Looking for a quick and easy salad dressing recipe?
Here are not one but 4 vinaigrette recipes ready in 5 minutes flat!
Me, I grew up with the idea that vinaigrette sauces could only be bought at the supermarket...
And when I moved out to live on my own, it didn't even occur to me to make my own salad dressing.
When I finally realized that you could make homemade vinaigrette sauce, I couldn't believe how easy it was!
5 mins is enough to mix the ingredients of these homemade dressings and you will never be able to do without them!
No more swallowing additives and added sugar found in industrial sauces from the supermarket!
With these 4 recipes, it will be very easy for you to add your own personal touch.
You will be able to invent other vinaigrette recipes all different from each other.
Below are the ingredients to make the base dressing and then the ingredients to add or substitute for the other 3 versions:Balsamic, Lemon-Herb and Asian.
Don't worry, it's quite simple! Watch:
Olive oil + Cider vinegar + Dijon mustard + Garlic + Salt/pepper =Classic vinaigrette
You can make your classic salad dressing with any type of oil or vinegar. No worries!
But since you need very few ingredients to make this sauce, the best thing is to choose a quality olive oil and a vinegar full of flavors.
The vinegar will thus be milder than a simple white vinegar even if the latter has the advantage of bringing a touch of very pleasant acidity.
You can choose for example a cider vinegar like thisi or a red wine vinegar like this.
Classic Vinaigrette Ingredients + Balsamic Vinegar =Balsamic Vinaigrette.
All you have to do for this recipe is to decrease the amount of classic vinegar (cider vinegar or red wine vinegar) and add balsamic vinegar to create a delicious balsamic vinaigrette.
Not all balsamic vinegars are created equal. If you choose an aged balsamic vinegar, your sauce will be thicker and smoother. You can then put only 1 or 2 tablespoons.
If your balsamic vinegar is more basic, know that you can replace almost all of your basic vinegar with balsamic vinegar.
Olive oil + Lemon + Dijon mustard + Garlic + Aromatic herbs + Salt/pepper =Lemon and herb vinaigrette
Start from the classic sauce recipe and replace the vinegar with lemon juice.
Then just add aromatic herbs such as basil, rosemary, chives...
There you have it, you have made your lemon and herb salad dressing. Easy and fast, right?
You will see, the flavor of this one is completely different from the classic recipe.
This sauce works wonders on Greek salads with feta, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions.
Olive oil + Rice vinegar + Sesame oil + Dijon mustard + Honey + Sriracha sauce + Garlic + Salt/pepper =Asian dressing
For this recipe, you can start from the classic vinaigrette recipe.
Then just use rice vinegar, add some Asian flavors like sesame oil and sriracha sauce to make an Asian sauce.
Yes, it's not more complicated than that!
This recipe is perfect for dressing cabbage salads for example (cabbages + carrots + onions + sesame seeds) and noodle salads.
Now, place to the 4 recipes in detail.
Classic vinaigrette:
- 200 ml cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 30 ml of Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- salt and pepper
- 180 ml of olive oil
Balsamic Vinaigrette:
- 30 ml of balsamic vinegar
+ 60 ml cider vinegar to replace the cider vinegar
Lemon and Herb Vinaigrette:
- 60 ml of lemon juice to replace the vinegar
- 5 to 10 ml of dried aromatic herbs or 15 ml of fresh herbs (thyme, basil, oregano...)
Asian-style vinaigrette:
- 80 ml of rice vinegar to replace normal vinegar
- 15 ml sesame oil
- 15 ml of honey
- 15 ml sriracha sauce (more or less according to taste)
1. Put all the ingredients in a 250-500ml measuring cup.
2. Mix the ingredients by holding the handle of the whisk between both hands to spin it quickly. It's like rubbing your hands together.
With this trick, your sauce is perfectly emulsified in seconds. It will stay homogeneous longer without having to use an electric mixer.
Be aware that it is faster to mix the ingredients directly in a glass bottle but the mixture is not as homogeneous as beating the ingredients with a whisk. On the other hand, the advantage is that you keep the sauce directly in the bottle. So it's up to you.
- Change the recipe by adding just some kind of aromatic herb. You can then baptize your sauce "basil vinaigrette and red wine vinegar".
- Why not use Italian herb blends (garlic, basil, oregano, sage, savory, marjoram, rosemary, etc.) or Herbes de Provence?
- Add a little spicy sauce to give a Mexican style. Dress with a salad of lettuce, onions, beans, tomatoes, olives and cheese.
- Add a fruit puree, raspberries for example, and you will get a raspberry vinaigrette! You can also experiment with other types of berries:blueberries, blackberries or cranberries.
