Vinaigrette Dressing

Basic Vinaigrette Recipe | In Jennie's Kitchen

I was on the fence about including such a basic recipe when I wrote Homemade with Love, but then I noticed that most of my friends and family used store-bought vinaigrette dressings. They also always commented that mine isn’t as tangy, and were wowed their kids actually liked it too. The secret is honey. Not too much—a little bit goes a long way to help balancing out the bracing acidity of the vinegar. Of course, if you prefer to skip the honey, feel free. You can also use agave or maple syrup for a vegan version.

In the eight years I’ve been writing in this space, it’s hard to believe there are no stand alone salad dressing recipes. How could I let something so crucial slip between the cracks? Chefs will tell you to slowly whisk the olive oil in to create an emulsification. Sure you can go that way, it works wonderfully, but the truth is giving all the ingredients a good shake in a jar does the trick just fine, and makes for easy storage and clean up.

You can keep this vinaigrette on the counter, at room temperature, for quite a few months, so go ahead and double or triple the recipe for ease and convenience. This would also make a great back to school gift for teachers (am I total geek to suggest that?). And of course, come the holidays, I think it’s a nice hostess gift to balance all the sweet treats and wine that other guests will surely be bringing. OMG, I just mentioned the holidays, again, in less than a week. Can you tell where my mind is these days?

Basic Vinaigrette Recipe | In Jennie's Kitchen

This recipe is now part of my new site, Simmering. It can be found here.

 

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10 Comments

  • Leann

    I love that you posted this dressing recipe. Most recipes make so much for a single person. Of course a recipe can be halved but this is just perfect and contains items most would have on hand anyway! So thank you. Leann

  • Lea

    Leave it out at room temp…this was a ‘duh’ moment for me. I always make vinaigrette in a jar with similar ingredients then store what’s leftover in the fridge and, of course, the olive oil solidifies. If separately these ingredients live happily in the pantry, why would they need to be refrigerated together? Duh 😉

  • Sally

    This is very close to the vinaigrette I’ve been making for years. When I first found the recipe it called for only the oil, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Over time I added the mustard and soy sauce. I sometimes use different vinegars or citrus juice instead of red wine vinegar. My favorite variation is half red wine vinegar and half lemon juice (2T each).

  • Jennie

    Sorry, Patricia. That was a technical error, as that post will go live tomorrow. Again, apologies for the error when that email went out today. xo-Jennie

  • Armecia Lee

    What a great and easy recipe! I love the idea of the gift giving. I tend to love to give the home made goodies for gifts. Awesome idea! Thank you for sharing this recipe! Armecia (have to love those Southern names! LOL)