Sweet Tart Blood Orange Vinaigrette with Shallots
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Sweet, savory, and tangy all in one–this blood orange vinaigrette with shallots recipe is deliciously tart and full of flavor! This festive blood orange salad dressing will brighten up the flavors of any mid-winter salad greens.
Blood orange is hands down my favorite mid-winter seasonal flavor. Minnesota winters can be quite drab, but finding blood oranges at the grocery store in January is the silver lining to the cold and gray. Reframing winter into “blood orange season” certainly makes me more excited about it!
I love blood oranges so much more than regular oranges. The bold, tart flavor of blood oranges is something I look forward to all year long.
Outside of snacking, I like finding other ways to use blood oranges. I’ve come up with a creamy, refreshing blood orange dressing that is perfect for drizzling on your favorite greens for winter salads.
While the sweet-tart flavors of the blood orange are the star of the show, the shallots, garlic, and Dijon mustard balance out the sweetness with savory notes. It’s super easy to make, and the best part is the beautiful pink-orange ombre color. You’re going to love this dressing!
Ingredients
To make this tangy blood orange vinaigrette with shallots, you need the following simple ingredients:
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Good quality olive oil is among one of the healthiest choices for oil, and it’s the base of almost all of my homemade salad dressings. The healthy fats found in olive oil help you absorb the nutrients from your greens. If you need an alternative, choose a 100% pure avocado oil.
- Fresh Blood Oranges – You need two blood oranges to squeeze the amount of juice you need for the recipe. You will also zest one of the oranges.
- White Wine Vinegar -White wine vinegar is a lighter-tasting vinegar flavor that won’t overpower the blood orange juice.
- Honey - A little bit of honey is necessary for sweetness. The blood orange juice isn’t quite sweet enough on its own. Without honey, this dressing is much more savory.
- Dijon Mustard – One teaspoon Dijon mustard helps emulsify the dressing, acting as a stabilizer between the oil and the vinegar/orange juice. It also adds tangy flavor.
- Shallots – Shallots, an aromatic, add savoriness to the dressing.
- Salt, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder – For flavor.
Instructions
Whipping together this blood orange vinaigrette couldn’t be easier. Follow the steps below:
1. Zest Orange
Add 1/2 cup olive oil to a pint-size mason jar or small bowl. Wash one of the blood oranges. Using a zester, zest the orange into the jar of oil. You want about 1 tsp of zest.
2. Juice Oranges
Slice the blood orange you just zested into quarters and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. Quarter the second orange and squeeze the juice until you reach 1/3 cup blood orange juice. Use a spoon to remove any seeds that fell in while juicing. Add the juice to the jar of oil.
3. Add Other Ingredients
Add the white wine vinegar, honey, dijon mustard, finely diced shallots, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the jar.
4. Shake to Combine
Put a cap on the mason jar or bowl and shake vigorously until the honey and mustard are fully dissolved into the dressing. You’re dressing is ready to serve!
This dressing is so good. Make sure you give it a good shake before pouring. The juice will sink to the bottom as it sits, so you will want to make sure it’s well-mixed.
Tips & Variations
If you don’t have white wine vinegar, use red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. I would avoid heavier vinegar, such as balsamic vinegar, so the flavor doesn’t compete with the blood oranges.
If you don’t have shallots, you can use red onion, but I would cut back to 1/2 tablespoon since they have a stronger flavor. Alternatively, you can just leave them out. They add a nice savory note, but they can easily be omitted if needed.
If your grocery store doesn’t carry blood oranges, you can make this dressing with navel or cara cara oranges, however, the flavoring won’t be as tart. But it will still be delightful.
If you can’t find blood oranges but want a tart & tangy dressing, try my Honey Lemon Vinaigrette or my Balsamic Citrus Dressing. My healthy homemade ranch is also a great choice!
Serving Suggestions
My favorite way to eat this simple vinaigrette is on spring mix or seasonal winter greens, such as kale. Top with feta cheese or goat cheese, pomegranate seeds, and garnish with blood orange slices.
This dressing would also be AMAZING as a replacement for the lemon vinaigrette in my Cucumber Blueberry Salad.
Want to try some other salad recipes made from winter greens? Try my winter kale salad and my copycat Chick-fil-A Kale Salad.
Check out my Healthy Homemade Dressings collection for more recipe ideas.
Nutritional Information
This recipe makes 6-8 servings, depending on how much dressing you like. For 1/6 of this recipe, the nutritional info is as follows:
- Calories: 179
- Protein: 0
- Fat: 18 grams (2.5 grams saturated)
- Carbs: 5 grams
If you would like to see the nutritional breakdown for 8 servings, that can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Notes
Store extra dressing in an airtight container, such as the mason jar with lid that you mixed it in, in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
The oil may solidify in the cold temperature of the refrigerator. To remix, remove from the fridge an hour or two early so it can warm up. Then you can shake to remix. You can also set the jar in a bowl of warm (not hot) water.
FAQ
Blood oranges taste like a deeper, more complex navel orange. They have some tart floral notes that are just delightful.
All oranges are healthy choices! That said, blood oranges get their distinct color from an antioxidant called anthocyanin. Anthocyanin is linked to the prevention of many diseases.
Make This Blood Orange Vinaigrette Today!
Make this vinaigrette today! You’ll love it! When you do, please leave a comment and review! It means the world!
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Blood Orange Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 mason jar with lid
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 blood oranges to squeeze for 1/3 cup juice
- zest from one of the blood oranges
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
Instructions
- Add olive oil to a pint-size mason jar. Wash one of the blood oranges thoroughly, then zest the outside of the orange into the jar of oil. You can zest anywhere from 1/2 to 3/4 of the orange, depending on its size. Aim for around 1 tsp of zest.1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, zest from one of the blood oranges
- Quarter the blood oranges and squeeze the juice into a separate jar or cup and measure out 1/3 cup juice. Remove any seeds that fall in while juicing. Pour the juice into the jar of oil.2 blood oranges
- Add the white wine vinegar, honey, dijon, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and shallots. Put a lid on the jar and shake vigorously to mix.2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
Video
Very delicious. Made a great dressing for a big green salad I served to some friends who came over for dinner. everyone loved it!