This vinaigrette combines fresh pink grapefruit juice (red or ruby red works too) and red wine vinegar to make a sweet and tart salad dressing or marinade. It mixes up in the blender in seconds and has just five simple ingredients that allow the grapefruit flavor to be front and center.
Check out more of my quick and easy vinaigrette recipes including my beautiful 7-minute blood orange vinaigrette and my 5-minute sweet onion vinaigrette.
Vinaigrette Formula (Ratio)
Normally a vinaigrette uses 3 parts oil to one part vinegar. This ratio makes a slightly acidic salad dressing that can also double as a marinade. But since this vinaigrette has grapefruit juice, the ratio is a little different. There is much less vinegar because grapefruit adds some tart flavor in addition to sweetness.
Vinaigrette in the Blender
Mixing a vinaigrette in the blender is the fastest and easiest way to make a vinaigrette.
One big benefit of mixing a vinaigrette in the blender is that it forces the oil and vinegar, (and the grapefruit juice in this case), to combine better than if mixed by hand. The blender forces some air into it and keeps them together a little bit longer. The dressing will still separate after a few minutes but just give it a good shake and you’re ready to go.
Ingredients
You may notice that some traditional vinaigrette ingredients are missing from this recipe. Mustard, shallots, pepper and onion powder are often found in vinaigrettes. But when testing the recipe, I found that these ingredients blocked the flavor of the grapefruit juice. I found it best to just leave them out. The vinaigrette has wonderful flavor without them.
Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is best for this recipe. I like red, ruby red or pink grapefruit. These types of grapefruit tend to be sweeter and have better flavor.
Since this vinaigrette is mixed in the blender, you can leave the pulp in. The pulp will add extra flavor and texture to the vinaigrette. I juice it into a bowl and remove the seeds with a spoon.
Extra virgin olive oil is traditional for a vinaigrette. It has great depth of flavor with the hint of bitterness that balance is nicely with the sweet and sour ingredients in a vinaigrette.
The slightly fruity flavor of red wine vinegar pairs nicely with grapefruit juice. If you don’t have red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar are good substitutes.
Finally just 2 more ingredients balance the vinaigrette and bring out the flavor of the grapefruit. A sweet ingredient helps to balance the sour vinegar and enhance the sweetness of the grapefruit juice. I prefer agave because it incorporates quickly and easily but sugar, honey or any other sweetener will do the trick.
Salt is another flavor enhancer but will also help to tame any bitterness from the olive oil.
Pink Grapefruit Red Wine Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1-2 pink, red or ruby red grapefruits
- 1 c extra virgin olive oil
- ΒΌ c red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp agave or other sweetener
- Β½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Juice the grapefruit to get Β½ cup juice. Since this recipe is mixed up in the blender, leave the pulp – it's great for adding flavor.
- Place all of the ingredients in the blender and blend on high for 20 seconds.
- Taste. Depending on the sweetness of the grapefruit and the flavor of your olive oil, the vinaigrette may need some tweaking. If it's bitter, small amounts of salt and sweetener will help to balance. Too sour? Add a little more oil and a sweetener.
- See my post the correct ratio for a vinaigrette for specifics on how to balance the flavor of a vinaigrette.
- Store this vinaigrette in the refrigerator. The ev olive oil will likely solidify when chilled, so take it out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before using.
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