By: Denise Bustard20 Comments
Posted: 4/9/21Updated: 4/9/21
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7 basic vinaigrette recipes that will add so much flavor to your salads! These areready in under 5 minutes and are so much tastier than the store-bought stuff.
Lacking pizzazz in your meals? A sauce or vinaigrette can make all the difference in the world! We shared these 7 stir fry sauce recipes to add some oomf to your stir fries, and now it's time to tackle salads.
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These 7 vinaigrette recipes will liven up any salad, and the good news is that they take minutes to prep!
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Reasons you'll ♡ these recipes
- they add an incredible amount of flavor to your salads
- can be shaken or blended together in minutes
- have a simple ingredient list
Ingredient notes
- olive oil-When prepping a salad dressing, reach for a good quality olive oil like extra virgin
- vinegar-Many people suggest you opt for a good quality vinegar, but I find grocery store vinegar works fine. For apple cider vinegar, look for 'raw unfiltered' if you want the added health benefits.
- dijon mustard-acts as an emulsifier to help the oil and vinegar stay together. It adds a subtle layer of flavor and does not make your dressing taste like mustard at all. Don't skip it!
- sweetener-honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar. A little sweetness is needed to balance out the tanginess of the vinegar.
- optional fruit & vegetable add ins- three of these vinaigrette recipes have fruit & veggies blended into the dressing for extra flavor. Fruit can vary naturally in sweetness, so I recommend you taste and add more sweetener as needed.
How to make vinaigrette
Simply shake the ingredients together, or in the case of the strawberry, raspberry and cilantro lime vinaigrettes, blend them up with an immersion blender.
Recipe tips
The ratio
Traditional vinaigrette recipes use a 1:3 ratio of vinegar:oil. It comes down to taste preference, and I welcome you to play around with this ratio to get a tangier vinaigrette.
I prefer a 1:1 ratio for maximum flavor on my salad, and recommend starting with this ratio and adding more oil if you find this too tangy.
Storage
Homemade vinaigrettes are easy to prep ahead. Store them in a mason jar or salad dressing shaker.
- basic vinaigrettes without fresh fruit or herbs- store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
- vinaigrettes with fresh herbs or fruit- store in the fridge for up to 3 days
As the vinaigrette stores, the oil and vinegar will separate over time. Let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then shake it up well before serving.
FAQ
How long are these vinaigrette recipes good for?
*cilantro lime, strawberry and raspberry vinaigrette recipes - up to 3 days.
*the rest of the vinaigrettes - up to 2 weeks
Can you use these vinaigrettes as a marinade?
Great question, and though I haven't tried, I bet it would work out great! Here are 7 tried and true marinades if you're looking.
What is the difference between a salad dressing and a vinaigrette?
While a salad dressing can mean anything that you dress your salad with (including a vinaigrette), a vinaigrette is a specific type of salad dressing that is oil and vinegar based.
How can I jazz up these vinaigrette recipes?
These recipes are for the most basic version of each vinaigrette. For ideas of add ins, herbs and spices you could add to them for more flavor, refer to the post linked to each vinagirette!
7 Basic Vinaigrette Recipes
Grab the full recipes in the recipe card below.
- Balsamic Vinaigrette- tangy, rich and slightly sweet; goes well with caprese salad, kale salad, and with berries
- White Wine Vinaigrette- neutral and goes with everything; use on spinach salad, quinoa salad, roasted cauliflower salad
- Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette- with fresh cilantro flavor, garlic, lime juice and tangy vinegar; goes well on a sweet potato salad, taco salad, with grilled corn or fish
- Red Wine Vinaigrette- tangy and works well on pasta salad; Mediterranean ingredients
- Raspberry Vinaigrette- slight floral raspberry flavors, herbaceous basil; tangy and slightly sweet. Goes well on spinach salad, with fresh berries, served with grilled chicken.
- Apple Cinder Vinaigrette- neutral but less tangy; works well paired with apples, on a spinach salad, on farro salad
- Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette- with sweet strawberries, spicy black pepper and tangy vinegar. Goes well with grilled chicken, fresh berries, strawberry spinach salad, salmon.
Salad dressings you'll love
- Homemade Italian Dressing Recipe
- 5 Minute Asian Salad Dressing
- Classic Greek Salad Dressing
- Healthy Homemade Ranch Dressing
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
7 Basic Vinaigrette Recipes
5 from 6 votesPrep Time: 5 minutes mins
Total Time: 5 minutes mins
Print Rate
7 basic vinaigrette recipes that will add so much flavor to your salads! These areready in under 5 minutes and are so much tastier than the store-bought stuff.
8
Ingredients
1. White Wine Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar see note 1
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey or brown sugar may be subbed)
- salt & pepper
2. Red Wine Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar see note 2
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey or brown sugar may be subbed)
- salt & pepper
3. Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar (raw unfiltered)
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey or brown sugar may be subbed)
- salt & pepper
4. Balsamic Vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (honey or brown sugar may be subbed)
- salt & pepper
5. Raspberry Vinaigrette
- 1 cup fresh raspberries
- ¼ cup basil leaves (loosely packed)
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar (balsamic also works)
- ¼ cup water
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (increase if necessary)
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
6. Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
- ½ cup cilantro leaves (loosely packed)
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey (maple syrup or brown sugar may be swapped)
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ avocado (optional and not pictured)
7. Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette
- 12 strawberries (hulled)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
Instructions
White Wine, Red Wine, Balsamic and Apple Cider Vinaigrettes
Shake together all ingredients. Store in the fridge for up to 1 month.
Raspberry & Cilantro Lime Vinaigrettes
Blend together all ingredients in a blender or with an immersion blender. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette
Heat oven to 350°F. Roast strawberries for 25 minutes and allow to cool slightly.
Blend together all ingredients in a blender or with an immersion blender. Store in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Tips:
1- not to be confused with white vinegar!
2- this recipe works great as written on pasta salad, however it's a bit tangy for a green salad. for green saladsI recommend a 1:2 (3 tablespoons red wine vinegar + 6 tablespoons of olive oil) or a 1:3 (2 tablespoons red wine vinegar + 6 tablespoons olive oil) ratio of oil to vinegar
Storage
- basic vinaigrettes without fresh fruit or herbs- store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks
- vinaigrettes with fresh herbs or fruit- store in the fridge for up to 3 days
As the vinaigrette stores, the oil and vinegar will separate over time. Let it stand at room temperature for 10 minutes, then shake it up well before serving.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1/8 of a batch of white wine vinaigrette, Calories: 74kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 0g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 0g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Sodium: 4mg, Potassium: 11mg, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 5mg, Iron: 0.1mg
Author: Denise Bustard
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
- Denise's Favorite White Wine Vinaigrette
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Roasted Strawberry Vinaigrette
- Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing
- Fresh Raspberry Basil Vinaigrette
- 4 Ingredient Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
- 5 Minute Red Wine Vinaigrette
Meet Denise Bustard
Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
Read more...
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Reader Interactions
Leave a Comment
Isaiah says
Just wow!Reply
Nguyễn Thị Thanh Xuân says
Cảm ơn Bạn Tôi rất thíchReply
Elvira sayuma says
All is good I love it
Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Elvira, we hope you enjoy if you make any of these recipes! Cheers!
Reply
Misty Greene says
Why show a rice vinegar in the picture and not have it in any of the recipes???
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Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Misty, thanks for pointing this out. This ingredient photo is actually for our 5 minute Asian salad dressing recipe, we will have to take a look at this post and see if it needs updating. Sorry to cause any confusion!
Reply
Andrea says
I noticed that the recipes for Roasted Strawberry and Raspberry vinaigrettes do not list oil in the ingredients. I assume they both should have some oil.
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Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Andrea, both of these berry vinaigrettes are actually oil-free! I hope you enjoy if you try them!
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Elizabeth says
Thank you for your recipes! I just made the Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette and it is delicious! I’ll try it next adding the avocado since I don’t have any ripe ones right now. Can’t wait to try the others!
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Denise Bustard says
Hi Elizabeth! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed the cilantro lime vinaigrette! I hope you enjoy the others as well. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to report back, I really appreciate it! <3
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Sandy says
Can't wait to try some of these. Publix sells a pre packaged salad called Blu that has a blu cheese vinaigrette if you figure that one out, please let me know, they don't sell it and nothing else comes remotely close to it
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Denise Bustard says
Hi Sandy! I haven't tried that one. Thanks for the suggestion! Hope you enjoy these recipes 🙂
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Lucy Smith says
Your formatting makes it really hard to just follow a recipe. All of that moving around between comments, clicking on new pages to see the recipe, dealing with your myriad thoughts, etc. I was looking for the recipes to make vinaigrette, not the notes for a page you were planning before editing. That being said, the actual recipes - when I finally found them -look great.
Reply
Denise says
Hi Lucy! You don't need to click onto a new page to see the recipe, simply click the 'jump to recipe' button at the top of the post.
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Kris says
Where did you find those neat little jars? I'd love to get some! Thank you! -Kris
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Denise says
Hi Kris! They are from Crate & Barrel, although I just had a look and couldn't find them on the site. Maybe they discontinued?
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Isabelle says
These are incredible! I love the raspberry vinaigrette! Can't wait to try more.Reply
Denise says
So happy you enjoyed! Thanks so much for taking the time out of your day to leave a review 🙂
Reply
Tabatha says
I love your recipes. They are very easy to make and yummy. I'm you started doing more vegetarian and vegan prep meal. I'm veganish so this really helps me out a lot.Thanks
Reply
Denise says
THank you so much Tabatha! Let me know if you ever have a recipe request 🙂
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