Best Vinaigrette Dressing

Want to make salad dressing at home? This vinaigrette dressing recipe shows you how to make an oil and vinegar dressing using ingredients in your pantry.

When it comes to eating “off the grid,” one of the easiest things you can do is throw out those bottles of purchased salad dressing in favor of the homemade variety. Not only does it taste exponentially better and avoids suspicious ingredients, but you can also clear out your refrigerator of all those half-empty bottles of unknown origin (just what year did I buy this, anyway?). Learning how to make a vinaigrette recipe isn’t as tricky as you’d think. Keep reading for our best vinaigrette dressing.

See Also: All Homemade Salad Dressings

How to make vinaigrette

To make an emulsion for this vinaigrette salad dressing, you simply whisk the ingredients by hand. In order to get the oil and vinegar to incorporate well, we use a medium-sized bowl to allow for enough movement of the whisk. (Trust us, we’ve done it in small bowls before and it’s almost impossible to get the oil and vinegar to meld.) The other tip for reaching an emulsion is adding the olive oil little by little. We typically add it tablespoon by tablespoon and whisk in between until the oil fully incorporates.

Interestingly, the Dijon mustard in this recipe also helps to form and lock in the emulsion. We’ve used this technique in our other vinaigrette recipes, like our Balsamic Vinaigrette and Italian Dressing.

Ways to switch up your vinaigrette dressing

This oil and vinegar dressing recipe is a good starting point for a basic homemade vinaigrette, so feel free to tweak it as you see fit. For the acid, try different vinegars like balsamic or apple cider vinegar, or use citrus juices like lemon, lime, and orange. Add a little minced garlic or shallot (just be careful, because a little goes a long way). In the summer, chop some fresh herbs and add them to the mix—oregano, thyme, or chives are particularly good. Extra virgin olive oil is a particularly good base oil, and we generally stick with olive oil for most of our vinaigrettes. We like olive oil for its light flavor and versatility. Plus, it’s fairly inexpensive compared to other oils on the market.

Ways to use vinaigrette dressing

Besides tasting delicious on salads, homemade vinaigrette dressing can be used to marinate fish or tofu, can be drizzled on sandwiches for a pop of flavor, can be tossed with potatoes to make a tangy potato salad, and more. The combination of oil and vinegar pairs well with a variety of foods and can easily jazz up any recipe. You can even use vinaigrettes as dipping sauces instead of ketchup and mustard. Baked potato wedges taste especially good with a honey mustard vinaigrette, but really anything is possible!

How to store vinaigrette dressing

We recommend storing leftover vinaigrette in the refrigerator in a jar or container with a lid. Refrigerating usually makes the dressing go solid. If this happen to your homemade vinaigrette dressing, just run it under warm water for a minute and stir it up prior to using. Vinaigrette recipes made with fresh herbs are best used right away, but otherwise they’ll stay good for up to two weeks.

Looking for more homemade salad dressing recipes?

Outside of this homemade vinaigrette recipe, here are a few of our favorite homemade salad dressing recipes:

• Homemade Ranch Dressing
• Caesar Dressing Recipe
• Best Balsamic Vinaigrette
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Greek Salad Dressing
• Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
• Healthy Green Goddess Dressing
• Green Chile Vinaigrette
• Lemon Tahini Sauce
• 10 Homemade Salad Dressing Recipes

Looking for easy salad recipes? 

• Massaged Kale Salad with Pomegranate and Apple
• California Salad with Avocado Oil Vinaigrette
• Thai Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing
• Smoky Ranch Wedge Salad with Potato Chips
• Superfood Salad

This recipe is…

This vinaigrette dressing recipe is vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan (using maple syrup), dairy-free, and plant-based.

Best Vinaigrette Dressing

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(14 votes, average: 4.14 out of 5)

4.1 from 14 reviews

• Author: Sonja Overhiser
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 1 cup 1x

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Description

Want to make salad dressing at home? This vinaigrette dressing recipe shows you how to make an oil and vinegar dressing using ingredients in your pantry.

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons honey or maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil

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Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk all ingredients except olive oil. Then slowly whisk in the olive oil tablespoon by tablespoon until the dressing thickens and an emulsion forms. Taste and adjust quantities as desired.
2. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks; bring to room temperature and stir before serving.

• Category: Dressing
• Method: Mixed
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 2 TBSP

Keywords: how to make vinaigrette, homemade salad dressing, vinaigrette dressing, oil and vinegar dressing, vinaigrette salad dressing, vinaigrette recipe, vinegar salad dressing, how to make vinaigrette

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