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.

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!

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
Grilled chicken
Seafood

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?

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

Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

Name: Citrus Vinaigrette Salad Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Dressing
Ingredients: 3 TB orange juice, freshly squeezed; 2 TB lemon juice, freshly squeezed; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1 TB Dijon mustard; 2 TB honey; 2 TB extra virgin olive oil; 1/8 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

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!

Ingredients

3 TB orange juice, freshly squeezed
2 TB lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TB Dijon mustard
2 TB honey
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

Combine orange juice, lemon juice, garlic, mustard, and honey together in a bowl and whisk together.
Very slowly add the extra virgin oil olive to the salad dressing mixture while whisking vigorously.
Add salt and pepper and whisk to combine.
It's that easy!

Notes

Tip: Use the frozen cubes of garlic. So much easier.

Tip: Double the recipe if serving a large family/crowd. My photos show a double batch.

Substitute agave for the honey to make it vegan.

Keep refrigerated. 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.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 34Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 58mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 3gProtein: 0g

All information presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on saltycanary.com is provided as a courtesy, is an estimate only, and should only be used as a general guideline.

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!

I am so happy to offer this recipe for free, but … if you liked this recipe, want to leave me a tip? Please consider buying me 5 minutes of childcare so I can continue taking photos, trying recipes, writing, and sharing! Thank you!

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