There is nothing better than a great salad dressing and this oriental dressing for a salad is near perfection! Applebee’s Oriental Salad Dressing is so creamy with a flavor that is indescribable.
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Make your own creamy oriental salad dressing at home
I love making homemade salad dressings. But making this Applebee’s Oriental Salad Dressing had me stumped for a long time. It’s perfectly sweet with an almost smoky flavor but coming up with the recipe for this oriental dressing for the salad wasn’t easy so I started experimenting.
I started with a vinaigrette then added some oil. I used regular sesame oil plus a touch of toasted sesame oil. And this recipe was born.
Difference Between Vinaigrette and Dressing
Most salad dressings are made with similar ingredients but there is a slight difference between a vinaigrette and a dressing.
Vinaigrettes are made with a mixture of oil, like olive oil, and something acidic like citrus juice, vinegar, balsamic, apple cider, rice vinegar, white or red wine vinegar, etc. Add some seasonings and dijon mustard and you have created a delicious vinaigrette.
Dressings, on the other hand, are thicker in consistency and usually start with a creamy base like mayonnaise, buttermilk, yogurt, etc. Oil & vinegar are still including in a dressing along with seasonings but it’s much thicker than a vinaigrette.
This salad dressing is a variation on a vinaigrette and dressing. It starts with vinaigrette ingredients but mayonnaise was added for the creaminess.
Stock Your Pantry with these Ingredients
Most salad dressings or vinaigrette recipes use the same ingredients. Here’s a list of ingredients you will need for most dressings and vinaigrettes including this recipe. Most of these ingredients you will already have.
- Olive Oil
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- White Wine Vinegar
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Rice Vinegar
- Sesame Oil (refined and toasted)
- Dijon Mustard
- Mayonnaise
- Buttermilk
- Yogurt
- Sour Cream
- Sugar
- Salt & Pepper
Oriental Salad Dressing Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this dressing:
- Sugar
- Rice vinegar
- Mayonnaise
- Refined sesame oil
- Toasted sesame oil
- Dijon mustard
How to Make Oriental Salad Dressing
- In a medium bowl, combine sugar and rice vinegar and mix until sugar is completely dissolved.
- Add the mayonnaise, both sesame oils, and the mustard. Stir until well blended.
Recipe Notes
- Refrigerate the salad dressing in a covered container for up to 1 week.
- Rice vinegar is carried in most grocery stores, be careful not to purchase the seasoned rice wine vinegar, as it is sweetened and makes the dressing way too sweet.
- Refined sesame oil can be found in the regular section of the oils in a grocery store. For the toasted sesame oil, look in the Asian section of your grocery store.
Ready to start cooking? Let us know what you think about this recipe in the comments below.
Love homemade salad dressings? Try these recipes!
- Best Blue Cheese Dressing
- Fuji Apple Salad Dressing
- Ginger Salad Dressing
- Hibachi Salad Dressing
- Homemade French Dressing
- Hot Bacon Dressing
- Olive Garden Italian Dressing Recipe
- Pesto Salad Dressing
- Russian Dressing
- Santa Fe Salad Dressing
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Applebee’s Oriental Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons refined sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine sugar and rice vinegar and mix until sugar is completely dissolved. Add the mayonnaise, both sesame oils, and the mustard and stir until well blended.
Video
Notes
- Refrigerate the salad dressing in a covered container for up to 1 week.
- Rice vinegar is carried in most grocery stores, be careful not to purchase the seasoned rice wine vinegar, as it is sweetened and makes the dressing way too sweet.
- The refined sesame oil can be found in the regular section of the oils in a grocery store. For the toasted sesame oil, look in the Asian section of your grocery store.
Phyllis Robinson
I just came across this awesome recipe “copy-cat” site! I left off the sugar because I am keto, but it was still awesome! Thank you!
Stephanie
Good to know that you can leave off the sugar. I am working on trying to designate keto and low carb recipes on the website.
Lee Trochlil
Anyone have a recipe for Long John Silvers Coleslaw! Much better than KFC’s.
Debra
I a am trying to find s Copy Cat recipe for Apple Bee’s Ranch Dressing
Have searched and searched with no luck.
Stephanie
Thank you for your post. I am sorry but I do not have this recipe at this time.
Carol MCGANN
In a crunch, I have used a bottle of Ken’s Light Vidalia Onion dressing and whipped in 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil. Makes a super speedy recreation!
xeta
Just in case anyone wants a truly simple dressing that will surprise at just how much it tastes like Applebees (discovered by accident) check this out. Publix had a sale on coleslaw and Marie’s Original Coleslaw dressing. I’d never tried this Marie’s dressing before and I wanted coleslaw!. Upon looking at it the consistency it looked like Applebees. Upon tasting it i thought wow, it’s really close! I then bought some sesame oil and Dijon. Added it to taste and I couldn’t believe how good it is! I initially used a little of the original coleslaw for tomorrows lunch but then just made the whole bottle oriental dressing. Totally awesome!
LeNae
I didn’t buy rice vinegar oil because I couldn’t find one that had wine on the label. Reading everybody comments let me there the same. Thanks
E Haley
So the reason it probably had you stumped is because (and I got this from someone who worked at applebees and read the ingredients) it gets its goodness from chicken fat. Mystery ingredient solved!
stephaniemanley
Chicken fat makes many things tasty.
Linda
This recipe is great but if you substitute sugar with brown sugar it is perfect. Try it.gg
stephaniemanley
Thank you for your suggestion.
Naomi Martinez
Thank you I love this salad dressing…
melody
I just picked up these ingredients and i looked and looked for rice wine vinegar but only found rice vinegar and then the rice wine vinegar that is seasoned. I didn’t get the rice vinegar cuz it didn’t say wine. Then i noticed in ur picture of said ingredients the labelled says rice vinegar is there a difference. Also i couldn’t find the toasted seed oil looked everywhere in store will it matter if i don’t use it.
chef
I used to be a manager at Applebee’s and occasionally we would run out of oriental dressing so we would make a home made version of it by using cole slaw dressing and teriyaki sauce, never had any complaints about it
stephaniemanley
Interesting.
tina kegley
I don’t like Dijon mustard can I leave it out will the dressing taste as good?
Stephanie
It should have it in there, yellow mustard wouldn’t have the same flavor.
Tere <3
….or just use cole slaw dressing…it has all the ingredients above in it 🙂 i just tried it and it taste identical to Applebees Oriental Chicken salad…for a thinner consistancy i just added alittle water 🙂
The Nerdy Nurse
tried this suggestion today, and it was NOT the same. Made my salad very very sad. Edible, but not nearly as good as the Applebee’s version.
Hiconnetts
Hi! I used to be interested in the Applebee’s Oriental Salad and frequently ordered it, until a local Applebee’s manager divulged a little known secret. The ingredient hidden in the dressing which makes the dressing so flavorful is bacon fat. They use the bacon fat left over from the breakfast bacon frying to inexpensively make up their dressing for the day.
sdm
that manager was being nice; it’s not bacon fat it’s chicken fat. i used to work there too
elenthis27
Also, Applebee’s doesn’t make this dressing, they buy it.
cindyp
Thats true because a few years ago they let me buy a gallon when their shipment came in.cindyp
Kelli
Applebees doesn’t serve breakfast….
Carmen
They make their bacon in the morning and use it all day. I know, i used to have to cook it
Kelli
I make the Applebee’s dressing all the time at home, but mine uses honey instead of sugar. The honey gives you the color/consistency that you want, plus it doesn’t leave a grainy texture.
Campindad72
I had a different Applebee’s Asian/Oriental salad dressing from around 1999, but have lost It. It was darker than this recipe and a little thicker. I don’t remember it having the rice wine vinegar, though can’t remember what else besides mayo, dijon, sesame oil and it was soooo incredibly good. I liked this one ok, but I would love to have the other! Thank you.
Campindad72
I had a different Applebee’s Asian/Oriental salad dressing from around 1999, but have lost It. It was darker than this recipe and a little thicker. I don’t remember it having the rice wine vinegar, though can’t remember what else besides mayo, dijon, sesame oil and it was soooo incredibly good. I liked this one ok, but I would love to have the other! Thank you.
Becky
So, where did the recipe go? It was here before and now all I see is a video.
Becky
So, where did the recipe go? It was here before and now all I see is a video.
Becky
So, where did the recipe go? It was here before and now all I see is a video.
Danielle
Hi, I was wondering what the measurements were for the ingredients? I couldn’t tell if they were cups or 1/2 cups. Thank you.