Sweet vinegar and oil salad dressing is a twist on the classic version. It's ideal for enhancing fruit salads, as well as sweetening up bitter ingredients.
I like vinegar and oil salad dressing. It has such a fresh taste and there are so many variations that you can create. You can make it plain, peppery, with garlic, or this version, which is sweet. Depending on your mood or what you're serving it with, each one is right at different times.
Sweeten A Bitter Salad or Enhance a Sweet One
Salads made with kale, broccoli rabe, and turnip greens have a bitter bite to them. Countering it with a sweet salad dressing can calm that bitterness and make it more palatable. And if you're serving a salad with fruit, such as a strawberry spinach salad or an Asian salad, this sweet vinegar and oil salad dressing will enhance the sweetness of the fruit.
Homemade Salad Dressing vs. Store Bought
My mother did not buy bottles of salad dressing. She thought it was expensive and wasteful, especially when whipping up homemade salad dressing was so easy. But for me, the real case for homemade salad dressing is the fresh taste and no preservatives. I also love the fact that you can adjust the ingredients according to your personal preferences.
I use a light vegetable oil to make this simple salad dressing. I have tried it with olive oil and I find the olive taste overpowering. If you prefer to use olive oil, I recommend using a light version such as this one rather than a regular, extra-virgin olive oil.
This recipe serves 4, but you can double it if you need a larger quantity or want to have some leftover. When stored covered and refrigerated, it will keep for about 2 weeks.
Variations for Sweet Vinegar and Oil Dressing
There are many different options you have when making vinegar and oil dressing. Following are some versions you might want to try:
- Use apple cider vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Use red wine vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Use balsamic vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Add a dash of black pepper
Experiment with different flavorings and let me know what your favorite version is!
Sweet Vinegar and Oil Salad Dressing
Ingredients
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
- Stir salt into vinegar until salt is dissolved.
- Add vegetable oil to vinegar.
- Stir in sugar.
- Pour into a jar or cruet with a lid; shake vigorously before pouring on to salad.
Notes
- You can double the recipe for 8-10 servings
- Variations:
- Use apple cider vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Use red wine vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Use balsamic vinegar in place of white vinegar
- Add a dash of black pepper