We’re going back to basics today with one of my most essential everyday recipes, vinaigrette! You know how much I love salads, and I’m surprised I didn’t think to share my basic vinaigrette recipe with you until now.
Vinegar and olive oil-based vinaigrette is a light, zippy, heart-healthy salad dressing. It’s great on greens, vegetables and fruits. You can change up the flavor by using different vinegars. Vinaigrette is easy to adjust to taste, and I’ve included notes how to do so in the recipe.
Once you start making homemade vinaigrette, you won’t go back. Whisk together some basic ingredients, and you’ll end up with dressing that tastes infinitely better than store-bought dressings. No preservatives here!
Homemade vinaigrette keeps for 1 to 2 weeks in the refrigerator, so it’s worth the 5 minutes it takes to mix it up. Then you can keep it on hand for all of your salad needs. Let’s get to it!
Basic Vinaigrette Ratio & Ingredients
The traditional French vinaigrette formula calls for 1 tablespoon vinegar for every 3 tablespoons olive oil. Modern vinaigrettes often call for a bit more vinegar than that, but it’s always up to you. Kale salads can tolerate more zingy dressings, while you’ll want to use less vinegar for mild greens like spring greens.
Here’s what you’ll need to make vinaigrette:
- Olive oil for your base
- Vinegar of choice
- Dijon mustard for some flavor complexity and creaminess
- Maple syrup or honey for a little sweetness that balances the vinegar
- Garlic for oomph
- Salt and pepper
Vinaigrette Varieties
While you can use any tasty vinegar you’d like to make vinaigrette, here’s how I choose between my three go-to vinegars.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Balsamic vinegar makes a bold, slightly sweet dressing that is wonderful on green salads with fruit, such as apples, strawberries or peaches. Examples include my strawberry arugula salad and favorite green salad with apples.
Red Wine Vinaigrette
Red wine vinegar packs a punch and works well with other bold flavors and bright veggies, like tomatoes, bell peppers, olives, feta and more (think Greek salads or Italian salads).
White Wine Vinaigrette
White wine vinegar a more mellow vinegar and it’s especially nice with more delicate flavors like spring greens, cucumber, zucchini and sweet corn. It’s lovely on just about every green salad out there. I’ve used it recently in my orange orzo salad and corn salsa.
Additional Options
Champagne vinegar is even more mild than white wine vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is sweet-tangy and tastes lightly of apples. Sherry vinegar is similar to red wine vinegar but slightly less intense.
Watch How to Make Vinaigrette
Please let me know how you like this vinaigrette in the comments! I love hearing from you and I’m dying to hear about the salads you make with it (#saladobsessed).
If you’re looking for more salad dressings that keep well, don’t miss my sunshine salad dressing (yogurt-based honey-mustard dressing), green goddess dressing, carrot ginger dressing or jalapeño-cilantro dressing (made a little creamy with some tahini).
You’ll also find four delicious salad dressings in my book, Love Real Food. Many more salads here!
Basic Vinaigrette (Plus Variations!)
- Author:
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: ¾ cup 1x
- Category: Salad dressing
- Method: By hand
- Cuisine: French
Here’s my go-to vinaigrette recipe! It’s so easy to make and tastes way better than store-bought dressings. You can change up the flavors by choosing the vinegar that suits your salad best. Recipe yields ¾ cup dressing, enough for about 6 medium salads (assuming 2 tablespoons per salad).
Ingredients
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons vinegar of choice (balsamic vinegar, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Stir well with a small whisk or a fork until the ingredients are completely mixed together.
- Taste, and adjust as necessary. If the mixture is too acidic, thin it out with a bit more olive oil or balance the flavors with a little more maple syrup or honey. If the mixture is a little blah, add another pinch or two of salt. If it doesn’t have enough zing, add vinegar by the teaspoon.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate for future use. Homemade vinaigrette keeps well for 7 to 10 days. If your vinaigrette solidifies somewhat in the fridge, don’t worry about it—real olive oil tends to do that. Simply let it rest at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes or microwave very briefly (about 20 seconds) to liquify the olive oil again. Whisk to blend and serve.
Notes
Balsamic vinegar: Makes a bold, slightly sweet dressing that is wonderful on green salads with fruit, such as apples, strawberries or peaches.
Red wine vinegar: Packs a punch and works well with other bold flavors and bright veggies, like tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, cabbage and more (think Greek salads).
White wine vinegar: This is a more mellow vinegar and it’s especially nice with more delicate flavors like cucumber and sweet corn. It’s lovely on just about every green salad out there.
Greek/Italian variation: Use red wine vinegar. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons dried oregano and, optionally, a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Frank O. Bechtel
Just made the white vinegar version at it is delicious…Thank you.
Mandy MacKenzie
Such a great jumping off point! We’ll be using this base recipe to create several variations. Thank you!
★★★★★
mt
Did this with Bragg’s apple cider vinegar (with the Mother) just see how it would taste. Added a teaspoon of fresh lime juice, a little fresh citrus zest and 1/2 tsp garlic powder for extra zing! Delicious!!
★★★★★
mt
Just made this using maple syrup but used Bragg’s apple cider vinegar and added the following:
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Zesty and delicious! Drizzled it over some grilled shrimp, pink grapefruit and avocado salad.
★★★★★
Sheila
First time ever making a vinegerette; thank you so much for this easy and so TASTY recipe. I’m going to try the Sunshine one next!
★★★★★
David
Why do you measure oil in cups and vinegar in table spoons and other things in teaspoons. These amounts not the same in different parts of the world. Recipes are searched for on the internet which is global so why not make it easy for all and use millilitres or milliliters.
BGibbs
I made the White Wine Vinegar dressing, and it’s delicious! One note of caution: take care with the amount of garlic. The recipe calls for two cloves, but the cloves in my head of garlic were so large that one clove would have been adequate, especially as garlic seems to get stronger during the time the dressing is in the fridge.
★★★★
Kate
Hi! Yes, the cloves can be larger sometimes, so great tip. I appreciate your feedback and review!
Briley Mitchell
Delicious!! Makes my salads so enjoyable and all theses items are already in my fridge. I’m now saving money not buying dressing too!
Thanks!
★★★★★