Healthy Balsamic Citrus Vinaigrette – Easy & Bright

This balsamic citrus vinaigrette is clean, crisp, and refreshing. Filled with the bright & tangy flavors of citrus, plus the richness of balsamic vinegar, these nourishing ingredients create the perfect dressing for all kinds of green salads!

I am a stickler for making my own amazing dressings for salads and marinades. Not only does making my own dressings help me avoid unhealthy additives, but it’s also a great way to add variety without spending a lot of money. Making my own allows me to frequently switch it up without keeping a hundred different bottles of dressing in the fridge!

I recommend extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) as the base for this simple vinaigrette for a few reasons:

1. EVOO is rich in monounsaturated fatty acids, or MUFAs. For a heart-healthy diet, the American Heart Association recommends including more MUFAs in our diet than saturated or trans fats.
2. Many of the vitamins in fruits and veggies (mainly Vitamins D, A, K, & E) are fat soluble, meaning they need at least a little bit of fat with consumption to absorb optimal nutrients to help us reach the recommended daily values. Even if you’re on a low-calorie diet, it’s worth it to add some healthy fat like EVOO to your salad dressings.
3. It tastes delicious!

Why You’ll Love This Dressing

This tangy dressing is perfect for any season. The seasonal citrus makes it a great choice for a winter vinaigrette, but the refreshing and bright flavors make it perfect for spring and summer salads, too.

This dressing does not require much sweetener due to the natural sweetness of the orange juice and balsamic vinegar, so a half teaspoon of honey is more than enough to highlight the beautiful flavors. It is the perfect dressing for any style of citrus salad.

If this is your first time making your own salad dressing, be prepared never to go back to store-bought bottles! You cannot beat the taste, quality, and control over ingredients you get with a homemade salad dressing, such as this orange balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients

To make this balsamic citrus vinaigrette, you will need:

• Olive Oil – Choose extra virgin olive oil if you can. 
• Fresh Orange Juice – I use navel oranges for this dressing (1 medium orange equals 1/4 cup of orange juice). You can use bottled orange juice if you wish.
• Balsamic Vinegar – This vinegar gives a rich and tangy flavor to our vinaigrette. My recipe is a little different from others because I prefer to use traditional dark balsamic vinegar. White balsamic vinegar can be chosen if your taste buds don’t enjoy the caramelized flavor.
• Fresh Lemon Juice – Lemon juice balances out the flavors of the vinaigrette to keep it from getting too sweet. Lime juice can also be used.
• Dijon Mustard – Any brand of Dijon will do!
• Sea Salt & Pepper
• Honey – Honey is my sweetener of choice for this recipe, but you could use maple syrup or agave nectar if needed. Alternatively, you could skip the sweetener if you like a tart dressing.

Serving Suggestions

This balsamic dressing recipe is the perfect addition to a side dish salad with your favorite dinner. Serve alongside this healthy tater tot hotdish or my high protein Italian pasta bake. It is also a great option for a marinade for grilled chicken or pork tenderloin.

Want to try other delicious homemade salad dressings? Try my Lemon Honey Dressing, my Blood Orange Dressing with Shallots, or my creamy protein ranch dressing.

Nutritional Information

This salad dressing makes 6 servings. For each serving, the nutritional info is as follows:

• Calories: 95
• Protein: 0
• Fat: 9 grams
• Carbs: 3 grams

Recipe Notes

Store this healthy dressing in the refrigerator. It is best eaten within a couple of days–any longer and the olive oil may harden in the fridge. However, if that happens, just gently warm the dressing a slight amount to bring it to room temperature and liquefy the olive oil again.

Did You Make This Recipe?

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