Homemade Garlic Vinaigrette Recipe

This one’s for the garlic lovers: this simple, homemade garlic vinaigrette recipe takes just 5 minutes to make! This versatile, garlicky salad dressing adds a bright, rich flavour to salads, grain bowls and even roasted veggies.

Salad dressings are easily one of the most underrated types of plant-based recipes. A mere after thought in a culture focused on searing and sauteing.

I remember reading through one bestselling cookbook at some very pretty salad recipes and being downright appalled when the author declared that she does not do salad dressing recipes. Instead, she believes that salads should simply be drizzled with a bit of oil and vinegar at the end.

What the actual heck?!?

I think this mindset is born from the idea that salad is simply a bit of crunch on a plate so that you don’t die of scurvy. The main is the meat. The salad is simply required. 

But for me, salads are the prize. The main event. The reason why I come to the table. Case in point: the chopped summer vegetable salad I make with this dressing when produce is at its peak.

The right dressing can make even a simple salad so delicious you don’t want to stop eating it! Which is why pretty much every salad in Good For Your Gut cookbook comes with its own salad dressing creation. This dietitian doesn’t mess around when it comes to flavour.

But I’m also a believer in having a few good back pocket salad dressing recipes that go with almost any salad, like this homemade garlic vinaigrette recipe. You know, the ones that you shake up in a big batch and use all week long so you never have to buy salad dressings again.

A couple of hot tips for the perfect garlic vinaigrette

This garlic vinaigrette recipe couldn’t be simpler: all you need is 5 ingredients (plus salt!), and 5 minutes and you’re done! Perfect for meal prep, perfect for that last minute salad you just threw together and perfect for dressing up lack lustre veggies.

• Oils: When the dressing is simple, ingredients matter. Using a good quality olive or cold-pressed canola oil will make a difference to the flavour here; if you don’t have one, go the opposite way with a totally neutral-flavoured avocado oil.
• Apple cider vinegar (ACV): it’s punchy, and bold in flavour, so it stands up to a higher oil vinaigrette. I always by unpasteurized ACV which is fermented food with small amounts of live microbes.
• Dijon mustard: I often use a large amount of Dijon in my dressings, like in my creamy balsamic vinaigrette, but here, it’s just a hint to help emulsify the dressing and not overpower the garlic. Want more emulsification? Use a bit more dijon – 1 tsp.

How to make a less oily vinaigrette

Okay, so I’m all about understanding the cooking basics…and typically, a classic French vinaigrette is taught as 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. But I usually find those dressings so – for lack of a better word – oily!! I just can’t.

If I’m using a bold vinegar like apple cider vinegar, I make my vinaigrette in a 1:2 ratio. And if I’m making a vinaigrette with lemon juice? Then I use 1 part lemon juice to 1 part oil so the dressing stays bright, fresh and never tastes oily.

More easy homemade salad dressings

• Healthy Vegan Caesar Dressing Recipe
• 5 Minute Creamy Balsamic Dressing (Vegan)
• Nourishing Maple Tahini Dressing (5 min!)
• Fresh Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette
• Nutritional Yeast Dressing with Dijon and Maple