This classic Red Wine Vinaigrette recipe is super versatile, it only takes a few minutes to whip up, and it always tastes SO delicious!
As many of you may have noticed over the years, there seems to be a bit of a trend with many of the salad (and pasta salad!) recipes here on the blog:
SO many of them are tossed with a red wine vinaigrette.
What can I say? It’s one of my all-time favorite dressings! It’s ultra quick and easy to whip up. It’s made with ingredients I always have on hand. It’s wildly versatile, and compliments nearly any kind of salad. And it’s consistently so freaking delicious.
Seriously, this is one of those classic recipes in life that I recommend every cook memorize so that you can always have it in your back pocket. And I’m pretty certain that your salads will be all the more delicious for it.
To make the vinaigrette, simply whisk all of your ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Or — my favorite method — add the ingredients to a mason jar, then cover and give everything a good shake-shake-shake until combined.
I love this classic recipe. But there are endless ways you could also customize it, such as:
- adding in a tablespoon or two of mayo or Greek yogurt to make it creamy
- adding in extra lemon juice to make it really tangy
- adding in some tahini to give it a Mediterranean twist
- adding in some Parmesan, to make it extra cheesy
- swap out the Italian seasoning for chopped fresh herbs, or a different dried seasoning blend
- etc.
I recommend it on:
- nearly any green salad (such as my Family’s Favorite Salad, Chicken, Bacon & Avocado Salad, or this Arugula Salad with Parmesan and Lemon)
- pasta salads (such as my Mediterranean Pasta Salad, Rainbow Antipasto Pasta Salad, or this Lemony Artichoke Pasta Salad)
- panzanellas (such as my Summer Panzanella)
- as a marinade for grilled chicken, steak, pork or shrimp
- as a sauce to toss with roasted vegetables
Really, you hardly can go wrong with a classic red wine vinaigrette. So here’s my favorite recipe for how to make it!
Red Wine Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
Instructions
- Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl (or shake together in a sealed jar) until emulsified.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
I need to eat oil / fat free so replaced the oil with my water/cornstarch staple and it turned out great. Of course it is not going to be the same taste as it would with oil but the water/cornstarch helps the dressing to stick to the lettuce leaves compared to straight water. (Just add 2 tsps of cornstarch to a small saucepan and add 1 cup of water. Gently boil for a few minutes whisking constantly until somewhat clear. Cool and then replace oil 1 for 1 with the water/cornstarch mix.
I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve used this recipe. Quite a strong flavour, so you don’t need to drown a salad in this dressing, a light drizzle is plenty – absolutely gorgeous
I see I’ve already done a review a couple of years ago, oops!
Addition to my reviews – the colour isn’t the same as the picture. In fact the picture put me off making it for ages because it looks more like bolognaise than vinaigrette LoL . The actual dressing is a creamy colour, due to the mustard. Well worth the 5 minutes spent making it!
Thank you for posting this recipe. It was really good! I’m trying to cut out sugar and it was very helpful.
Me and my whole family raved over this dressing. I did go a little overboard and added double garlic, but it was fabulous! And it took me less than 5 minutes to whip it up. Thanks!
Brain cramp on my part – forgot the rating.
Great dressing! We didn’t have any honey so we substituted Maple Syrup. We’ll definitely make again.
Served on a Lentil and Currant salad.
This was a fine red wine vinaigrette recipe. I needed it to blend with mayo for a dressing requested in another recipe I was making for Salmon Pasta Salad. It was perfect! I would make this again whenever I need a quick vinaigrette by itself, or for a recipe.
Delicious! I used to work at a restaurant that had amazing dressing but I’ve since moved and have not been able to find any vinaigrette that I like. All the store bought dressings seem to be dairy based, thick and syrupy, or just taste awful so I gave up on salads entirely. I finally decided to try making my own and this recipe was perfect. I hate mustard though so I replaced the mustard with a bit of avocado and added in some lemon juice and it’s perfect.
Like other comments, my dressing does not look like the picture. I followed proportions exactly but the Dijon seems to contribute more to the color than pictured.
That said, it’s delicious and that’s all that matters!! :)
Adding my rating — totally missed that step.
This dressing is AWESOME!! We have bees and make our own honey. For all the people who think you need to leave out honey…read the health benefits of it. There’s a reason grandmothers gave out a spoonful every day. Also, all these ingredients are kept in the pantry so no need to refrigerate the dressing. Thanks for this delicious and healthy dressing.