Our Top 10 Vinaigrettes That Will Make You Love Salad Again

Updated on February 9, 2022

Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette — Photo: Eva Kolenko

No more boring salads. Making a homemade vinaigrette can help you customize the flavors and add fresh, nutritious ingredients like lemon, herbs and spices. Once you start making your own dressing, there's no going back.

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Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette

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While a 1-to-2 acid-to-oil ratio is common for vinaigrette, shifting it to 1-to-1½ yields a dressing with a brighter flavor and fewer calories. That means for every ½ cup of acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice, use 3/4 cup of oil. Here's a good all-purpose take on the formula.

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Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette with Lemon

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A healthy, tasty homemade salad dressing is as simple as shaking a few ingredients in a jar.

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Olive Orange Vinaigrette

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Minced olives add a briny flavor to this healthy homemade salad dressing. The dressing keeps for several days in the fridge, so make a big batch to use on your favorite dinner salads and side salads. Try it on a salad with sliced red onion and fresh oranges.

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Avocado Buttermilk Dressing

This herbaceous and healthy salad dressing gets a tangy flavor from buttermilk, richness from avocado and brightness from fresh herbs. Try it on sliced tomatoes, cucumber salad or chopped chicken salad and as a dip for carrot sticks, celery, peppers and radishes--you name it! It would also make a great spread for sandwiches.

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Garlic-Oregano Vinaigrette

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To get the most flavor out of this easy vinaigrette dressing recipe, dried oregano is rubbed between your fingers and toasted before being whisked with the remaining ingredients.

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Ginger-Sesame Vinaigrette

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This versatile vinaigrette combines sesame oil, rice vinegar, fresh ginger, and green onions for a quick and easy salad dressing. Serve over torn romaine lettuce.

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Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

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Once you try this easy vinaigrette recipe, you'll want to use it in every meal. Meyer lemon adds acidity, while the sweetness from the honey and the sharpness from the shallot counterbalance to create a bright, flavorful vinaigrette.

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Citrus-Lime Vinaigrette

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Tangy and spicy, this citrus-lime vinaigrette with orange juice, jalapeno pepper, and fresh cilantro is perfect tossed with baby arugula.

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Sherry-Walnut Vinaigrette

Using roasted walnut oil in this healthy vinaigrette recipe gives this dressing a nutty flavor. Look for walnut oil near other specialty oils in your grocery store.

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Easy Red-Wine Vinaigrette

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This versatile red-wine vinaigrette recipe is a healthy dressing for your salad but it's also delicious drizzled on grain salads or over grilled or roasted vegetables.

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Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

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Orange juice and cilantro yield a tangy dressing that you'll want to have on hand.

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Mint Vinaigrette

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This brightly flavored lemon-mint vinaigrette recipe is an ideal dressing for mixed green salads or grain salads, such a quinoa or freekah, topped with fresh fruit.

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