Food & Cooking Recipes Quick & Easy Recipes Basic Vinaigrette (Plus 6 Variations) 3.3 (153) This vinaigrette is made with just four ingredients—and it tastes so much better than store-bought salad dressings. Prep Time: 5 mins Total Time: 5 mins Yield: 1 cup Jump to recipe With just four ingredients (ones you likely already have in your kitchen) you can make this basic vinaigrette recipe in less than five minutes—no peeling, chopping, or zesting necessary. Simply measure out the ingredients and combine them, except for the olive oil. Whisk them together in a bowl or shake them up in a jar. Then drizzle in the oil (or add it to the jar and shake again). That's it—the vinaigrette is ready to top your favorite green salad or steamed vegetables. And with six variations, you'll have a repertoire of seven different vinaigrette recipes to shake up your salad routine. Credit: Clive Streeter 4 Easy Salad Dressings That Are So Much Better Than Store-Bought When to Use Vinaigrette You may think a vinaigrette is for a green leafy salad, and you'd be right, but that's not the only way to use this classic salad dressing. Try it on: Potato salads Pasta salads Grain salads Bean salads Boiled or steamed vegetables, like green beans, asparagus, broccoli, or potatoes As a marinade for grilled or broiled meat or fish As a sauce for chicken, fish fillets, or whole fish when they come off the heat, just before serving As a sauce over grilled vegetables before serving Directions Combine all ingredients except oil: In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Add oil: Slowly add oil, whisking until emulsified. Instead of whisking the vinaigrette, you can simply shake the ingredients together in a jar, or whirl them in a blender if you prefer. 6 Vinaigrette Variations to Try It's easy to swap out or add ingredients to make different types of vinaigrette. Try these variations: Garlic: Add 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 1/2 clove crushed.Balsamic: Substitute balsamic vinegar for the wine vinegar.Lemon Parmesan: Use fresh lemon juice instead of vinegar; add 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan.Scallion: Add 3 chopped whole scallions (about 1/4 cup).Herb: Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs, such as thyme, parsley, or tarragon. Blue Cheese: Add 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese, such as Roquefort. Updated by Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer Victoria Spencer is an experienced food editor, writer, and recipe developer. She manages the decorvow recipe archive and is always curious about new ingredients and the best techniques. She has been working in food media for over 20 years.