Citrus Balsamic Dressing (Better than store-bought)
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There are so many chemicals and additives in store-bought condiments, but you can make a simple citrus balsamic dressing that’s even better than store-bought in just a few minutes. Making your own dressing is a game changer on flavor! For all the best homemade dressing, dip, and sauce recipes check this out.
Vinaigrette dressings are so good on leafy green salads, but this dressing is amazing as a marinade as well. You can cook it down a little to make a gorgeous glaze. It is also amazing as a dressing for citrus salads.
Sweet onion and citrus dressing
A couple of tips when making your own dressings like this balsamic vinaigrette or my famous restaurant style ranch dressing. When you buy dressings from the store or eat them at a restaurant, not only are they full of all kinds of unhealthy chemicals, they also have a lot of salt and a lot of sugar.
Dressing recipes don’t. So when you make them homemade, they never taste as good unless you add more sweet and salt. What we did was make them with more sugar and salt at first and then slowly scale it back each time we made some, so our tastes could gradually get used to less.
But just remember, your citrus balsamic dressing won’t be as flavorful if you use most recipes you find because of that.
Also, the grated onion, I like to grate my onion because it gets the juice into the dressing mix. You can do a fine dice, but I really prefer the flavor and texture of the grated onion and it’s juice.
Remember, when making homemade dressing, it isn’t full of preservatives like the store-bought kind, so it’s only going to last a couple of weeks in the fridge. That’s actually a good thing for your health. If yours is getting to the end of its refrigerator life, you can always freeze it and use it later as a marinade or cook it down into a glaze.
Citrus balsamic vinaigrette
I LOVE the difference citrus makes in my dressings. I love lime, lemon, or orange in mine. Or even a combination of more than one. You can try it and do what you love. Lemon is my absolute favorite, so it’s in the one I’m sharing with you. Once you get used to making it, you’ll find your favorite combination.
Lemon balsamic dressing
This lemon balsamic dressing is so incredibly flavorful and delicious, sometimes I think about it when it’s not dinner time. Once I mastered how to make it, my whole family has asked for it over and over again.
Citrus Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 T grated onion grating the onion gives you the onion juice in the dressing and no chunks.
- 1/2 lemon zest
- 2 T grated parmesan cheese
- 1 lemon juice
- 1/2 orange juice
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 4 T balsamic vinegar
- 2-4 T honey (to taste)
- 1/4 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp brown mustard binds the dressing together
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 c olive oil
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a mason jar, place lid on tight and shake until emulsified.
If you want to use maple syrup instead of raw honey for your citrus balsamic dressing, that’s perfectly fine. Use a good quality maple syrup for your sweetening. You just use the same amount as honey and see how you like the taste.
Sometimes honey is a little sweeter than other sweeteners, so you might need a little more. You can also substitute sugar. I use raw sugar when I’m out of honey. But remember, raw honey has so many health benefits that maple syrup and sugar don’t. So use what you like, but honey is healthiest.
And if you love balsamic as much as I do, try this Roasted zucchini with feta and balsamic that’s a real treat too.
For more wonderful homemade dressing ideas, check these out:
I am trying all kinds of healthy stuff for me and my hubby, so l am sure that this citrus dressing will work for us. Thank you so much.
You are welcome! It’s taken me years to finally figure out how to make good dressings. Everything I tried tasted awful, but now I’ve figured out how to make some I love! Thanks for checking it out. And good luck on your healthy journey!