There’s nothing quite as satisfying as biting into a leafy green salad. Or is there? If you make your own salad dressing to go with lunch, your self-satisfaction will be off the charts. Tea is a great ingredient to spice up any homemade dressing, adding the unique flavors and health benefits that come with tea. Here are 5 salad dressings enhanced with tea to try at home. Get ready for your taste buds to thank you:
1) Tahini-Matcha Salad Dressing
This recipe from Whole Foods combines on-trend matcha powder with tahini (ground sesame seeds) for a zesty salad topper. Garlic, vinegar, shallot, lemon, honey, and green onion round out the lineup. Just 35 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per serving, this is a healthy, tasty dressing for your salad .
2) Jasmine Tea Salad Dressing
This recipe from Pique relies on the company’s Jasmine Tea Crystals. What are tea crystals? Exactly what they sound like: Pique brews tea, removes the leaves, and then crystalizes the liquid. The crystals dissolve instantly in hot or cold water for a hassle-free cup of tea, or a dressing. This dressing combines Jasmine Tea Crystals with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper for an easy, upscale option to drizzle over your lettuce or kale.
3) Maple Kombucha Salad Dressing
This recipe from The Healthy Home Economist relies on on-trend kombucha as a healthy, flavorful base. (Kombucha is a fermented tea beverage infused with good bacteria and yeast.) The probiotic is combined with olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, flax or walnut oil, garlic, and pepper for a dense dressing chock full of flavor. The kombucha is also good for you: the good bacteria in the drink strengthens the immune system. Kombucha does contain a teeny tiny amount of alcohol, so if you make your own kombucha, you could increase the amount of alcohol if you want a little buzz with your salad. Or keep it G-rated so even your little ones can enjoy this delectable dressing.
4) Berry Balsamic Tea Dressing
This recipe from Supermarket Nutrition is beautiful to behold and sweet to taste. Pureed blueberries and strawberries provide fruity flavor to go with brewed black tea, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, and salt in this colorful dressing. If you want a tasty dressing that impresses everyone at the table (and that your sweet-toothed tots will even like) this is the one for you.
5) Green Tea Honey Vinagrette
This recipe from Brighton Your Health begins with green tea and adds honey, Dijon mustard, and apple cider vinegar to the mix. Writes the author, “The tea taste adds a smooth flavor (tea is just slightly acidic) and complements a crispy green salad, baked salmon or grilled shrimp.” What’s the difference between the matcha dressing we put at the top of the list? Green tea uses leaves (and this recipe uses brewed green tea liquid), while the first recipe uses finely ground matcha powder, which contributes a different texture. But both are healthy and delicious!
