi Jody,
The feet are dong well! I am still having sciatic nerve issues but I am seeing my pain specialist again next week and we will make a plan about what to do next! Thanks for asking. Hope all is well with you and your family. Enjoy the cooler weather while it lasts! Hugs, Tami
This looks wonderful, Tami! I’ve been looking for a creamy dressing. Adding this to my list of recipes for my next batch cooking day. Thanks!
I am glad that you are going to give it a try Colleen. So far everyone who has tried it has liked it! I hope you will too. Be sure to let me know how it turns out for you. I have been making it for over a year now and its become our one and only dressing.
Happy Healthy Eating!
Tami
Fabulous! Beans are indeed the trick. Thanks so much.
I hope you give it a try Diane! The beans work well and you can’t taste them at all!
Great recipe. I halved the recipe using half a can of beans, 1/4c of balsamic, 1 date and not being a great fan of mustard – 1 tsp of dijon plus 1 tsp of dry mustard powder, Trader Joes 21 spice salute and 1/2c of almond milk.
Very delicious. I particularly like it on steamed veg and potatoes.
Thank you Tami for this resource. Your recipes are delicious.
Hi Stephanie!
Your dressing substitutions sound delicious! I am happy to get your feed back and to know that it worked out well for you. I hope to hear from you again.
Happy healthy trails!
Tami
This is delicious! I really needed a new dressing and I love it. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hi Nikki – I am so glad you like the dressing recipe!
Happy Healthy Cooking!
Tami
Great dressing recipe and that salad looks amazing. Did you ever do a post on how you make your salad? I did a little searching and didn’t find one that looks like the picture. My mouth is watering! I just recently found your blog and love it!
Hi Sue,
I haven’t posted about the salad yet – maybe my next post will be about it! Not enough hours in the day right now to do everything I want to do!
Blessings,
Tami
This is a game changer, Tami!! Thank you so much. I have made this a dozen times with different variations, and it is always exceptional!
I am so glad you like it. I would love to know what your variations are if you care to share!
Finally! I was despairing that I would ever be able to choke down a salad again. All the WFPB dressings I tried were, um, not so great. (At least to me anyway.) Thank you so much for this recipe. It is amazing and I can’t wait for my next salad!!
Mindy that makes me so happy!
Do you use the Napa Valley Naturals Balsamic (4% acidity) for this?
No I don’t since the recipe uses dates you can use regular balsamic vinegar. If you don’t want to use dates you can use the Napa Valley Naturals Balsamic Grand Reserve and skip the dates since that vinegar is already sweet.
Ok, makes sense..thank you!!
Good morning,
Thank you so much for your informative demonstrations. I have been attempting to batch cook for 1 1/2 adults (my hubby eats most UWL dinners). I was wondering if you have a shopping list for your weekly grocery purchases. I know they will vary with the recipes you choose but it seems the bbs is pretty consistent. It would help me not to overbuy and possible waste food. My husband eats salad at work so it would be salad for one.
I also appreciate your recommendations for purchases from Costco. Most UWLers reference TJ or WF. Those stores are 100 miles away from where I live in NE Wisconsin, but we do have a Costco.
Again, thank you for you enjoyable videos. Looking forward to hearing from you soon.
Hi Victoria,
I actually don’t have a shopping list. It changes from week to week depending on what our schedule is and if we are entertaining and so on. Today we went to shopping and I bought Broccoli Slaw, shredded carrots, romaine, baby spinach, baby kale, red cabbage, red onions, clementines, sugar snap peas, little salad tomatoes and apples for our salads. I hope that helps.
Eat Plants – Live Well,
Tami
Hi Tami,
I made your dressing for the first time, it is a success. so delicious yet easy. thank you for sharing the recipes so generously. I will be trying more.
Thank you so much for your feedback. I am so glad you like the dressing – it’s been such a big hit and to think I almost didn’t share it!
Dearest Tami, I made your Creamy Balsamic Dressing (no-oil) today. I want to send you a dozen roses! It is unbelievable! I finally have an absolutely delicious salad dressing recipe that I could eat every day on my salad! None of the other recipes that I tried thrilled me. Using cannellini beans in lieu of cashews is genius! The beans have 0 grams of fat and are especially excellent for Diabetics. The flavor from all the other ingredients is just wonderful! Thank you so much! God bless you as you continue to teach us how to eat for our body’s health and wellness while enjoying every morsel! Also, your teaching technique is outstanding! You show us the ingredients in their packaging and even tell us from where you purchased every product. This is so helpful! It is a joy to watch you prepare and cook while you give us great tips and instruction, making it easy to learn. You are making such an impact on those who need this. Certainly, you are playing an important role in helping me reverse my Diabetes! Thank you! Wishing you and yours all the best. Your family is beautiful! Hugs.
Hi Brenda,
Thank you so much for taking the time to write to me. Your words mean so much to me – you brought me to tears. This is exactly why my hubby and I continue to work on the blog and make videos. To know that it is helping others is our reward! I am beyond happy that you like the dressing recipe and that you are having success in getting healthy with a whole food plant based lifestyle. Please stay in touch. Wishing you continued success and a healthy, happy life.
Happy cooking,
Tami
Thank you so much, dear Tami! You are very special! I am looking forward to trying more of your recipes. I will let you know how I am doing. Thank you for caring!
Wishing you and your family a wonderful summer!
Warm regards,
Brenda
First time viewer, going to try t
Dressing. How long will it stay fresh in frig. I lam alone now? What brand of mustard does not I include salt??
Have you found a cure for your sciatica? I have painfully suffered now everyday over a year now? Just curious.
Thanking you for a response. Feel netter
I forgot to answer about the sciatica. I have not found a cure. I recently went through another round of physical therapy with a new therapist. She told me to stop crossing my legs and that alone made a huge difference. Also try to reduce inflammation in your body. Use ice packs twice day for 20 minutes on the back of the thigh. Stop sitting on the floor unless I use a pillow under me to reduce pressure on my buttocks. These were helpful as well as the exercises. It’s such a painful problem – I’m sorry you also have this. Take care.
Hi, made a half recipe of this dressing yesterday and it was really good. I didn’t have readymade mustard at home so put in some mustard seeds in the blender instead with the other ingredients. Not knowing how sweet it would be, I put in 1 date for the 1/2 batch and it was just the right amount for my taste. I’ve printed the recipe as I will definitely be making it again. It was a hit… and to think it is healthy to boot, was ‘icing’ on the cake. Thanks!!
ps: 2 garlic cloves for us!! 🙂
Hi Josie,
I am so glad you liked this salad dressing! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment – it’s greatly appreciated.
Happy Cooking,
Tami