Citrus Vinaigrette is my go-to salad dressing for a cool crisp salad on hot summer days. Easy to make and tastes amazing. You’ll love this citrus salad dressing recipe!
Citrus Vinaigrette is made with just a few simple ingredients including orange juice, olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. I absolutely love it on a strawberry spinach salad or a shaved brussel sprout salad. You can even use it as a marinade for baked chicken!
Citrus Vinaigrette
Citrus Vinaigrette – Dressing OR Marinade!
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Ingredients For Citrus Vinaigrette Dressing
- Orange juice – Fresh orange juice is best, but it’s fine to use pre-squeezed OJ from the grocery store too!
- Olive oil – Make sure you use a high quality olive oil because the flavor will come through. If you don’t love the flavor of olive oil, choose something mild.
- Apple cider vinegar – Apply cider vinegar has a less sharp flavor than traditional white vinegar and compliments citrus flavors beautifully.
- Stone ground dijon mustard – Sone ground mustard is the kind that looks grainy and seedy. In a pinch you can use a smooth dijon.
- Lemon juice – Again, fresh is best. There are only a few ingredients to this recipe, so quality matters.
- Salt – Salt helps perks up the depth and complexity of other flavors – don’t skip it!
- Ground pepper – Much like salt, pepper helps add another subtle depth of flavor.
- Garlic – We use fresh raw garlic in this recipe so, it’s better not to add more than called for as it can create an overpowering spicy flavor that lingers.
How Do You Make Citrus Salad Dressing? (step-by-step)
⭐ First, combine all your ingredients, then blend in an upright blender or with a stick blender.
⭐ Next, drizzle over your favorite salad recipes or use as a marinade for your baked chicken (maybe try some in your pasta tuna salad!).
⭐ Finally, store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator (I love this glass carafe).
How to Store Homemade Salad Dressing
How to Store
Store your homemade vinaigrette dressing in a sealed jar or cruet. I love using my smaller mason jars if they’re not filled with pickles! They even sell pour tops now which are super convenient.
Where to Store
Keep your citrus vinaigrette in a sealed container in the refrigerator when you’re not using it. We do not suggest freezing.
Can You Freeze Salad Dressing
We often get asked if you can freeze salad salad dressing – while the answer is technically yes, we don’t suggest it. The flavors will likely degrade in the freezer and it will separate. If you do freeze, you will need to re-blend your citrus vinaigrette when thawed.
The exception to this is if you are freezing it with meat as a marinade.
How Long to Store
Our citrus vinaigrette calls for fresh juice, so we recommend keeping it in the refrigerator for up to five days for best results. This is a small batch recipe, so you shouldn’t have any trouble getting through the whole jar!
Tips and Tricks
★ Blend, don’t whisk – For the most homogeneous flavor (every bite tastes the same) you’ll want to blend this dressing with a stick blender or an upright blender until it emulsifies (fat is evenly dispersed evenly into the liquid and no longer separates).
★ Use fresh juice – Fresh orange juice and fresh lemon juice will take this citrus dressing to the next level. Yes, you can sub carton juice if you’re in a pinch (I’d rather use carton juice than not have the dressing at all), but whenever possible, use fresh!
★ Try it as a marinade – This vinaigrette is delicious as a marinade for your chicken recipes and seafood recipes!
★ Mix things up – If you love this recipe, play with it! Try swapping out different oils, vinegars and juices to make your own flavors.
Love homemade marinades? Try this amazing flank steak marinade next!
Is Citrus Vinaigrette Healthy
This dressing is super healthy! It is made with healthy oils and fats, fresh juice, and spices. If you aren’t a fan of olive oil, try it with avocado oil or even grapeseed oil if you want something neutral flavored.
Why We Love Homemade Salad Dressings
I love homemade salad dressings because they’re easy to make, easy to adapt and taste fantastic. Also, bonus, homemade salad dressings and marinades are incredibly cost effective, so if you’re on a budget they can be a great option.
This citrus vinaigrette can be made for pennies on the dollar as compared to a similar product at the grocery store.
More Salad Dressing Recipes
- Easy Ranch Dressing
- Creamy Italian Dressing (NO Dairy!)
- Super Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing
- Creamy Apple Cider Vinaigrette
- Balsamic Dijon Dressing
- Bacon Maple Dressing
- Honey Mustard Dressing
What to Serve with Citrus Vinaigrette
- Spinach Salad with Strawberries
- Broccoli Salad Recipe
- Brussel Sprouts Salad
- Steak Salad with Goat Cheese
- Oven Baked Chicken Breast
Suggested Tools
- Garlic press – Need fresh minced or sliced garlic, but don’t want to peel or chop your garlic? This garlic press is the bessssssst. We’ve had ours for as long as I can remember (maybe a wedding present?), and I use it several times a week!
- Stick blender – Possibly the most used gadget in my entire kitchen. The key to making a hand blender useful versus a giant pain in the butt is to rinse it immediately after using. That way you’re never trying to get crusty dried goop out from under the blades.
- Salad dressing bottle – There are so many options – I love a good glass jar or mason jar, but the ones with the lines on the side for new dressing recipe suggestions are so cool too!
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How to Make Citrus Vinaigrette
Citrus Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons orange juice
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon stone ground dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon minced garlic about ½ an average size clove
Instructions
- Blend everything together with an electric blender or stick blender.Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Try this on your favorite salad recipe! (I’m partial to the Brussel Sprouts Salad).
Citrus Vinaigrette – Dressing OR Marinade!
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Sher says
Outstanding!
April Woods says
yay! so glad you like our citrus dressing recipe!!!
martha skala says
Wish there were MORE stars! I made a batch this morning and used my Valencia Orange vinegar….I marinated a single serving of shrimp in some for a few hours this afternoon…cooked them up and had them on top of my salad drizzled with this dressing…OMGOODNESS I could drink this stuff! Went together in a snap by dumping all ingredients in my blender and whirling it up…made enough for an 8oz mason jar and I used only your measurements for it…BRILLIANT! This will be a staple for me…THANK YOU! I highly recommend anyone to try it…FABULOUS!!
April Woods says
oh yay! i’m so glad you love our citrus vinaigrette!!!
Sher says
I DO drink the bottom of the bowl lol… Shhhhhh
Kelsey says
We doubled this recipe for tonight’s dinner salad – highly recommend! Love that is sugar free and whole, real ingredients!
Leigh Ann says
This is our absolute favorite homemade dressing! It’s so simple and delicious. I make a double batch weekly and use for salads, I’ve even used it as a chicken and shrimp marinade before. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe!
April Woods says
Oh, I’m SO glad to hear that!!!