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This orange vinaigrette salad dressing brings a citrus burst to any salad! Orange zest, honey and Dijon mustard bring big flavor.

Orange Vinaigrette
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Here’s a trick that will bring a citrus pop to all your salads: this Orange Vinaigrette Salad Dressing! We get absurdly excited about salad dressings around here, and this one is our latest obsession. It’s got just the right zingy kick from the orange with a simple trick. It takes just 5 minutes to whip up with just a bowl and a whisk, and it takes your salads from everyday to extraordinary. Here’s how to make it!

Ingredients in orange vinaigrette salad dressing

This orange vinaigrette takes just 5 minutes to whip up with simple ingredients you might already have on hand. The only fresh ingredient, of course, is the orange! Now, here’s a secret to the big flavor in this salad dressing: all you need is orange zest. That’s right: no orange juice needed! When testing this recipe, we found the orange juice made the dressing too watery without adding enough flavor. Grab 1 tablespoon orange zest and it makes a massive acidic pop! Here’s what you’ll need for this dressing (or skip to the recipe for quantities):

  • Orange zest
  • White wine vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Honey or maple syrup
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

All you have to do? Whisk together the non-oil ingredients, then gradually whisk in the oil until a creamy emulsion forms. That’s it!

Orange Vinaigrette

How to zest an orange

Orange zest is the colored outside portion of its peel that brings a citrusy, tangy flavor to recipes. Avoid the white portion of the peel (called the “pith”) because it adds bitterness. Zesting citrus is a key skill for the home cook. Here are the best ways we’ve found to zest an orange:

  • The best method for how to zest an orange? Using a microplane. It’s a handheld grater that has a metal plate with sharp holes. You’ll find this works much faster than using a box grater, and it results in more consistent grating.
  • The next best methods? Use a citrus zester or the fine holes on a box grater.

Best ways to serve orange vinaigrette salad dressing

This orange vinaigrette is perfection with almost any green salad. We created it for this Butternut Squash Salad with apple and pecans. But it’s also great with lots of other salads! Here are a few ideas for how to use it:

Butternut Squash Salad

More salad dressing recipes

Love homemade salad dressings? Here are a few more tasty dressing recipes to make at home:

This orange vinaigrette salad dressing recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.

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Orange Vinaigrette Salad Dressing


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 0 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: ¾ cup 1x
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Description

This orange vinaigrette salad dressing brings a citrus burst to any salad! Orange zest, honey and Dijon mustard bring big flavor.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, orange zest, honey, and kosher salt.
  2. Gradually whisk in the olive oil 1 tablespoon at a time until a creamy dressing forms. Store refrigerated; the dressing will solidify when cooled so bring to room temperature before serving.
  • Category: Salad dressing
  • Method: Whisked
  • Cuisine: Salad
  • Diet: Vegan

About the authors

Sonja & Alex

Hi, we’re Alex and Sonja Overhiser, married cookbook authors, food bloggers, and recipe developers. We founded A Couple Cooks to share fresh, seasonal recipes and the joy of cooking! Our recipes are made by two real people and work every time.

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4 Comments

  1. Michelle Martinez says:

    I love this dressing so much that it’s actually helping me eat more healthfully. It’s made me more motivated to eat salad, so I make it weekly and keep a jar at work. Pairs especially well with strawberries. Perfect balance of flavors. Sometimes I decrease the olive oil a smidge.






  2. Adam says:

    Y’all- 2T vinegar to 1/2 C of oil just doesn’t work.






    1. Sonja Overhiser says:

      Could you let us know what didn’t work out for you? Were you not able to get a creamy emulsion?

  3. Sonja Overhiser says:

    Let us know if you have any questions!