This light and refreshing Citrus Vinaigrette will be a perfect salad dressing recipe to brighten up your summer salad! Made with just simple ingredients, like olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, lemon and orange, it has a perfect balance of tangy and sweet!
I am a big fan of making salad dressing at home using simple fresh ingredients. Though it might be more convenient to buy from a local store, it never tastes the same as a homemade vinaigrette.
Another reason is if you look at the ingredient’s labels of store-bought dressings, you will see a lot of added ingredients that shouldn’t be there, like sugar, preservatives, and many others. When you make it at home, you can control the ingredients and overall quality.
I love adding this Citrus Vinaigrette to my Roasted Beet Salad, Farro Salad, and Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad.
What is Vinaigrette?
The word “Vinaigrette” came from a French word “vinaigre”, which means “vinegar”.
According to history, this term was first mentioned by John Evely in his book about salads, “Acetaria”, in 1699. However, it wasn’t really used until the end of the 19th century and became more popular as “French dressing”.
Originally, vinaigrette is a mix of oil, acidic ingredients, like vinegar or lemon juice, and some herbs or spices. Usually it is used as a salad dressing or a marinade.
What is the difference between Vinaigrette and Dressing?
Despite the fact that we usually call all salad dressings a “Dressing”, there is a slight difference between them.
Vinaigrette is a type of dressing that is made with oil and vinegar and has a light runny texture.
Dressing usually has more creamy texture and is based on mayonnaise, yogurt, vinegar and some other ingredients.
How to make Citrus Vinaigrette
This Citrus Vinaigrette is similar to my Lemon Salad Dressing and will take you no more than 5-7 minutes to make and all you need is just a few basic ingredients:
- Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- White Wine Vinegar
- Dijon Mustard
- Lemon
- Orange
- Garlic
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
Put all the ingredients in a mason jar, close the lid and shake it up to mix everything together.
Tips for best results
Tips for best results- It is very important to use good quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. If you use a cheaper one, it might have a bitter aftertaste. To fix it, you can try to add more orange juice and maple syrup.
- Also, if your olive oil is not the best quality and your vinaigrette is too oily, try adding more orange juice.
- We all have different tastes. So, after you make this vinaigrette, taste it. You can adjust the flavors and the acidity by adding more white vinegar or Dijon mustard.
How long does it keep fresh?
You can refrigerate it in a closed jar for up to a week.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ½ cup Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- lemon zest from 1 lemon
- lemon juice from ½ lemon
- orange zest from 1 orange
- orange juice from ½ orange
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients in a mason jar (Olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, lemon zest and juice, orange zest and juice, minced garlic, maple syrup, and freshly cracked black pepper).
- Close the lid and shake it up to mix everything together.
Notes
- It is very important to use good quality Extra-Virgin Olive Oil. If you use a cheaper one, it might have a bitter aftertaste. To fix it, you can try to add more orange juice and maple syrup.
- Also, if your olive oil is not the best quality and your vinaigrette is too oily, try adding more orange juice.
- We all have different tastes. So, after you make this vinaigrette, taste it. You can adjust the flavors and the acidity by adding more white vinegar or Dijon mustard.
- You can refrigerate it in a closed jar for up to a week.
I don’t care for the flavor of maple. Is there something else I can use?
Honey
This is awesome! I made it to replicate a salad at a local restaurant, which includes quinoa, grilled chicken, cucumbers, quartered grapes, and slivered almonds with a citrus maple dressing. This dressing is even better than what they serve at the restaurant! So good!
One of the best vinaigrette recipes I have had. Perfect on a lettuce, blueberry, orange, pecan and blue cheese salad.
Yaay! Thank you, Cindy! So happy you liked it!
This looks so good! Crosslinking on my blog 🙂 flowerbungalow.com/arcadia-inspired-tuscan-kale-salad
Summer salad and this amazing dressing is going to be favorite for a long time. I love simple delicious dressing like this. Looks so amazing
I always make my own dressings at home, there is just something about it that is too special, Even though we don’t have our pictures on a bottle like Paul Newman we can still pack the same flavor 🙂
You can’t beat a homemade dressing! It’s so much better than anything you’d get in the store. I love all the citrus and touch of maple for a depth of flavor in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
You’re right. Nothing can beat a homemade vinaigrette and the store bought ones don’t even come close. I love the sunshine yellow colour of your citrus vinaigrette salad dressing. I’m sure it tastes like heaven!
This sounds delicious, healthy, and easy. I love the addition of orange to put a fun twist on this vinaigrette!
This sounds like such a refreshing vinaigrette, perfect for summer! I hate buying store bought dressings, will be trying this soon!
I love making my own dressings & vinaigrette. This sounds so good, and very versatile to use on different dishes as well!
I love the simplicity of a summer salad and a lovely dressing like this!
I love a good salad dressing! Perfect timing for summer!
I love homemade salad dressings. Right now I have lots of citrus in the fridge. With so many bbq parties this summer, I know this salad dressing would be a hit with the guests.