Vinaigrettes

A simple vinaigrette can be a beautiful base for salads, grain bowls, and so much more. Our vinegars can be easily paired with a quality olive oil to make a beautiful quick and easy dressing. Vinaigrettes are incredibly easy to make and endlessly versatile if you play around with the type of oil, vinegar, and additional flavorings that you choose to top in. There are no hard and fast rules so feel free to riff and experiment, I promise it will turn out tasty. 


Basic Vinaigrette Ratio

3 Parts Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Part Vinegar

0.5 Parts Dijon Mustard

Healthy Pinch of Salt


Add all ingredients to a mason jar and give it a good shake to mix together the ingredients. The mustard acts as both a layer of flavor as well as an emulsifier, keeping the oil and vinegar from separating right away. 


Thoroughly wash and DRY your salad greens and then toss with the vinaigrette. It is important to make sure your greens are nice and dry for this step to ensure the vinaigrette clings to them. 

 

Riffing On a Vinaigrette: Endless Variations

The great thing about a vinaigrette is that they are endlessly versatile if you choose to explore new flavor profiles. Here are a few ideas.

Mix up the Vinegar

Every vinegar will lend a different character to a vinaigrette. Northland Vinegars tries to create a wide pallet of flavors in our lineup so each vinegar will create a different flavor profile when made into a dressing. Here are some ideas for you.

  • Aged Apple Cider Vinegar will give a great classic vinaigrette perfect for just about any salad or grain bowl out there. Clean, bright and crisp, can’t go wrong. 

  • Celery Aquavit Vinegar is maybe the one I am most proud of. Incredibly savory with notes of caraway and dill, this vinegar will make a beautiful savory dressing that goes great with chicken salad, Leafy greens, and just about anything else you can think of. 

  • Chipotle Stout Vinegar will lend a depth of smoke and earthy notes. I would steer clear of greens for this one and instead drizzle this over grain bowls and grilled meats. 

  • Rosemary Porter Vinegar can be used in the exact same way as the Chipotle Stout. Grain bowls, potatoes, roasted chicken and steak all come to mind. 

  • Cherry Bourbon Cider Vinegar will be a great salad dressing base. Dark leafy greens, some craisins, dried walnuts, and a drizzle of cherry bourbon vinaigrette? Delicious. Toss some sliced grilled pork loin over the top of that to make it a great dinner.


Add in some additional flavors

Vinaigrette flavors can be deepened by adding in additional ingredients. Finely minced shallot is going to be a fantastic choice. Diced herbs, garlic, spices, scallions, miso, anchovies, maple, yogurt, ginger and so much more. I encourage you to play around and experiment!