This shallot vinaigrette is zingy and easy to make! White wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and olive oil pair perfectly in this salad dressing.
Got shallots on hand? Let’s make Shallot Vinaigrette! This zippy salad dressing brings out the best in this delicate onion. While we often slice shallots for adding into green salads, they add fabulous flavor to salad dressings. Pair minced shallot with white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, and olive oil, and prepare to be amazed! We first drizzled this on salmon salad, and then we started making it on repeat.
Ingredients in shallot vinaigrette
This shallot vinaigrette dressing recipe is similar to our Dijon mustard vinaigrette, with the addition of shallots. A shallot is a small onion with a light and delicate flavor. The flavor is mild with notes of garlic, unlike a white or red onion which can be very spicy. For that reason, it’s our favorite in the onion family to use in salads and dressings. If you’ve got leftover shallots in the pantry, this is a great way to use them! Here’s what you’ll need for this salad dressing:
- Shallots, minced
- White wine vinegar
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Tips for the perfect emulsion
The only thing to note when you make this shallot vinaigrette? How to get a perfectly creamy emulsion! An emulsion is when a vinaigrette dressing forms a creamy uniform texture, instead of separating like oil and vinegar typically do. Here are a few tips for making sure this dressing comes together:
- Use a medium sized bowl. The size actually matters! You need a big enough bowl for the whisk to be able to agitate the ingredients.
- Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Add 1 tablespoon at a time, and whisk it in completely before adding the next tablespoon.
Best ways to serve this shallot vinaigrette
We created this shallot vinaigrette especially for our Smoked Salmon Salad: an easy no-cook main dish salad that comes together in 15 minutes! (Highly recommend giving it a try.) But it also works perfectly on any type of green salad. Here are a few salads we’d recommend:
- Substitute it for Italian dressing in a Favorite Chopped Salad or Italian Salad
- Use it on a classic Best Tossed Salad
- Add it to Asparagus Salad or Beet Salad
- Drizzle over Classic Spinach Salad
- Add to main dish salads like Nicoise Salad or Grilled Shrimp Salad
How would you serve it? Let us know in the comments below!
More shallot recipes
The best ways to serve shallots? In salads! Here are some of our top shallot recipes:
- Mix up a Creamy Cucumber Salad, Simple Citrus Salad, Chopped Salad or Easy Arugula Salad
- Add them to risotto, like Creamy Butternut Squash Risotto
- Use them for hearty lentil salads like French Lentil Salad or Lentil Salad with Feta
- Bring flavor to sauces like Easy Vegan Gravy or White Wine Sauce
- Add them to soups like Loaded Potato Soup
This shallot vinaigrette recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Easy Shallot Vinaigrette
This shallot vinaigrette is zingy and easy to make! White wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and olive oil pair perfectly in this salad dressing.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 10 tablespoons 1x
- Category: Dressing
- Method: Whisked
- Cuisine: Salad Dressing
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- 6 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely minced shallot (1/2 medium shallot)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, honey, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper. Whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time until a creamy emulsion forms. Stir in the shallots. Store refrigerated and bring to room temperature before serving (keeps at least 2 weeks).
Great results at my first attempt at making a fresh, homemade salad dressing. Thank you! I added extra shallots, (have fallen in love with them!) and in the future might experiment next time by adding Italian seasoning spice or garlic powder. You rescued supper for us, thanks again. Your recipes are life savers for us!
Let us know if you have any questions!
Your description says lemon amongst all the ingredients but in the directions on how to prepare lemon is not in the ingredients needed.
That’s a typo, thank you! We’ve removed the reference to lemon.