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Make any salad into a new favorite with my easy Orange Vinaigrette recipe! Using four simple ingredients in less than a minute, this easy and fresh vinaigrette salad dressing pairs with green salads, chicken, seafood, and more!
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Orange Salad Dressing
I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of vinaigrette. The instant I learned how to make vinaigrette dressing at home, I realized I could make better tasting, fresher dressings for a fraction of the cost, using simple ingredients.
For example, this orange juice salad dressing! Where could I ever buy a dressing with fresh-squeezed orange juice, sweetened exactly the way I like it? It's so fresh, tasty, and easy to make, you'll want to pour it over everything! No, seriously, Ron caught me pouring it over cold leftover roasted carrots the other day. Don't poke fun, it's just really good!
The best thing about making your own citrus dressing for salad is that you can customize it any way you like. My favorite variations? Use blood oranges for that distinctive ruby color, or swap them out for mandarins for a sweet twist!
Orange Juice Dressing Ingredients
- Olive oil: This very simple recipe has few ingredients, so make sure to use nice, quality olive oil for the best flavor.
- Orange juice: Freshly-squeezed orange juice is ideal for the distinctive flavor and sweetness!
- Dijon mustard: I prefer stone-ground for the crunchy texture, but smooth is great too! I suggest this every time, but you can also use honeycup mustard.
- Sugar: Plain white sugar has the cleanest, best flavor for this recipe, but you can also use honey.
- Optional: Salt, pepper, orange zest, vinegar (such as white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
Orange Vinaigrette Recipe Steps
- Whisk the olive oil, orange juice, dijon mustard, and sugar in a small bowl or jar, until the sugar is dissolved and the oil is well mixed in. If using a jar, seal the lid tightly and shake the jar vigorously.
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
Orange Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Tips
- Feel free to use any type of orange you prefer! Mandarin oranges will give a much sweeter flavor, and blood oranges make blood orange vinaigrette with an incredible red color.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar as you desire, depending on the sweetness of the fresh orange juice.
- If you don't have any fresh oranges, you can use bottled orange juice, but the flavor won't be quite as good.
- Quality extra virgin olive oil will go a long way in homemade vinaigrette recipes!
- You can swap out the orange juice for lemon or lime, or a blend of all three. Just be sure to taste the dressing and adjust the sugar!
Citrus Vinaigrette FAQ
Olive oil is typically the ideal for vinaigrette, as it's thick and silky with a nice flavor to compliment vinegar and other flavorings. I recommend a quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor!
You can absolutely make vinaigrette in a mason jar! Just pour in the ingredients, close the lid tightly, and shake it vigorously. Once the dressing looks opaque, it's all mixed up and ready to serve!
You can use bottled orange juice, but it won't taste the same. Carton orange juice is pasteurized for safety, but this reduces the flavor immensely. Flavor is added back in, but it will never taste like fresh orange juice, which has a uniquely sweet and mild flavor.
Yes! If you want, you can skip adding the oil and instead add more orange juice. It won't be as silky, but it will be packed with flavor for an easy oil-free salad dressing.
Vinaigrette Ratio
For your typical vinaigrette recipes, you'll want to use a oil to vinegar ratio of 3:1, or 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. For a recipe like this one that uses citrus juice instead of vinegar, you can up the ratio to 1:1, as orange juice is much milder than pure vinegar!
How to Store Homemade Salad Dressing
- Refrigerator: Homemade vinaigrette can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Use it quickly, as the juice can start losing its flavor over time.
- Freezer: Vinaigrette freezes beautifully! I recommend freezing it in an ice cube tray, then moving the frozen dressing cubes into a freezer-safe bag. The cubes will last up to 4 months and thaw quickly into perfect serving sizes!
- Thawing: Frozen dressing can be thawed overnight in the fridge. If you've frozen it in cubes, just pop them into an empty mason jar in the fridge.
Salad Dressing Recipes
- Japanese Ginger Dressing
- Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Chipotle Ranch Dressing
- Honey Buffalo Dressing
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Orange Vinaigrette
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl or mason jar
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon Orange juice
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon Sugar
Instructions
- Mix the olive oil, orange juice, dijon mustard, and sugar in a bowl, until the sugar is dissolved and the oil is well mixed in.1 Tablespoon Olive oil,1 Tablespoon Orange juice,¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard,¼ teaspoon Sugar
- Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
Notes
- Feel free to use any type of orange you prefer! Mandarin oranges will give a much sweeter flavor, and blood oranges make blood orange vinaigrette with an incredible red color.
- You can adjust the amount of sugar as you desire, depending on the sweetness of the fresh orange juice.
- If you don't have any fresh oranges, you can use bottled orange juice, but the flavor won't be quite as good.
- Quality extra virgin olive oil will go a long way in homemade vinaigrette recipes!
- You can swap out the orange juice for lemon or lime, or a blend of all three. Just be sure to taste the dressing and adjust the sugar!
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