It’s a cinch to toss a bottle of salad dressing into your cart at the grocery store. It’s nearly as easy to whisk up a homemade version in your own kitchen. For many homemade salad dressing recipes, you combine seemingly simple ingredients to create a simply sublime flavor. For example, a classic red wine vinaigrette calls for red wine vinegar, olive oil, sugar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt and pepper to make a perfect dressing for your leafy greens.
At its core, a vinaigrette is simply a combination of oil and vinegar. You can easily change the flavor profile of a homemade vinaigrette by adding herbs and seasonings. Vinaigrettes are a simple but tasty way to dress green salads.
Truthfully, you can’t beat the flavor of a homemade dressing like this one.
Ingredients for Red Wine Vinaigrette
- Olive oil: The lighter flavor of extra virgin olive oil is perfect for a vinaigrette. Pick up a high-quality olive oil brand for the best results.
- Red wine vinegar: As its name suggests, red wine vinegar is red wine that has fermented into vinegar. It has a sharp, tangy and grape-forward flavor. White wine vinegar can be substituted, but this type of vinegar is better suited for delicate salads, where its milder flavor can shine.
- Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds a little bite to the dressing. Jarred minced garlic can be used in a pinch, but it will have a much milder flavor.
- Sugar: Sugar adds a little sweetness to the dressing. This red wine vinaigrette recipe uses granulated sugar, but honey or maple syrup would also work.
- Dijon mustard: This French mustard has a bold and spicy flavor. It aids in emulsifying the vinaigrette, helping to hold the oil and vinegar together.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper enhance the flavor of the dressing. Use freshly ground black pepper for the strongest flavor.
Directions
Step 1: Make the dressing
Place the olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, sugar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well.
Step 2: Chill until ready to serve
Refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, shake the dressing again.
Red Wine Vinaigrette Variations
- Make it creamy: Add 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt for a creamy red wine dressing.
- Add lemon: To brighten the flavor even more, add 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon zest or 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice.
- Step up the seasonings: Nearly any fresh or dried herb would work well in this dressing. Don’t forget the fresh to dried herb conversion rate. For every teaspoon of dried herbs called for in a recipe, use 3 teaspoons freshly chopped herbs. For a vinaigrette, start with 1 teaspoon of your favorite seasoning blend, or go with oregano, basil or parsley as a starting point.
How to Store Red Wine Vinaigrette
Like all homemade salad dressings, we recommend storing this red wine vinaigrette in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. For the best flavor, use within four days.
Red Wine Vinaigrette Tips
How do you use red wine vinaigrette?
The bold flavor of a red wine vinaigrette dressing would be perfect for a green salad with shrimp, a bacon avocado salad or a Greek salad. Be sure to check out these other side salad recipes for inspiration when it comes to other toppings, too. This red wine vinaigrette dressing would also be tasty drizzled over roasted vegetables or as a marinade for grilled chicken breasts. It would also be great as a dressing for a cold pasta salad recipe.
How do you make a vinaigrette without a jar?
If you’d prefer not to make this red wine vinaigrette recipe in a jar, you can simply add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined.
