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This Red Wine Vinaigrette is easy and fabulous. 5 pantry ingredients (including salt!) is all it takes for the easiest vinaigrette, ever.
How do you make red wine vinaigrette?
My recipe is super simple, the kind of dressing you can whisk up in a minute or two. Anything longer and I might just order pizza. JUST KIDDING.
- Olive oil. You can substitute part of the oil with something else like avocado oil, walnut oil, or hazelnut oil.
- Red Wine Vinegar. You can use a different vinegar such as white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, balsamic vinegar, or even cider vinegar. Just to be clear, you won't have a Red Wine Vinaigrette anymore if you do that (but your dressing will still be delicious).
- Dijon mustard. This will emulsify the dressing and infuse it with flavor. You can also use brown mustard.
- Oregano. I like a teaspoon of dried oregano in my dressing. You could use Italian seasoning if that's more your speed, or swap in some minced fresh herbs (basil, chives, and parsley all sound good).
- Salt and pepper. To taste. I recommend tasting the dressing before you add any salt. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon (or an 1/8th if you are shy about salt). Taste it again, and go from there. Once I figure out the salt, I generally add 50% of that amount of freshly ground black pepper (that's a ratio I learned in culinary school and I like it).
To combine, you can:
- Whisk it in a bowl
- Shake it in a jar
- Blast it in a blender
Choose your own adventure.
What do you use red wine vinegar for?
This recipe is my daily go-to for salads and sandwiches (it reminds me of "Mike's Way" at Jersey Mikes).
I also love it on:
- Chickpea Salad
- Greek Pasta Salad
- Mediterranean Chopped Salad
- Antipasto Salad
- Mediterranean Lentil Salad
- Buddha Bowl
Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette Recipe
This is the EASIEST salad dressing to make-bar none. 5 pantry staples and you have a delicious, healthy red wine vinaigrette recipe for salads and sandwiches.
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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 162kcal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or more to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper start with 1/4 teaspoon (I use 1/2 teaspoon)
Instructions
- In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, Dijon mustard, and oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Store covered in the refrigerator and use within 4 days.
Video
Notes
Try adding this:
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced shallot
- 1-2 teaspoons minced fresh herbs
Nutrition
Calories: 162kcal
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @CulinaryHill or tag #CulinaryHill!
Have been making my own dressings for decades the way its made in Germany but never used red wine vinegar. Why do you like it?
Hi Ulrike, I absolutely love the taste of red wine vinegar. Sometimes I pour a little bit over cooked lentils that have been stewed in tomatoes and onions. I think overall I love acidic foods. Balsamic vinegar is my other favorite for dressings. How do you make dressings in Germany? I will have to read about that! Thanks. -Meggan
I haven’t been able to find the Wishbone Red Wine Vinegar dressing that I like in the stores and so I made only a half recipe of this to try it. I did add a teaspoon of minced garlic but even with that both hubby and I thought it was sorely lacking in any flavor. In fact, it’s the first time I’ve ever seen him leave a salad uneaten with only a few bites taken.
After the great reviews I’m wondering if I have a weak brand of red wine vinegar. I used a Heinz brand. We live in a rather remote part of Michigan that offers little choice in products when shopping. Most of the time I have to take the one they have, if they have any.
Hi Christine, did you use Dijon mustard? If you used a good Dijon, it seems impossible that the dressing could be flavorless even if you had a lackluster red wine vinegar. Also, maybe it needed more salt. Salt is one of those things, I keep adding it until the thing tastes good. It really helps so much. I’m sorry you had trouble -Meggan
Ten stars. My husband tasted the dressing and said, you know, I would be fine if we didn’t buy salad dressing anymore; this is way better.
It was good ! I did half apple cider and also didn’t have Dijon just used spicy mustard lol . Good
Love this dressing
My favorite recipe!!! If I have time I add a minced clove of garlic or shallot or a teaspoon of honey. You can also change the herbs. It’s just amazing!
Thank you I will be returning
I added honey 😋
Oh yeah, that’s THE BEST. So good. I have done that too, in fact a lot of recipes call for it. Good call. :) -Meggan
I don’t understand. Is this person speaking English? Or is this a rudimentary poem or a haiku?
HA HA HA! No it’s spam, that one slipped through. But your comment made me smile. :) -Meggan
I’m very picky about my Italian and dressing and this was good. Be sure you have very fresh olive oil as if it’s stale it will alter the taste. I add a few dashes of extra red wine vinegar and let set on the counter for about an hour before using. Take it out of the fridge about 30 minutes to an hour before using to let the olive oil come to room temperature. Yum.
Hi Meagan!
Is this really 163 calories for only 2 tablespoons?
It looks fantastic otherwise.
Hi Toni, thanks for the question! Yes, that is correct. Basically more than half of the recipe is olive oil, and there are 120 calories in one tablespoon of olive oil. If you want something lower calorie, I would increase the red wine vinegar to 1/2 cup (thus doing equal parts oil and vinegar). That would drop it to 123 calories per serving instead of 163 (and you’d have 8 servings total instead of 6). The other thing you could do is use less dressing overall. So maybe use just 1 tablespoon of this dressing and load up with extra vinegar so it’s not too dry. If you have any other questions or need anything else, just let me know! Thanks a lot! I hope you like the dressing. It’s my favorite. -Meggan
I’ve made this twice. Once for sandwich wraps and once for salad. Delicious on both! The olive oil solidified in the fridge when I kept the leftovers stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Any way to prevent that? Thanks for the recipe!
Oil and vinegar are like Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in most of their romantic comedies. They start out hating each other, but if something brings them together, a surfactant or an emulsifier, something that can break the repulsion, they cling to each other and the salad greens beautifully.
An emulsifier/surfactant coats the oil molecules and makes it easier for them to mix with the watery stuff. Mustard is a common emulsifier for home made salad dressings. Mayonnaise is also an emulsifier, as are egg yolks, and honey. Commercial dressings often use xanthan gum, lecithin, or dairy extracts.
Hi Laurie, olive oil does that when it gets cold. There isn’t a way to prevent that, that I know of. I would just say, pull it out 15 or 20 minutes before you need it. Because the recipe has garlic in it, I wouldn’t recommend keeping it at room temperature all the time. You definitely want to keep it in the refrigerator. Thank you for your comment, I’m glad you like the recipe!
So Easy, So Good
Hi Blayne, just looking at the salt I have kosher salt listed (the coarse stuff). If by any chance you used table salt, it would have been twice as salty. Not saying that’s what happened, but I am going to change the recipe to just regular salt since that’s probably what most people have. And I’ll provide a range. Thanks again for letting me know!
That’s so sad! I’m going to adjust the recipe to change the amount of salt (list a range), obviously I make it the way I listed it but we all have different tastes. I appreciate the feedback.
What is the recipe for the salad shown, with the square white cheese and cucumbers? It looks awesome!
Hi Shanna! That’s a Greek Pasta salad (with feta cheese) that I published on a different blog, Oh Sweet Basil. Here’s the link! http://www.ohsweetbasil.com/easy-greek-pasta-salad-recipe.html I will definitely add this to the post, thank you for the idea! :)
I just made this and it’s delicious! So fresh tasting and simple. I love how quick this was to put together. Next time I’ll add fresh shallot. Thank you!
Yes Caitlin, a fresh shallot is great! I always add that if I have one. Great addition. Glad you like the dressing, it’s one of my faves. So easy! Thanks so much for reading, take care. :)