Drew's Salad Dressing & Salsa, Review #1

A rep from Drew's emailed me while back and asked if I'd like to review a few of their salad dressings and salsas. I've had Drew's before and loved it, so I jumped at the chance. I was expecting — I dunno — 3 to 4 bottles of dressing and a jar of of salsa. But when the package arrived at my office, the box was MASSIVE and impossible for little ole me to carry to my desk. I had to roll it to my desk with a dolly. Seriously.

Inside the huge box were three smaller boxes, two filled with salad dressings and one with salsa. In total, there were 16 bottles of salad dressing! And 12 jars of salsa! And each one was a different flavor. All were vegan. I was in salad dressing and salsa heaven. And I'm pretty sure I'm set for life. Or at least a couple years. There's no way I can review that many dressings and salsas in one post. So I plan to divide and conquer. Every so often, I'll post a Drew's review featuring 3-4 dressings and salsas. Here's the first.

For starters, in this review, I'll be talking about the Sesame Orange Dressing & Quick Marinade and the Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn Dressing & Quick Marinade.

Drew's dressings are designed to be used either as salad dressing or as a marinade for proteins. I went the traditional route with the Roasted Garlic & Peppercorn and had it on a side salad with tomatoes, carrot, and coconut bacon. It has a very creamy texture with a tang of dijon mustard. The roasted garlic flavor shines through, and the bits of ground peppercorn add just the right amount of bite. This is a great vegan sub for ranch dressing. Love it!

As soon as I lifted Sesame Orange from the box, I knew what I'd do with it. It seemed like the ideal marinade to use in a Gardein Beefless Stir-fry. 

I thawed some Gardein Beefless Tips (that I scored on manager's special at Kroger) and coated them in the dressing, and then I let that marinate all day while I was at work. When I got home, I sauteed some veggies (bell pepper, baby carrots, onions, broccoli, snow peas, and zucchini), added the marinated beefless tips, and let it cook until the marinade was absorbed and the tips were nice and brown. Served over quinoa, this was such a tasty and quick dinner. Interestingly, the sesame oil give this marinade a sort of beefy flavor, so it paired perfectly with the tips. And the citrus flavor was so bright and light.

Next, I tried the Roasted Red Pepper Dressing & Marinade.

I had this over a salad of romaine, red bell pepper, radish, J&D's bacon croutons (yes, they're vegan), and coconut bacon one day at my desk at work. The roasted red pepper flavor is very strong, and it's got a great tang from red wine vinegar. Paired great with the bacony flavors in my salad. Bonus: This dressing is fairly low-cal at just 70 calories for 2 tablespoons (most of Drew's dressings are about 140 calories for 2 tablespoons).

I've only tried one salsa so far — Drew's Organic Quinoa, Flax, & Chia Salsa.

I was totally intrigued by the addition of quinoa, flax, & chia. When you open the jar, you can see little bits of quinoa and flax and chia seeds. Not a lot. That would be weird. It's just the right amount. You can't taste much of those though, but they add nice texture (and likely some nutritional benefits). The flavor is light and fresh with just a hint of roastiness. It's very garlicky (I like that!) and the lime juice adds a bit of tang. The jar says medium, but my spice-loving tastebuds would have rated this mild. Good stuff. Perfect for chip-dippin', which is what I've been doing with this.

Stay tuned for more Drew's reviews. I have soooo much salad dressing and salsa to work through!