This blood orange vinaigrette has just five ingredients and is ready in 7 minutes or less! The easy recipe allows the blood orange flavor to be the star of a salad dressing that will add something special to just about any salad.
Be sure to check out more of my vinaigrette recipes including my tropical mango vinaigrette, easy blueberry vinaigrette and my 5 minute sweet miso vinaigrette.
The Vinaigrette Ratio
The general rule for vinaigrettes is to use 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. But this recipe includes blood orange juice so that means we have to bend the rules.
Blood orange juice is slightly tart which means less vinegar is needed, in fact way less vinegar. The strong flavor of vinegar was overpowering the orange, so the ratio of vinegar to oil in this recipe is 1 part vinegar to 6 parts oil.
Ingredients
I tested this recipe several times to get it just right. At first I added mustard and onion powder – traditional vinaigrette ingredients. But they were too strong and blocked the orange flavor. So the final version is extremely simple and lets the flavor of the blood orange be front and center.
Blood orange juice – Blood oranges are seasonal and usually appear around mid winter. You’ll need 1-2 blood oranges to get enough juice for the recipe.
Vinegar – The recipe calls for just 2 tablespoons of white wine, champagne or white balsamic vinegar. The orange juice is already slightly tart so this small amount of vinegar is all you need.
Extra virgin olive oil is the best oil for a vinaigrette. It adds wonderful flavor and combines with other liquids better than other oils. I recommend using a quality olive oil like California Olive Ranch.
A sweet ingredient helps to bring out the sweetness of the orange. I prefer agave because it mixes in easily. If you don’t have agave, honey, maple syrup or sugar can be used instead.
The recipe card shows a range of 1-2 teaspoons of sweetener. The sweetness of your blood oranges will help determine how much sweetener is needed. I’ll help you figure this out with instructions in the recipe card below.
Finally, salt helps to enhance all the other flavors in the vinaigrette.
Blood Orange Salad Ideas
Here are a few salad ideas that work well with this blood orange vinaigrette.
- Fennel salad – Fennel is such an excellent pairing with orange. Combine shaved fennel with green onion, pomegranate seeds and chopped walnuts.
- Kale salad – Chop the kale into bite sized pieces and toss it with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Let it sit for 15 minutes. This will tenderize the kale. Then add sliced avocado and cucumber and top with sunflower seeds.
- Green salad – Combine green leaf lettuce, sliced or diced apple, shredded carrots and shaved red cabbage.
7 Minute Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1-2 blood oranges
- 2 Tbsp white wine or white balsamic vinegar
- 1Β½-2 tsp agave or other sweetener
- ΒΌ tsp salt
- ΒΎ c extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- This recipe can easily be mixed by hand with a whisk or in the blender.
- Squeeze the blood orange(s) to get β cup juice.
- Place the blood orange juice, vinegar, agave and salt into a medium sized mixing bowl or in the blender.
- Beat or blend until the mixture is bubbly.
- While whisking vigorously (or with the blender running on low) gradually drizzle in the olive oil.
- Continue mixing until the oil is completely incorporated.
- Taste. You may want to adjust the flavor depending on your preference and the sweetness of the orange. Do you taste the blood orange? If not, add a pinch of salt and Β½ teaspoon agave.Is it too sour? Add 1 tablespoon of oil and Β½ teaspoon (or more) of agave.Do you want it more sour? Add more vinegar 1-2 teaspoons at a time.Is it lacking something you can't figure out? Add 2 pinches of salt and Β½ tsp of agave.
- Transfer the vinaigrette to jar or bottle and store in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for at least 10 days.The olive oil is likely to solidify when chilled. If this happens, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds to liquefy it.
- Always shake well before pouring.
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