Raspberry Vinaigrette

Raspberry vinaigrette is the perfect dressing on summer salads, field greens, or fruit salads. I love the pairing of its sweet and tangy flavor with goat cheese, walnuts, field greens and of course fresh raspberries. Homemade dressings are so much easier than people think they are.

If you’re concerned about consuming store-bought dressings with soybean oil or other seed oils, making your own homemade salad dressing using extra virgin olive oil is the only way to ensure you’re in control of the ingredients. I make my own Raspberry Vinegar which isn’t hard, but it does require a week to steep. It’s much cheaper to make too! You can buy Raspberry Vinegar if you’d rather save time.

Basic vinaigrette

A basic vinaigrette is a great recipe to have in your culinary repertoire. As a rule of thumb, in its purest and most basic form, is 3 parts of vinegar to 1 part vinegar, or another acid like lemon juice and salt and black pepper. However, depending on the vinegars or oil you use or your own personal palate and preferences, you can adjust it and use more or less oil. 

• Fruit vinegars and balsamic vinegar tend to be quite a bit sweeter. Depending on your taste, add less oil so that the tangy vinegar comes through. (1/3 to 2/3)
• Red wine vinegar and champagne vinegar are sharper and might need a little more oil to for the perfect balance.

A basic vinaigrette can be jazzed up with minced shallots, fresh herbs, honey, and my favorite emulsifier, Dijon mustard.

Raspberry vinaigrette recipe

While the ratio is the same whether you’re making enough for 2 or 20 salads, I like to use less oil with sweeter dressings so the tartness comes through. Start with less oil and adding it slowly until it takes just right for your taste! Figure on 2-3 Tablespoons of dressing for a small side salad. Because raspberry vinegar is a sweeter, you might need less olive oil. Taste, taste taste! What works for me, might be too tangy or too oily for you! I like to cut the raspberry vinegar with a white vinegar like champagne or white wine since it’s a sweeter vinegar. It also makes the more expensive raspberry vinegar last longer.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons raspberry vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar (or all raspberry vinegar)
• 8-12 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
• 1 Tablespoon minced  shallot
• 2 Teaspoons Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt or sea salt and black pepper

​Method:

• Finely mince shallots and fresh thyme
• Whisk Dijon, shallots, and vinegars in a small bowl. 

• Slowly drizzle the olive oil while whisking. Once you’ve added about 1/2 of the oil, taste it. 

• Season salt and pepper and continue whisking in oil until you’re satisfied with the flavor.
• Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use. Shake or whisk just before serving.

Substitutions and variations

• Substitute olive oil for a neutral oil like avocado oil.
• Add 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam, pinch of sugar, or honey if you like a sweeter dressing.

Serving raspberry vinaigrette dressing

I like to pair this dressing with field greens or fresh baby spinach. Add some cheese, fresh fruit and some crunch for the perfect light spring or summer salad.

• Add a cheese like goat cheese, feta cheese, or blue.
• Toast some walnuts or candied pecans for a little crunch.
• Add chopped or shredded cooked chicken for a luncheon salad.
• Fresh berries like raspberries or strawberries are ideal.
• Optional: add chopped or sliced avocado, thinly sliced red onion or shredded chicken.

Field greens and raspberry salad

For each person figure 1 handful of greens (about 1 to 1 1/2 ounces) for a small side salad and double that for a luncheon salad. I find it’s best to assemble each salad and pass the raspberry dressing around the table or dress the salads just before serving. For four small salads a 10 ounce bag of salad greens is plenty. (The photo shown above is just over 1 ounce of greens)

• 5 ounce bag field greens
• 5 or 6 red raspberries per salad
• Whole, chopped or crushed walnuts, lightly toasted.
• 4 ounces goat cheese cut into thin rounds,
• Optional: add 2-3 ounces chopped or shredded cooked chicken, thinly sliced red onion, or avocado.

Here are more easy salad dressings

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

Orange Vinaigrette

Greek Dressing

Basic Vinaigrette 

Tomato Balsamic Mint Salad