Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette, the Best Fresh and Healthy Dressing

Naturally sweet and spicy fresh ginger combines with bright tart citrus for healthy and delicious Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette that'll make you want to eat any and all the salads you pour it on! Use any citrus that's in season like mandarins, tangerine, even grapefruit, and when it's not peak citrus season, you can never go wrong with always-available lemons and oranges! Shall we?

Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette is in the class of dressings we call Drinkable Dressings, the kind that are so good, you just want to drink it straight from the bottle or jar. They have to have the perfect pourable texture not too gloopy, and not be too sticky sweet. Ginger Citrus is exactly all of that and more.

Jump to:

• What Ingredients You Need for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette
• Which Citrus Should You Use for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette
• Mandarin Oranges vs Satsumas vs Tangerines
• Tools and Equipment
• Best Salads for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette
• Best Dressings for Non-Boring Salads
• Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette Recipe

This recipe for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette is:

• dairy-free
• gluten-free
• refined sugar-free
• plant-based/vegan

What Ingredients You Need for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette

Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette has only a few ingredients, and the recipe is fairly flexible in terms of substituting in/out ingredients and adjusting amounts according to your personal taste preferences. For this recipe, you will need:

• Ginger, 1 tablespoon fresh grated
• Mandarin oranges, tangerines, oranges, or whatever combination of orange-like citrus you have
• Apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons
• Avocado oil or other neutral-flavored oil, ½ cup plus more for texture

And of course, the usual salt and optional black pepper.

Which Citrus Should You Use for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette

Use any fresh, small tangerine or mandarin orange for this. Fresh citrus is generally in season in winter, but the small tangerines and mandarin oranges are almost always available year-round in grocery stores.

If your grocery or market does not have Mandarin oranges, regular oranges, which are definitely always available, will work fine though they may be a little more tart. Adjust your taste expectations accordingly.

Mandarin Oranges vs Satsumas vs Tangerines

Are Mandarin oranges the same as tangerines? What about clementines and satsumas—are they the same thing? And what are these specially named citrus like Honey Murcott, Page, and Pixie, they all look like Mandarins!

So glad you asked! Let's get into it...

tl;dr: Mandarin oranges are the original ancestor of all the small, slightly squat citrus that look like mandarins. But did you know Mandarin oranges are also the ancestor of almost all other common citrus we know! Almost all smaller, slightly flattened/squat citrus are types of Mandarin oranges. But there are nuanced differences to their flavor, sweetness, and how easy they might (or might not) be to peel.

Mandarin Oranges. This small, thin-skinned bright orange citrus fruit is the original ancestor to all the similar citrus like tangerines, clementines, and satsumas, as well as actual oranges! Mandarin oranges are sweet and their very thin skins with little pith (white part under the skin) are easy to peel. Mandarins have a slightly squat shape, rather than perfectly round, so they sit on their bottom rather than roll around. And yes, they are indeed the exact citrus in canned Mandarin oranges.

Tangerines. Tangerines are a type of mandarin orange. There are a few varieties even within tangerines, like Pixie Tangerines, that have been specially branded for marketing.

Clementines and Satsumas. Clementines and Satsuma are distinct types of Mandarin oranges.

Cuties, Halos, and Bluejays are all "brands" of various types of mandarin oranges. Cuties are seedless clementines, Halos are tangerines, and Bluejays are a brand of seedless satsuma mandarins.

Additional Ingredients Resources and Substitutions

Ginger. I use an organic maple syrup that is amber in color and more robust in flavor than lighter colored maple syrups. You can substitute with honey, though the dressing will no longer be vegan and will also be the usual Honey Mustard! or other sweetener of choice.

Apple Cider Vinegar. I use this generic store brand of organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Use whatever brand works for you just make sure the vinegar has the "mother" which looks like a mysterious dark floating figure in the bottle. The mother is what causes the fermentation!

Avocado Oil. Has the mildest, most neutral flavor of the non-seed oils. This is the brand I prefer. This brand is good, too. Just look for an avocado oil that is cold-pressed, steam-refined, or expeller-pressed. If you want to use olive oil, try to use one that is "light."

Salt and Black Pepper. Salt is an obvious and ubiquitous ingredient. I use this Kosher salt. Black pepper, on the other hand, is absent from this dressing recipe, and most other dressing recipes on this site. I like to treat black pepper as an optional table condiment that people can add to their final dish if they want, rather than an automatic, somewhat mindless, addition during cooking to a recipe.

Health Benefits of Citrus

Everyone knows citrus is good for you, but do you know how and why? Although the exact nutritional content of different types of citrus will vary, all citrus have similar health benefits, and it's not just vitamin C!

• high in vitamin C, a vitamin that works a as an antioxidant and contributes to immune health
• low on the glycemic index
• high in fiber, both soluble and insoluble, which contribute to digestive health
• hydration, obviously!
• antioxidant content wards off certain types of cancers
• some studies have shown that the bioflavonoids hesperidin and apigenin may improve cognitive function and protect against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's

Best Salads for Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette

Use Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette as a go-to dressing for any salad from lettuces to sturdier greens and vegetables like kale and roasted vegetables. The sweet citrus and subtly spicy ginger are perfect for any huge green salad you want to make for family dinners, parties, and of course, Thanksgiving. Use with these salads:

• Mandarin Chicken Salad, pictured above
• Chinese Chicken Salad, LA-style
• Arugula Pear Salad
• Fall Farmers' Market Salad with Butternut Squash, which was the original inspiration for this dressing!
• Ruby Salmon Salad, the Hillstone Dupe!

Drizzle Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette over grain bowls. Even though I use Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette year-round, I make a special effort to prep it weekly in the WINTER because, well, citrus is at its absolute bonkers peak season in January and February when the fruit and vegetable outlook is otherwise kinda bleak. More importantly though, once the indulgence of the Holidays is over and we're back-to-school and back to work, Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette is a MUST-HAVE in your refrigerator. It will make it easier to throw together a filling salad or grain bowl for a quick meal on the busiest days.

Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette as a marinade or side sauce. Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette is the perfect flavor combination for salmon. Spoon Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette over grilled or pan-seared salmon on the plate, or serve alongside. You can also brush salmon before cooking with Ginger Citrus Vinaigrette, let it marinate in the refrigerator up to a couple of hours, then grill or roast in the oven.

Best Dressings for Non-Boring Salads

• Hot Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette, great for salads that have fruit
• Lemoniest Lemon Vinaigrette, all-purpose for everything
• Maple Mustard Dressing, sweet, spicy, and a little earthy
• Cilantro Lime Dressing, great for fish taco salads
• Apple Cider Vinaigrette, another all-purpose great

Food for Afterthoughts

I was working at my desk in the late afternoon, sitting as usual on the edge of my Office Depot standard chair, head bent over, shoulders tightened in a way that would make my massage therapist squirm, when he appeared out of nowhere. In soft-soled shoes that didn’t give me enough warning to alt-tab from blogger to Excel, it was my new boss. *damn* There was a tight-lipped smile on his face that definitely didn’t look like a boy scout selling cookies.

“Sarah,” he uncurled his lips, “let’s talk for a sec.”

Switching from Delicious to corporate Sarah, “Absolutely,” I replied in my best office-voice.

“Over in the Game Room.” The Game Room is a conference room. This was going to be a meeting. Important stuff.

“Should I bring my laptop?” He took a breath to pause.

“No, you don’t need it. It’ll be real quick.” Something in the tone of his voice, something about the pause being just a nanosecond too long made me feel uncomfortable.

Fight Firing with Fire

I don’t need my laptop, but I grabbed my notebook and my pen anyway, and followed him across the polished concrete floor, past the fully-functional kitchen with a well-stocked pantry, through the engineering department equipped with a soda fountain and keg, into the Game Room. We sat down.

My notebook opened to the first blank page, pen in hand, I was ready to take notes.

“They’re eliminating your position.” He looked at me waiting for a reaction.

*whoa* I don’t think the expression on my face changed. I’m good at that. Words started flooding through my thoughts, but I stopped them. Stop. Wait. I quietly closed my notebook and set the pen down, perfectly parallel next to it.

“Really?”

He proceeded, but I wasn’t exactly paying attention. I caught words like “company’s revenue goals” and “budget issues.” I’m sure I had a very serious look on my face, nodding and mm-hm-ing at the appropriate times, but my mind was racing, turning to strangely related, but not exactly appropriate thoughts like...I should defintely try Honey’s Kettle up the street before my last day. And maybe get back to Katmandu Kitchen and Cafe Brazil, too.

He assured me it had nothing to do with me or my work ethic or my performance (well, duh, I already knew that), and that they’d like to help me in any way I can during “the transition.” Aw, how sweet! Tell "them" thanks, whoever "they" are. When it was all said and done, I picked up my notebook and pen that, yes, I didn’t really need to bring with me, and gracefully sashayed out of the Game Room, eliminated.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts about this later after I've had some time to let it sink in, but for now, I need a cocktail.