Sesame Ginger Dressing With Lime

I’ve always gravitated toward ginger flavors, so this sesame ginger-lime dressing is my go-to way to elevate any plain veggie salad, cabbage salad, or dinner bowl. It’s the perfect balance of tangy lime, savory soy, and a touch of honey. It comes together in less than five minutes and requires only five simple ingredients.

Ingredients Needed

• Lime juice – I grab 2 medium limes and use my citrus squeezer to get out every last drip. Two to 3 small limes is typically enough to get the needed ¼ cup of lime juice. May substitute lemon juice. 
• Coconut aminos – I use coconut aminos often in dressing recipes. It’s a condiment that’s similar to soy sauce or tamari, but has less sodium and it doesn’t taste like coconut. Low-sodium soy sauce or tamari make good substitutes. 
• Pure honey – I find that honey dissolves well in this dressing and imparts the perfect sweet flavor to match the tangy lime and salty soy without stirring in too much added sugars. In a pinch, use maple syrup instead. 
• Toasted sesame oil – just 2 tablespoons of this ultra flavorful oil adds so much good depth of flavor to this dressing – don’t skip it! 
• Fresh ginger – I buy about a 2-inch knob of fresh ginger, peel off the edges, and use my microplane to grate it very finely. It also can be finely minced with a knife. If fresh ginger isn’t available, use 1 teaspoon ginger powder. 

Want a creamier sesame ginger dressing? Stir in a tablespoon or two of tahini or peanut butter. 
Want to add a fresh herb? Finely minced fresh cilantro, mint 

Find the ingredient list with exact measurements in the recipe card below.

Ways To Serve This Dressing

Most often I use this recipe to drizzle over a fresh salad, like my crispy rice salad. The lime and fresh ginger flavor profile makes it a good match for many coleslaw recipes and Asian salad recipes, like this Mandarin chicken salad and this cold noodle salad with edamame (young soybeans). It also works well to replace the peanut sauce in recipes like this Asian chicken salad and this Thai peanut salad for someone desiring a good flavor match for those salads, but without the peanuts.  

I’ve also used this homemade dressing as a simple marinade for chicken, shrimp, salmon, pork, veggies, and chickpeas. To do so, I place the protein in a shallow dish, pour the dressing over top, and let it marinate for up to 4 hours. And it works well as sauce for chicken stir fry, pork stir fry, and stir-fry noodles. When using it in that way, I whisk in a tablespoon of cornstarch and then bring it to a low simmer in the stir-fry saucepan. Then I garnish the stir fry with some toasted sesame seeds to bring out even more of the umami sesame flavor.  

Storage Notes

For ease, I prep this dressing directly in a small mason jar with a lid. I seal the lid in place, shake all the ingredients together, then store it in the fridge until I’m ready to use the dressing. Stored like this in a nicely covered airtight container, it will last in the fridge for up to one week. 

Recipe Changelog

• October 2025: We previously published a version of this recipe that called for avocado oil, coconut vinegar, sesame oil, orange juice and zest, ginger, garlic powder, salt, and black sesame seeds. Download the previous version here.

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The photos in this post were taken by Megan McKeehan.

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