Maple Miso Dressing (3 Ingredients, 1 minute!)

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My maple miso dressing takes less effort to make than it does to open a bottle of store-bought dressing, and it tastes a lot better. It’s sweet, tangy, and savory all in one, and it works well as a thicker sauce or a thinner dressing. One batch keeps in the fridge for weeks, so once you make it, you’re set for a while!

I have a container of chickpea miso in my fridge that takes me forever to use up. I love it, but it’s just not an ingredient that comes up as often as I would like. So one night, instead of letting it sit in the door of my fridge for another month, I stirred a few spoonfuls into some maple syrup and balsamic vinegar. That’s really how this whole recipe happened!

It’s just three ingredients, whisked together in one bowl, ready in under 5 minutes, and is totally no-cook. I first tried it as a drizzle for my spicy black bean burgers when I was trying to experiment with different ways to use miso. And it worked so well that I started keeping a batch in the fridge on purpose instead of by accident!

Now it’s one of those things I reach for without thinking much about it. I spoon it over roasted vegetables, stir it into grain bowls, or add it to salads. My kids have started asking for it on their veggies too, which is such a win! Some nights I keep it thicker as a sauce, and other times I’ll thin it out with a little water and use it as a maple miso dressing instead, so one jar really does double duty.

🥘 Ingredients

Here’s what goes into my miso balsamic dressing, and what each ingredient does for the flavor:

Maple syrup: I use pure maple syrup for natural sweetness that balances out the tang from the vinegar and the saltiness from the miso.

Chickpea miso: I use chickpea miso because it has a mellow, slightly sweet flavor compared to soybean miso, which keeps the sauce from tasting too salty or fermented. Substitute: I can use a different variety of miso paste (¼ cup) as a 1:1 replacement, though the flavor will taste stronger and more fermented than the chickpea version.

Balsamic vinegar: This cuts through the sweetness of the maple syrup and balances the deep umami flavor from the miso.

🔪 How To Make

This truly is a no-cook recipe! All I need is my food processor, or a whisk. Here’s how I make it:

Combine: I place the maple syrup, chickpea miso, and balsamic vinegar into a food processor. I blend until it’s combined. That’s it!

📖 Variations

I love experimenting with different versions of this dressing. Here are some of my favorite ways to change it up:

Add garlic: Grated garlic makes this taste sharper and more pungent. I whisk in ½ teaspoon and use it on roasted Brussels sprouts.

Make it spicy: I stir in ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes or a small drizzle of chili oil when I want some heat alongside the sweetness.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

I started drizzling this dressing over veggie burgers and it still works well there, but I use it just as often over a batch of roasted broccoli and potatoes or spooned into a macro bowl with grains and greens.

For a simple plant based dinner, I toss it with air fryer tempeh right before serving, or spoon it over a batch of miso mushrooms when I want that same fermented, umami flavor in every part of the meal.

I also love it over salads, it tastes great on my kale salad in place of the lemon dressing, or on a Greek salad instead of the usual vinaigrette.

🧊 Storage Directions

Refrigeration: I store this sauce in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this sauce, since the texture of the miso can separate once thawed.

Reheating: I let the sauce sit out for as long as 1 hour before serving if it has thickened in the fridge, since this makes it easier to drizzle. I have also just thinned it out with a little water or olive oil to get it to that dressing consistency!

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