Apple Cider Vinaigrette Dressing

Basic vinaigrette meets fall flavors! This zesty apple cider vinaigrette is the dressing you need to keep stocked in the fridge at all times. It has just the right amount of sweet, savory, and tangy ingredients to pair with any salad!

Just because summer is over doesn't mean we have to give up good salads! Apple cider vinaigrette is full of well-balanced tangy and robust ingredients that pair well with almost any salad.

It goes great on my Autumn Kale Salad, Pear and Cheddar Salad, and Winter Pomegranate and Blue Cheese Salad.

What is apple cider vinaigrette made of?

We're taking the building blocks of vinaigrette dressing and adding some sweet elements, keeping the whole process very simple.

• apple cider vinegar
• extra virgin olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• garlic
• dijon mustard
• apple cider
• maple syrup

You can use raw (or not) apple cider vinegar. Both work great. Raw apple cider vinegar tends to be a little darker in color so the color of the dressing will be slightly darker brown but not much.

Do you have to add the maple syrup?

Of course not, you do you friend! In my opinion, it adds just enough sweet, fall flavor without being overpowering but if you're looking for a more savory dressing you can omit it.

You can also substitute honey for maple syrup.

Does it have to be dijon mustard?

Yes! It's more about getting the right tangy spice and yellow mustard just doesn't compare. Its a mild flavor so you shouldn't worry about the dressing being 'spicy' but it does balance out the flavors.

Can you make apple cider vinaigrette without the dijon mustard?

It will take out some of the savory/tangy flavor, but if you need to leave it out for dietary reasons it is still delicious without it!

How to make the dressing

There's two ways to make this dressing. Both of them are very very easy.

You can make an emulsified dressing - that means the oil and water based ingredients like vinegar are blended together so they don't separate. This method also thickens the dressing a little bit and requires an immersion blender.

Or you can make a simple whisked dressing by whisking the ingredients together. For this method you can also just throw all your ingredients in a mason jar, cover tightly, and shake it.

All of these methods work great and taste great and I personally flip flop between all of them depending on my mood and time, so here are a few tips:

• If using an immersion blender you can just rough chop the garlic then just give the ingredients a few short pulses with the blender to chop them.
• Slowly pour in the olive oil wether using an immersion blender or a whisk to help incorporate it with the vinegar and cider.
• If whisking or shaking the ingredients together, make sure the garlic is finely chopped.

Does the vinaigrette need to be refrigerated?

Yes! It contains both real maple syrup and apple cider (which is not pasteurized) and should be refrigerated.

Just take your dressing out of the fridge about 20 minutes before using and let it come to room temp. You may need to shake or stir it a little bit before using.

You can also pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds intervals until the olive oil has warmed up.

Ways to enjoy apple cider vinaigrette

While this is my own personal favorite dressing, not just in the fall but pretty much any time of year, it also has over delicious uses!

I loooooove it as a marinade for chicken, pork, and fish.

It's also great for sweeter style slaws too! Just combine it with a little mayo and toss with your favorite bagged slaw ingredients. It's a similar flavor to the slaw on these pulled pork sliders and such a great contrast of flavors!

You can also use it for a fall inspired pasta salad too! Toss cooked pasta with roasted squash, dried cranberries, shallots and this apple cider vinaigrette! So delish!

Let me know how you're using your vinaigrette in the comments! If you made this, I would super appreciate a star rating in the recipe card below! Thanks for being here!