Meet your new go-to salad dressing: a bold, cranberry vinaigrette that blends in minutes. It’s naturally tart-sweet, gorgeous on the plate, and works with fresh cranberries or leftover cranberry sauce.
Why It Works
A gorgeous dressing that’s both tart and sweet and perfect for the holidays- what’s not to love!
- Flavor and color – This cranberry vinaigrette dressing has big cranberry flavor as well as a gorgeous ruby color that’s super festive.
- No cook – A dressing that you don’t need to turn your stove on for! 5-minute blender method.
- Balanced flavors – This dressing has a balanced sweet–tart profile; it’s easy to scale or customize.
What You’ll Need
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this cranberry vinaigrette salad dressing. A full list of ingredients with measurements for this recipe is available in the printable recipe card below.
- Cranberries – You can either use fresh or frozen here, just be sure the frozen cranberries are thawed. You can also use leftover cranberry sauce. Use the instructions in the recipe card.
- Olive oil
- Red wine vinegar
- Water
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Fresh garlic
- Coarse sea salt
- Ground black pepper
Perfect Pairings
Drizzle it over spinach or kale, add goat cheese and caramelized pecans, and watch an everyday salad turn into a show-stopping side. You could even use it as a dipping sauce for Thanksgiving leftovers or sandwiches.
Of course using it as a salad dressing is the obvious use here. Come of my favorite salads to pair it with are a pear salad with candied walnuts, wild rice salad, beet salad with goat cheese or balsamic salmon salad.
Variations
There are plenty of ways you can make this cranberry dressing your own. Here are a few suggestions.
- Orange-Cranberry: Try adding 1-2 tablespoons of orange juice and zest in place of the water for a different flavor.
- Maple-Cranberry: Swap honey for maple syrup it make it vegan and add a warm maple flavor.
- Herb Lift: Add 1-2 tablespoon of freshly minced parsley or chives after blending for some herbaceous flair.
- Balsamic-Cranberry: Swap half the red wine vinegar for balsamic vinegar to give this dressing a different flavor profile.
- Spicy: Turn up the heat by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes or ½ tsp grated fresh ginger.
- Smooth: If you prefer a smooth dressing, run it through a fine mesh strainer after blending.
Commonly Asked Questions
Use ½ cup cranberry sauce and omit the honey since the sauce will already have sugar. Thin with a splash of water or orange juice, if needed.
Light olive oil or avocado oil keeps the color bright and flavor balanced. Any neutral oil will do in a pinch.
Add more honey to make it sweeter. Maple syrup can also be used. Omit the honey to make it more tart.
More Homemade Salad Dressings
Buying store bough dressing is certainly easy, but homemade dressings are so much more delicious and satisfying.
Cranberry Vinaigrette Salad Dressing Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cranberries* fresh or frozen and thawed
- 1/3 cup light olive oil vegetable oil or avocado oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, combine the fresh or thawed 1/2 cup cranberries*, 1/3 cup light olive oil, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup water, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon honey, minced 2 cloves fresh garlic, 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Blend until the desired consistency. The mixture will never be fully smooth, if you like texture, leave it as-is. If you prefer a smooth dressing, run it through a fine mesh sieve or colander and discard the solids.
- Cover and chill until ready to use. Stir or whisk well before using.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings.
Notes
For Storage:
Store in a sealed jar in the fridge up to 1 week. Shake or whisk before serving. Taste test to see if needs to be re-seasoned with salt (chilling mutes this flavor and it often needs to be corrected).For Freezing:
Freeze in portions up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge and re-blend. Taste test to see if needs to be re-seasoned with salt (chilling mutes this flavor and it often needs to be corrected).Nutrition
