How to Make Vinaigrette – 2 versions: Traditional + Garlic and Herbs

Must Try Recipes

If there’s one sauce recipe everybody should learn how to do perfectly, it’s the vinaigrette. This French sauce is brilliant in its simplicity and works perfectly with many kinds of foods. I most often use it as a salad dressing for literally any type of salad but it also tastes great when drizzled over hot steamed or baked vegetables. Most meals can be immensely enhanced just with a few dashes of a rich vinaigrette.

The basic ingredients of any vinaigrette sauce is high quality olive oil combined with vinegar. It’s both rich and slightly acidic at the same time, providing a nice contrast to the flavors of your meal. And it also serves as a basis for many other French sauces and dressings. You can make a green vinaigrette that gets its unusual color from fresh herbs and is served with steaks and poultry. Or mint and cream vinaigrette that beautifully accompanies thinly sliced ham. The sky’s the limit!

And while you can buy vinaigrette at supermarkets now, I prefer to do my own homemade version (as you might have suspected). It gives you full control over what kind of ingredients you put inside and you can arrange it to your own liking! I have made different versions of homemade vinaigrette and in this post, I am going to share with you two recipes. One if for basic traditional vinaigrette and the other is my favorite customized version: vinaigrette with herbs and garlic. I based it on the recipe here.

The herbs and garlic vinaigrette is my absolute winner. People rave about it at my parties and ask me for the recipe each time! It’s especially perfect over pieces of fancy raw blue cheese.

Necessary equipment:

  • measuring cups
  • a large mixing bowl
  • a whisk
  • a glass jar with a lid for storage

Traditional Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of high quality olive oil from late harvest
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 1 t. of Dijon mustard OR whole grain mustard (whole grain will give the vinaigrette more texture and a slight crunchiness)
  • 1 t. of garlic powder

Instructions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder.
  2. Keep whisking until the mixture emulsifies.
  3. Transfer to a glass jar and store in the fridge.

Herbs and Garlic Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of high quality olive oil from late harvest
  • 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
  • 2 T. of Dijon mustard OR whole grain mustard
  • 1 t. of onion powder
  • 1 t. of sea salt
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 1/2 t. of dried basil
  • 1/2 t. of dried thyme

Instructions:

  1. Chop the garlic very finely.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, onion powder, sea salt, chopped garlic, basil, and thyme.
  3. Keep whisking until the mixture emulsifies.
  4. Transfer to a glass jar and store in the fridge.

It’s very simple to make a great vinaigrette that will amaze your guests! If you don’t serve it immediately and plan on storing a jar in the fridge, be aware that the olive oil will naturally harden slightly. So before using your vinaigrette, pull it out of the fridge at least 15 minutes beforehand. Let it sit at room temperature and then shake the jar slightly so that the ingredients can combine once more.

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