Lemon Ginger Peanut Dressing For Full GAPS

This lemon ginger peanut dressing is creamy enough to coat chicken and shredded vegetables, with fresh ginger, garlic and a little cayenne in each spoonful. Lemon and apple-cider vinegar brighten the peanut butter. Honey rounds out the sharpness, while the olive and sesame oils stay raw.

Make the peanut butter first, then measure the finished spread into this dressing. The recipe uses only three tablespoons of it. Whisk all the ingredients until the peanut butter is evenly mixed through the liquids, with no thick pockets left on the bottom of the bowl.

Most of my cooking happens in the morning before I leave for second shift. I appreciate being able to finish one part of a meal separately, especially when the rest is chopping and assembling. A dressing like this can be mixed in its own bowl and kept ready for serving, without starting another pan on the stove.

Yield: One batch of dressing
Method: Whisk by hand; no cooking
Before beginning: Have the prepared peanut butter ready, the ginger grated and the garlic minced

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons raw apple-cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons prepared homemade peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons raw cold-pressed olive oil
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons raw cold-pressed, unrefined sesame oil
• A dash of pure cayenne pepper
• Natural sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Stir the peanut butter in its jar before measuring. You want a representative spoonful of the whole spread, not a dry scoop from one part and a separate layer of oil from another. The linked homemade preparation is made from whole peanuts before it becomes a finished spread. Its soaking and fermentation belong to that separate recipe.

Measure three level tablespoons of the completed peanut butter. This dressing does not start with three tablespoons of peanuts, and the amount is not the same as the quarter-cup measures used in some other sauces. Keeping that small measure clear helps you get the balance of acid, fat and peanut flavor.

Fresh ginger gives the dressing little warm, sharp notes. Grate it finely so it disperses through the liquid instead of leaving a large fibrous piece in one bite. Mince the garlic for the same reason. The dressing is whisked, so the size you cut those ingredients is the size that remains.

Use fresh lemon juice with the seeds removed. This WFLI version uses lemon, which fits the GAPS guidance for meals with meat. It gives the dressing its bright citrus note without adding pieces of sweet fruit to the salad.

The sesame oil is a small but noticeable part of the flavor. Choose raw cold-pressed, unrefined sesame oil and keep both oils unheated. A dark toasted sesame oil has a different preparation and flavor from the raw oil used here.

Recommended Equipment

• A small glass, ceramic or stainless-steel mixing bowl
• A hand whisk
• Measuring spoons
• A fine grater, knife and cutting board
• A spatula and a covered glass jar for storage

A small stainless whisk such as the Winco PN-10 suits this hand-mixed dressing. The manufacturer identifies its stainless-steel wires and use for dressings and light sauces. You do not need to fill a blender pitcher for this small batch.

Use a bowl with enough room for the whisk to reach the bottom. Peanut butter can cling there while the thinner liquids move around it. A spatula is useful for bringing that last bit back into the dressing rather than leaving it behind when you transfer the mixture.

How To Make Lemon Ginger Peanut Dressing

1. Measure the apple-cider vinegar, prepared peanut butter, olive oil, lemon juice, honey, grated ginger, minced garlic, sesame oil and cayenne into a small mixing bowl.
2. Whisk until the peanut butter is fully combined with the liquids. Scrape the bottom and sides as needed, then whisk again until no thick peanut-butter pockets remain.
3. Taste and add natural sea salt and black pepper to suit the finished mixture. Whisk to distribute them.
4. Use as a dressing at serving, or transfer to a covered glass jar and refrigerate. Stir or whisk again before measuring a portion if the mixture separates.

At first, the peanut butter may sit in soft clumps among the vinegar and oils. Keep working the whisk through those clumps. The dressing should become evenly creamy, with the same consistency at the bottom of the bowl as at the top.

Fine ginger fibers and minced garlic can remain visible. They are different from unmixed peanut butter. Look for a uniform, spoonable dressing without a separate oil pool or a dense lump of spread on the bowl’s base.

The finished dressing should coat a spoon and move off it when you tilt it. Its thickness will reflect the peanut butter you began with. A refrigerated spread can be firmer to mix than one that is easy to stir, so have the measured portion workable before you begin whisking.

Season after the main ingredients are combined. The prepared peanut butter may already contain salt, and the ginger and cayenne bring their own sharpness. Taste the complete dressing rather than judging a spoonful of only vinegar or peanut butter.

Where This Fits On GAPS

This is a Full GAPS dressing after peanuts and the other ingredients have been introduced. Dr. Natasha’s 2020 book includes peanut butter without additives, honey, fresh ginger, garlic and pure spices. It also describes cold-pressed oils as foods to use raw. This method keeps the oils cold and uses finished prepared peanut butter.

The linked homemade peanut butter uses cultured whey during its preparation. Dressing made with that spread therefore carries a dairy ingredient. For a dairy-free option, use pure peanut butter made without dairy ingredients or a dairy starter. Check the preparation as well as the name on the jar.

This recipe contains peanuts and sesame. It has no eggs in the measured formula. Honey is included in this version, so it is not presented as a ketogenic dressing, and this plant-based dressing does not fit No-Plant GAPS.

Lemon is the citrus choice here because the GAPS book names lemon and avocado as exceptions in its guidance about fruit with meat. That makes this dressing useful with chicken and raw vegetables without turning the meal into a sweet-fruit salad.

Serving And Storage

Drizzle the dressing over cooked chicken with shredded cabbage and lettuce at serving. Use enough to give the ingredients a thin coating, then offer more alongside if needed. Keeping it separate until the meal is ready helps the greens keep their texture.

You can also use it with a bowl of vegetables as a spoonable dressing. The ginger and garlic are already in it, so taste before adding another strongly seasoned sauce to the same plate.

Cover and refrigerate the finished dressing. Stir it before serving if the oils have separated, and use a clean spoon to take out a portion. There is no need to heat it to bring the oil back into the mixture.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Use A Different Nut Butter?

Prepared almond butter or sunflower-seed butter can replace the peanut butter using the same three-tablespoon amount. Almonds and sunflower seeds need soaking followed by sprouting or fermentation before they are ground into butter. Choose one already introduced in your diet. Its flavor and thickness will change the dressing.

Why Is My Dressing Lumpy?

Check whether the lumps are peanut butter or small pieces of ginger and garlic. Whisk and scrape again to work the spread into the liquids. Natural ginger fibers can remain, but a thick peanut-butter pocket should not.

Can I Heat The Oil To Make Mixing Easier?

Keep the oils raw. Stir the peanut butter before measuring and have it workable for whisking. The vinegar, lemon juice and other ingredients help it come together without heating the dressing.

Do I Need A Blender?

No. This is a small hand-whisked batch. Finely grate the ginger and mince the garlic first, then whisk thoroughly and scrape the bowl so every measured ingredient joins the dressing.

Can I Double The Batch?

Yes. Double each numeric ingredient amount and use a bowl with enough room to whisk. Add salt, pepper and the unmeasured dash of cayenne to taste. Stir the finished dressing before dividing it between containers.

More Homemade Dressings

For a different lemon-and-honey combination, try the raw honey-Dijon vinaigrette. Keep the separate prepared peanut butter recipe handy when you want to make the ingredient before another dressing or sauce.

The planned Sauces, Dressings & Condiments Cookbook will bring more of these small kitchen components together. Watch the WFLI shop for its release if you want more ways to use prepared pantry ingredients.