Best Trader Joes Salad Dressing, According to Taste Tests

What is the best Trader Joe’s salad dressing? It’s not a toss up. We tried them all—straight from the spoon and over some leafy greens—to give you a definitive list of Trader Joe’s best salad dressings to hoard in your fridge.  

The day I conducted this taste test of Trader Joe’s best salad dressings, I asked several people (who weren’t my colleagues on the Sporked team—I have other friends, too, okay?) to tell me their favorite store bought salad dressing. A little eerily, I received the same response from everyone: “Actually, I don’t buy salad dressing. I usually just make my own!” And to be honest with you, reader, that was some negative energy I really didn’t need in my life. Like, I get it, you guys cook. I respect the flex, but not everyone has time for that. Sometimes we want to twist open a bottle, drizzle a little dressing over some lettuce, and call it a day. 

I’m the first person to say that TJ’s products can be hit or miss, so believe me when I tell you that Trader Joe’s makes some truly GOATed salad dressings. I would bet a lot of money that the best Trader Joe’s salad dressing can’t be easily replicated in your kitchen. These recipes have secrets. That’s how yummy they are. So put away the oil and vinegar, and prepare for a dressing-down of the best Trader Joe’s salad dressings you can currently find on the shelves.

Best Versatile

If you have the cilantro-soap gene, move right along. This salad dressing is what it advertises it is: a creamy cilantro blend infused with lemon and cotija cheese. That bold cilantro flavor doesn’t pull any punches, which is why we love it. I’m itching to drizzle this on a Mexican chopped salad with some black beans and crispy tortilla strips, or really any salad with blackened salmon or shrimp. (My mouth is watering just thinking about it…and I’m allergic to shellfish.) But we’re not limiting this cilantro dressing to leafy greens, folks. Consider trying it as a dipping sauce for your burritos, or an extra drizzle on your fish tacos, or even toss in a bowl of cauliflower rice. This some of the best Trader Joe’s best salad dressing, but its potential as a condiment and meat marinade is limitless. 

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best for Veggies

If you, like me, sometimes struggle with reading comprehension, I’ll tell you right away that this is not TJ’s Green Goddess Dressing (which is basically jarred pesto and did not make the cut for our list of the best Trader Joe’s best salad dressing), but simply Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing. What the heck is that, you ask? Good question. It’s basically tahini, vinegar, and parmesan blended together to create a simple, peanutty, super creamy salad dressing. If you daydream about tahini on a regular basis, this is the best Trader Joe’s salad dressing for you. Toss this in a grain bowl or use it as a dip for some crisp raw veggies, and you’re golden.

Credit: Liv Averett

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Vegan

TJ’s Vegan Caesar dressing is, straight up, some kind of metal-into-gold food alchemy. How they manage to make such an addictive parmesan flavor with vegan ingredients is totally beyond me. (The answer is miso, but I like to pretend mysterious food sorcery is alive and well.) But it’s not just the bold parmesan that makes this Trader Joe’s vegan salad dressing so good. It has a bright lemon tang, thick, creamy consistency, and umami depth that genuinely puts it leagues above many caesar dressings that aren’t vegan. When I say you can’t recreate Trader Joe’s best salad dressings in your own kitchen, this is exactly what I’m talking about. (Pro tip: Don’t forget to shake well before use!)

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best Texture

Truth time: I actually wanted to give this Organic Toasted Sesame salad dressing the top spot. Why? Because I’m not much of a sesame girl myself, and I couldn’t believe how lovely this tastes. I prefer to tolerate sesame in small doses, not pour an entire bottle of it into my mouth, but it’s that good. With a velvet creaminess and soft, toasty sesame flavor that beautifully balances savory and sweet, it’s not only one of the best salad dressings at Trader Joe’s, but also completely outshines any other store bought sesame dressing I’ve ever had. Highly recommend trying as a stir fry sauce, too! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

9.5/10

Sporks

Runner Up

Salad snobs, right now you might be thinking, “This girl really wants me to buybalsamic vinaigrette dressing? Does she have any idea how easy it is to make that with a few simple ingredients?” Yes, yes, I hear you—but you don’t know what you’re missing. We named this TJ’s dressing the best store bought balsamic vinaigrette for a reason. What makes it so good (and hard to replicate at home) is the smooth, creamy consistency and perfect ratio of components. It’s not too oily. The balsamic vinegar is balanced and zesty without overpowering the other flavors. And look, if you still want to try to copy it at home with your own recipe, I get it. In fact, I dare you to try. But just steel yourself to be graceful in defeat…because you won’t win. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Amazon

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

If you’re already familiar with Trader Joe’s Buttermilk Ranch, I’m not surprised. We’ve raved about it before. This little guy broke the bad TJ’s ranch curse—and by broke it, I mean took a sledge hammer and smashed it into dust. Because the flavors here are much more complex than normal ranch. The dill, sour cream, and buttermilk tang bring an almost tzatziki-like quality to it. The flavor is super rich, and yet the dressing itself itself leans on the lighter side of creamy. Everyone at Sporked tasted it, and we all pretty immediately agreed it was the best Trader Joe’s salad dressing…that you can really put on anything.

Credit: Liv Averett / Trader Joe’s

Rating:

10/10

Sporks

Other Trader Joe’s dressings we tried: Trader Joe’s Vegan Creamy Dill Dressing, Trader Joe’s Romano Caesar, Trader Joe’s Green Goddess, Trader Joe’s Organic Ranch

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