Homemade Vinaigrettes: 3 Dressing Inspirations
Add a burst of personalized flavor to your dishes with these 3 homemade vinaigrette dressings.
Looking to add some zesty flavor to your salads, pastas or main dishes? With vinaigrette dressings, the possibilities are endless.
Sadly, with many store-bought bottles, the list of mystery ingredients can be endless, too.
Consider making vinaigrettes at home instead. Once you learn the basics, you can add a personal spin and kick those preservatives and fillers to the curb.
The best part? You won’t even need a recipe. Try out our Magic Ratio: three parts oil to one part acid.
Tip: When making these homemade dressings, it’s important to keep your hands clean. Lather on some Home Made Simple Foaming Hand Soap before you start cooking. It’s formulated without phosphates, dyes, parabens, phthalates or gluten and comes in three vibrant scents: lemon, rosemary and lavender.
Here are some flavor inspirations and tips. Let’s get mixing!
Lemon vinaigrette dressing
- Oil (3 cups*): Olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- Acid (1 cup*): Freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Earth (1 tablespoon, or to taste): Parsley, basil, chives, tarragon, and/or freshly minced garlic
- Salt (1 teaspoon, or to taste): Dijon mustard and/or sea salt (If you have a sweet tooth, feel free to add a bit of sugar along with your salt!)
*Adjust this amount based on your needs, but make sure to stick to the Magic Ratio!
Potential Pairings: Lemon pairs well with kale and arugula, and it makes a great dipper for grilled kebabs.
Insiders’ Tip: Get the most juice for your squeeze! Try holding the lemon lengthwise and cutting it vertically, then squeezing the juice from the middles. For cleaning the sticky juices from your countertop, we recommend our lemon-scented plant-based multipurpose cleaner from Home Made Simple.
Rosemary vinaigrette dressing
- Oil (3 cups*): Olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- Acid (1 cup*): Red wine vinegar and/or rice vinegar
- Earth (1 tablespoon, or to taste): Chopped fresh rosemary, chopped fresh parsley
- Salt (1 teaspoon, or to taste): White miso and/or sea salt
*Adjust this amount based on your needs, but make sure to stick to the Magic Ratio!
Potential Pairings: The rosemary flavor is a perfect match for chicken salad with avocado and bacon, but this vinaigrette can also be drizzled on a flatbread pizza with prosciutto, goat cheese and greens. The sky is the limit with this versatile herb!
Insiders’ Tip: We love rosemary for its fresh scent and ability to elevate other flavors. Make sure those flavors don’t diminish and store your rosemary properly. You can do this by stripping off the needles, bundling and slicing across, then storing the springs in a wet paper towel. Place the wet paper towel in a plastic bag and store in the fridge.
Raspberry vinaigrette dressing
- Oil (3 cups*): Olive oil or extra-virgin olive oil
- Acid (1 cup*): Red wine vinegar, raspberries
- Earth (1 tablespoon, or to taste): Dijon mustard and/or freshly minced garlic
- Salt (1 teaspoon, or to taste): Onion powder and/or sea salt
*Adjust this amount based on your needs, but make sure to stick to the Magic Ratio!
Potential Pairings: Nothing says summer like a fresh spinach salad with almonds, berries and red onions splashed with raspberry vinaigrette. Raspberry vinaigrette can also marinade meats like grilled pork tenderloin.
Insiders’ Tip: To get all the garlic flavor and less of the garlic smell on your hands, shake the garlic cloves in a covered bowl rather than peeling them. Afterwards, use Home Made Simple Liquid Dish Soap, available in lemon, lavender and rosemary scents, to clean the bowl.
Remember, there is no wrong way to make these vinaigrettes, so have fun! Just follow the Magic Ratio, and your perfect salad only a few whisks away.