Red Onion Vinaigrette
Red onion vinaigrette is a quick homemade dressing that comes together in minutes with just a handful of ingredients. This budget-friendly recipe is a perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory flavors that works for a wide variety of salads.
When you're hosting a big party like a wedding shower or graduation party, there is no shame in using simple store-bought short cuts to get the food ready to serve.
However, some things just taste so much better when made from scratch and truly elevate your dish to something extra special.
I absolutely love this big-batch chicken pasta salad with grapes for a party because it can be made in advance. Store bought dressing works but this quick-prep red onion vinaigrette puts it right over the top! They just work so well together.
Once you've tried it, you'll be looking for all kinds of ways to use the vinaigrette to make just about any salad taste better!
Ingredient Notes
This fresh and tangy dressing starts with just these easy ingredients:
- Red Onion: this is a great recipe to use up leftover red onion, you'll only need a portion of it. If you start with a new one and have leftovers, you could make pickled red onions to keep in the fridge.
- Fresh Parsley: Normally I might tell you that dried parsley is an ok substitute, but not for this dressing. You need the bulk and fiber of the fresh leaves to get the proper texture and they add so much flavor.
- Canola Oil
- Sugar
- White Wine Vinegar
- Lemon Juice: From a fresh lemon!
- Kosher Salt
Prep the Onion
It helps to start by chopping the onion and parsley. This helps your blender puree things more smoothly.
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How to Blend
I personally like to add everything to a small mixing bowl and use my immersion blender to do the job in pinch. This makes quick work of the recipe and easy clean-up after.
However, if you prefer, you can add everything to the pitcher of your blender and use that instead.
Make Ahead Tips
For the best flavor, you'll want to let this recipe chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.
This allows for the flavors to mingle and for the onion to mellow out slightly as the vinegar does its job.
You can keep the dressing ready to go in an airtight container, like a mason jar with a lid, for up to 1 week.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe was just made to go hand-in-hand with my delicious chicken pasta salad with grapes.
The savory onion pairs so well with the sweet and juicy grapes and tender chicken in that salad.
However, you could also pair it with another fresh and fruity salad like my strawberry feta salad in place of poppy seed dressing.
More Salad Dressing Recipes
Homemade vinaigrette dressings are a budget-friendly way to add so much flavor to your next dinner salad. Here are a few of my favorite recipes:
📖 Recipe
Red Onion Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 quarter small red onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Roughly chop the red onion and fresh parsley to help the blending go more smoothly.
- Add all the ingredients to your blender or puree them together in a mixing bowl with an immersion blender. Process until smooth.
- Chill the red onion vinaigrette until ready to serve. It can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
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