Easy Orange Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (Vegan)

Add some citrus flavoured zest to your salads with this quick and easy recipe for orange vinaigrette salad dressing. The sweetness of fresh orange juice and the spice of Dijon mustard make this twist on traditional vinaigrette perfect for green salads.

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What is vinaigrette?

Vinaigrette dressing is a simple salad dressing made with oil and vinegar and seasoned, often with salt and pepper. A good quality olive oil combined with white wine vinegar is common, or you can substitute balsamic or red wine vinegar.

Different variations of vinaigrette will add lemon juice and a sweetener, such as a small amount of sugar or honey. Some people also like to add a little garlic for extra flavour.

Using orange juice in vinaigrette

This orange vinaigrette salad dressing uses fresh orange juice, which gives the acidity of lemon juice balanced by the sweetness of oranges. There’s no need to add any sweeter, but if you prefer a sweeter flavour you can add a little maple syrup.

I highly recommend squeezing your own fresh orange juice for this recipe to get the best flavour.

Salads that go with orange vinaigrette

Our orange vinaigrette dressing will of course go beautifully with salads made with oranges. In fact, cutting orange slices for salad usually produces quite a lot of fresh orange juice, which you can use to make the dressing.

I also love orange vinaigrette on a simple garden salad with mixed leafy greens to add some interest. The flavours of fresh orange dressing also go beautifully with salads that include baby spinach or arugula (rocket), red onion and avocado. Orange vinaigrette also goes surprisingly well with salads with berries – I love it with dried cranberries.

Orange vinaigrette ingredients

To make this small batch orange vinaigrette salad dressing, you’ll need:

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (juice of one medium orange)
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

If you don’t have Dijon mustard you can substitute yellow mustard or even seeded mustard.

Method

If you love to take shortcuts in the kitchen like me, the easiest way to make salad dressing is in a glass jar. Just choose one with a well fitting lid.

Finely grate the orange rind with a fine grater/zester and add to a clean lidded jar.

Halve the orange and extract juice with a citrus juicer, adding 1/2 cup of juice to jar with the zest. Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and black pepper to the jar, replace the lid, and shake well to thoroughly combine.

Using a clean spoon, taste a small amount of the dressing. Depending on the sweetness of your fresh oranges, your dressing should taste just right. If you feel that it needs a little extra sweetness, add one teaspoon of maple syrup to the jar and shake again to mix thoroughly.

Pour over your favourite salad and enjoy the fresh taste.

This recipe makes enough dressing for a large salad for around 6 people. If you need a larger quantity, simply double the ingredient quantities and prepare your dressing in a larger jar.

Orange vinaigrette salad dressing will keep in the airtight jar in the fridge for a week to 10 days.

Love cooking with oranges?

If you love oranges, try our orange and cinnamon oats with berries for a delicious breakfast. Or our blood orange loaf cake with orange icing. You’ll find lots more citrus recipes on our recipe page.

If you are considering investing in a citrus juicer for all your recipes with orange, lemon or lime juice, have a look at my post on choosing the best citrus juicer for home cooks. And don’t forget to subscribe for more orange recipes and citrus inspiration.

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Easy Orange Vinaigrette Salad Dressing (Vegan)

Elise

Quick and easy salad dressing made with olive oil and vinegar with a fresh orange juice twist

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine French

Servings 6

Calories 55 kcal

Equipment

• 1 small glass jar
• 1 citrus zester
• 1 citrus juicer
• 1 sharp knife
• 1 chopping board
• measuring cups and spoons

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon grated orange rind
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Finely grate the orange rind with a fine grater/zester and add to a clean lidded jar.
• Halve the orange and extract juice with a citrus juicer, adding 1/2 cup of juice to jar with the zest. Add the olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and black pepper to the jar, replace the lid, and shake well to thoroughly combine.
• Using a clean spoon, taste a small amount of the dressing. Depending on the sweetness of your fresh oranges, your dressing should taste just right. If you feel that it needs a little extra sweetness, add one teaspoon of maple syrup to the jar and shake again to mix thoroughly.
• Pour over your favourite salad and enjoy the fresh taste.

Notes

This recipe makes enough dressing for a large salad for 4 to 6 people. If you need a larger quantity, simply double the ingredient amounts and prepare yoru dressing in a larger jar.

Orange vinaigrette salad dressing will keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for 7 to 10 days. 

Keyword orange, salad dressing