How to make Orange Ginger Dressing

Orange ginger dressing is light and zingy. It’s perfect for your green salads, but also great for dressing grain salads. Made with only a handful of ingredients, this dressing is quick and simple.

Salad dressings, like sherry lime vinaigrette, are easily made at home and are much less expensive than store-bought.

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Mason jar dressing

Use any old jar you have – a jam jar or canning jar is perfect. This orange ginger dressing recipe makes a cup and a half, so you’ll have enough for the week.

I used these spiral pint jars to make the dressing, it leaves a little room at the top to be able to shake it up really well.

I have no shortage of mason jars. Aside from canning jams and making pickles, they are useful for making quick salad dressings.

How to make orange ginger dressing

It honestly couldn’t be easier – pour everything in & shake it up. The best part of making your own salad dressing aside from it being much less expensive, is knowing exactly what’s in it.   

Zest and juice the oranges – Add the juice and zest to the jar first.

Peel and grate ginger – Next, peel and grate the ginger, then add to the jar. You can also buy a squeeze tube of ginger paste in the produce section.

Season vinaigrette – Add salt and pepper to taste. It is important to add the salt before adding the oil. This gives it a chance to dissolve into the orange juice.

Add oil – Lastly, add the oil. Secure the top and shake vigorously. To make a proper vinaigrette, drizzle the oil in while whisking or use an immersion blender to emulsify.

All homemade vinaigrettes will eventually separate, this one quicker than most because it doesn’t contain an emulsifier like Dijon mustard. Just shake it up again and it’s ready to use.

How to peel ginger

My preferred method for peeling ginger is a spoon. Use the edge of the spoon to scrape away the skin.

Most people turn the spoon upside down and scrape in a downward motion. I find it easier to do the opposite. I use the edge of the spoon and scrape upward. Try both ways to see what is easier for you.

Spring ginger has very thin skin. Most often, you can find it in Asian markets. It is less fibrous and spicy than it’s older counterpart. Look for it in April and May, and if you find some, grab a hand or two.

Once you have peeled the ginger, grate it for the dressing. It can have a bit of a bite to it, so you may have to adjust the amount of ginger in the recipe to suit your personal preference.

How to zest an orange

Hold the orange in your dominant hand and the zester in the other. Using light pressure, press the orange against the zester and turn to rotate.

The zest will collect on the underside of the zester, give it a good tap against the cutting board or scrape it with your finger to gather it.

For this orange ginger dressing, use a microplane to zest the fruit. Use light pressure to avoid getting the pith (the white part under the skin), which is bitter. The zest has a ton of flavor, so please don’t skip it.

Ingredients

• Oil – avoid strongly flavored oil. I used grapeseed in this recipe.
• Oranges – I used cara cara oranges, use any variety you like, even blood oranges.
• Ginger – fresh ginger is recommended, however, if it is unavailable, use the squeeze tube of ginger found in the produce section.
• Salt & Pepper – season to taste

This isn’t a traditional vinaigrette. The ratios are basically flipped here. The fresh orange juice serves as the acid in this recipe and makes up the bulk of the dressing.

With this dressing, the fresh juice is so delicious, it deserves the spotlight.

FAQ’s

Try orange ginger dressing on these salads

• Superfood salad with pomegranate
• Delicata squash salad with farro
• Spinach salad with nectarines and blue cheese

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Originally published 1/18/12, most recent update 3/23/22