Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette is super simple yet immensely flavorful, making for a convenient make-ahead dressing for fresh green salads, pasta salads and even a dip for crusty bread.
Making a homemade dressing is an easy way to add lots of flavor to your meals while also giving you the flexibility to adjust the recipe to your preferences. I’m a big fan of convenience products, like using store-bought preserved lemons for this Preserved Lemon Vinaigrette and this recipe for sun-dried tomato dressing relies on store-bought ingredients. Buying a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes means you don’t have to make your own sun-dried (or oven-dried) tomatoes, plus it comes with a super flavorful oil you can use in the vinaigrette.
Whether you are looking for a unique dressing to toss with your lunch salad, or a special vinaigrette you can use all throughout the week, you should give this sun-dried dressing a try. I like to make it on Sunday and use throughout the week on pasta salads, green salads, wraps, grain bowls or a dip for vegetables or bread. We make a lot of homemade sauces around here because I think it’s one of the best (and easiest) ways to add lots of flavors to all sorts of different meals.
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Ingredients that Matter
There is a lot of flexibility in this recipe, but here are the ingredients I use for my version of sun-dried tomato vinaigrette:
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes. Reach for a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Whole sun-dried tomatoes are used right in the dressing, plus that flavorful oil makes a tasty addition to the dressing. You can also packaged dried sun-dried tomatoes, but you’ll want to soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes before blending into the dressing.
- Olive Oil. In addition to the oil from the jarred sun-dried tomatoes, use regular or extra-virgin olive oil for this dressing.
- Red Wine Vinegar. You have plenty of options when it comes to the acid used in this vinaigrette, but I think red wine vinegar works best. Here’s why: Red wine vinegar has a bright, almost sharp flavor that cuts through the rich, slightly sweet sun-dried tomatoes. Plus, it’s naturally red, making for a more vibrant dressing.
- Mustard. Just a teaspoon of Dijon mustard (or stone-ground mustard) helps to emulsify the dressing and adds a nice pungent flavor.
- Aromatics. I use a small clove of garlic (finely grated) and a small shallot (minced) in the dressing. Both of these are optional and I wouldn’t recommend using more than the recipe lists as both can overpower the sun-dried tomato flavor.
- Basil. Fresh chopped basil leaves adds tons of flavor to this dressing and is an ideal compliment to sun-dried tomatoes.
- Salt & Pepper. Use table or Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
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Start by removing 10 sun-dried tomatoes from the jar and pour off ¼ cup of the oil.
Place the tomatoes and oil from the jar in in the base of a high-speed blender along with the vinegar, mustard, water, garlic, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.
Blend mixture on low until the tomatoes are finely chopped then increase the speed to high and blend, while slowly pouring in the oil, until the mixture is smooth and emulsified. Add more water to thin out the sauce, if desired.
Transfer the mixture to a jar or bowl and add basil and shallots and stir to combine. I suggest not blending the basil to avoid discoloring the dressing and I like to mix in the shallot at the end to avoid overpowering the dressing.
Hint: You will likely have leftover sun-dried tomatoes. Use them up in our flavorful Sun-Dried Tomato and Artichoke Pasta recipe.
Substitutions
There are plenty of tweaks you can make to this recipe depending on your dietary restrictions or flavor preferences. Try these:
- Vinegar – The biggest change you can make (flavor-wise) to this recipe comes from the vinegar. While I strongly recommend using red wine vinegar to preserve the reddish color of the tomatoes (plus it has a bold flavor that cuts through the sweet tomatoes), you can instead use balsamic, white balsamic, white wine or even plain white vinegar. You could also use fresh lemon juice.
- Sun-Dried Tomatoes – You will likely find oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes in a jar alongside dry sun-dried tomatoes. You may even find plump dried sun-dried tomatoes ready for a salad or even a snack. If using dried, be sure to soak in warm water until tender before trying to blend.
- Oil – I recommend using regular olive oil for this recipe, but you can use any neutral flavor oil like vegetable, corn, peanut, etc. Note that if using extra-virgin olive oil, be sure to limit how long you blend it on high speed as it may become bitter if it gets too hot or agitated.
- Aromatics – You can certainly leave out the garlic and shallot, if desired. Or, you could use a bit less. If desired, you could swap in ½ teaspoon of garlic powder and ½ teaspoon of onion powder instead of the fresh garlic and shallot.
- Basil – Fresh basil goes so well with this recipe that it’s hard to offer other recommendations, but if you don’t like basil, you can certainly use fresh oregano or parsley. You can also use dried oregano, if desired.
Equipment
You can make this recipe using a mini food processor or high-speed blender like a Vitamix Propel 510 Blender. For a mini food processor, I recommend this KitchenAid 5 Cup Food Chopper, which is small and has a spout to pour in the oil
Serving
Try using this dressing on any fresh salad, like our Arugula and Crispy Quinoa Salad, Burrata Caprese Salad or even our Carrot and Pea Shoot Spring Salad. Or try serving this dressing in a wrap with our Pulled Chicken in a Dutch Oven or as a dip for our Red Lentil Patties or our easy and vegan Chickpea Patties.
Storage
This dressing will keep well in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Note that as this dressing sit it will thicken slightly. Simply add a splash of water right out of the refrigerator to thin it out a bit.
FAQ
Store homemade vinaigrettes in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
A standard vinaigrette is 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. You can experiment with this ratio and instead use 1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil, especially if using a sweet, less acidic vinegar.
Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes are plump and ready to eat straight out of the jar while dried sun-dried tomatoes are typically too dry to eat without first rehydrating in a bit of water.
More Sauce
Looking for more sauce recipes like this? Try these:
Salads
These are some delicious salads to try for dinner tonight:
Recipe
Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 ¼ cup 1x
Description
Homemade Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette is super simple yet immensely flavorful, making for a convenient make-ahead dressing for fresh green salads, pasta salads and even a dip for crusty bread.
Ingredients
- 10 sun-dried tomatoes (from a jar of oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes), about ½ loosely packed cup
- ¼ cup oil from the sun-dried tomato jar
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup water (plus more as needed)
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- ¼ tsp. table salt
- 1 pinch black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil leaves
- 1 small shallot, minced
Instructions
- Transfer tomatoes and the oil from the jar to the base of a mini food processor or high-speed blender and add the vinegar, ¼ cup water, garlic, mustard, salt and pepper and pulse or blend on low until the tomatoes are finely chopped, about 30 seconds. With the blender or food processor still running, slowly pour in the olive oil until the mixture is well blended and mostly smooth (continue blending for a silky smooth dressing, if desired).
- Transfer mixture to a bowl or mason jar and add the basil and shallots. Adjust consistency with more water, if desired. Store leftovers in an airtight container or mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.Â
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Notes
- I recommend using jarred oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes for this dressing, but if using dried tomatoes, soak them first in warm water for about 30 minutes (drain before using).
- This dressing works well on most green salads, pasta or potato salads, as a dip for bread or fresh vegetables or a topping for grain bowls or vegetarian patties.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Sauces
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
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