A good vinaigrette dressing is a basic kitchen staple. This lemon orange Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing can be used on salads and vegetables or as a marinade on chicken or seafood to add some tangy zest to any meal!

Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe

This Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe is so good! With a bit of garlic and pepper it’s a little bit spicy, but all the citrus flavoring makes it refreshing on a salad during winter’s citrus season or as a healthy salad dressing on a spring or summer salad.

My mom’s neighbors’ orange and lemon trees that hang over her fence are bursting with fruit! She trades her avocados for some citrus, so I went over and picked some fruit for this delicious Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing.

Update: my mom’s house burned down in the Altadena fire in 2025. She has since moved into a new house nearby and now has a mini farm in her backyard including a lemon tree, avocado trees, apple tree, cherry tree, and peach tree. So we’re still picking trees and experimenting with new recipes.

I used our fruit picker to pick the lemons. It’s harder than it looks! You have to try to not take the whole tree off with the fruit (oops!) and not shake the tree too much so that the fruit just falls off.

Do you have any citrus trees in your yard? Or your neighbor’s yard? If so, you should definitely try this Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing! If not, no worries because farmer’s market or store-bought citrus is good, too!

This is a super simple vinaigrette to make with just a few ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Ingredients:

• Fresh-squeezed orange juice
• Fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• Garlic
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

You may notice that my “vinaigrette” recipe does not include vinegar as an actual ingredient; that’s because the citrus juices from the orange and lemon act as an acidic “vinegar” within the recipe.

Also, a basic vinaigrette is usually made with 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil and, again, my recipe differs. I use the fresh-squeezed orange juice and fresh-squeezed lemon juice as my acid, but I also use it as a flavoring, so I’ve included more of the acidic juices in my recipe than in a basic vinaigrette using the 1 to 3 ratio. Maybe that’s what makes it so good!

Want to Make This Recipe Vegan? 

The vinaigrette is vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free. In order to make it vegan, simply substitute agave instead of the honey in the recipe.

Tips for Making a Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing 

Use the best quality ingredients you can including fresh ingredients such as freshly squeezed juice using a juicer. 

However, if you need to use a frozen garlic cube in place of the fresh garlic clove in the recipe, go for it! Sometimes, it’s just easier! 

If you make this recipe and decide you love it ( … you will), you may wish to invest in a garlic press!

Oil and vinegar generally do not mix well, so in order to make a creamy vinaigrette, add the oil very slowly while whisking the mixture vigorously, allowing the vinaigrette to emulsify. 

However, I totally get it, life gets crazy and if you’re in a hurry, simply add all the ingredients into a tightly-sealed jar and shake!

The mustard in this recipe is an important emulsifying ingredient as it helps hold the oil and vinegar (or in my recipe, the citrus acid from the orange and lemon) together.

How Can I Store This Citrus Salad Dressing Vinaigrette? 

Store this citrus vinaigrette in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. If you would like to keep it longer, you will need to omit the fresh garlic and pepper for food safety reasons as garlic or pepper combined with oil can form harmful bacteria.

How to Serve this Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing:

If you make more than what you need for a salad, you can always use the leftovers on tomorrow’s salad or use it as a marinade for some grilled chicken! Here are some other recipes with which you can use it:

• Arugula and Orange Salad with Feta Cheese and Walnuts (shown in these photos)
• Grilled shrimp

The salad shown is just a simple Arugula and Orange Salad with Feta Cheese and Walnuts and topped with the Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing. 

Interested in more salad dressing and condiment recipes?

• Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
• Radish Relish
• Roasted Beet Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Here’s the printable recipe for the Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing:

What other salads would you use this Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing on? Let me know in a comment below! I’m always looking for fresh, new ideas!

And if you’re looking for new salad or salad dressing recipes, check out some of my other blog posts: 

Read More: Honey Lemon Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Read More: Orange and Arugula Salad with Feta and Walnuts Recipe

Read More: Melon & Mint Salad

Read More: Radish Relish

Read More: Italian Farfalle Pasta Salad Recipe

Read More: Beet Salad on a Stick

---

Copyright Notice

All images and content are copyright-protected. Please do not use any images without prior permission. If you would like to share this story, please only use one image, use proper credit, and link directly back to this post and linking with my post title. Thank you!

Land Acknowledgement

Salty Canary wants to acknowledge that we live, operate, gather, and benefit every day on the traditional stolen lands of several Indigenous peoples and nations including the Tongva (Gabrieleno), Kizh (Gabrieleno), Chumash, Popeloutchom (Amah Mutsun), Ohlone, Awaswas, and Fernandeño Tataviam peoples who have stewarded the lands and waterways throughout their many generations in what is now the state of California. I wanted to personally acknowledge these Indigenous people and nations and both their commitment and current contributions to the land with a donation to the American Indian College Fund because acknowledgment without action does not begin to address the systemic issues facing Indigenous people. If you feel as though you benefit from the land you’re living on or traveling to and you have the means, I kindly ask that you donate to a Native-led organization such as the Native American Rights Fund or the American Indian College Fund. 

Sharing is caring!