Why You’ll Love This Recipe
You’ll need a blender or food processor to make this creamy, dreamy roasted garlic vinaigrette. After the garlic roasts and cools, this roasted garlic salad dressing comes together in about 5 minutes of hands-on time. Use it for dressing salads, grain bowls, chicken, fish, and roasted vegetables.
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Summary
- The garlic needs time to roast and cool before you can use it to make this roasted garlic dressing – at least an hour, but you can roast them up to several days in advance.
- It’s best to use a personal (small) blender, immersion blender, or mini food processor to make this recipe. If you’re making a double or triple batch, you can use regular-sized equipment.
- This roasted garlic dressing is savory, slightly sweet, and perfectly garlicky. The mild flavor makes it perfect for dressing salads and grain bowls, or (my favorite) pouring over roasted veggies.
Ingredients in Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
- Garlic: The belle of the ball! I usually add a grated raw clove of garlic to all my vinaigrettes (I’m a garlic girl), but the more subtle flavor of sweet caramelized garlic in this roasted garlic vinaigrette makes this one of my favorite condiments of all time.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil is my favorite oil for most vinaigrettes. Always look for extra virgin olive oil – this means it’s purely made from cold-pressed olives and not mixed with any other processed oils. And… this means it tastes better. Usually less bitter and less acidic.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice is my preferred acid for vinaigrettes.
- Maple syrup: Out of all the potential sweeteners you could use for vinaigrettes (sugar, honey, agave, etc.), I prefer maple syrup. It’s already a liquid, which makes for easy emulsification, and the depth of sweetness is unmatched.
- Kosher salt: All of my recipes are tested and created using Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Freshly ground black pepper: A couple twists of cracked black pepper rounds out this roasted garlic dressing.
Substitutions and Additions to This Recipe
I don’t appreciate rigid recipes, and this certainly isn’t one of them. Here are some substitutions in case you’re missing one (or more) of the ingredients listed above:
- Use your favorite dressing oil in place of the extra virgin olive oil. Avocado oil and refined sunflower oil are my preferred choices when I’ve run out of EVOO.
- Use vinegar in place of lemon juice. White wine or red wine vinegar are the obvious choices, but other mild vinegars like champagne or sherry vinegar would be delicious. Try to avoid anything too caustic like distilled white vinegar, or anything too flavorful like apple cider or balsamic vinegar. It’s the garlic show, after all.
- Use honey in place of maple syrup. Honey is a little sweeter than maple syrup, so start with less and add more as you see fit. I like the woody, dark flavor of maple, but honey adds a floral sweetness that works well in most vinaigrettes.
- Use red chili flakes instead of black pepper. This is what I usually do anyway, but I’m obsessed with red chili.
- Add mustard. Dijon, whole grain, and spicy mustard all make a great addition to this roasted garlic vinaigrette.
- Add anchovies or anchovy paste: basically a roasted garlic Caesar at this point!
- Add shallots: finely diced or grated shallots would work great too.
How to Make Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
You’ll start by roasting some garlic (instructions below). You can use a personal blender, immersion blender, or mini food processor to make this recipe. For larger batches, you can use regular-sized equipment. Since it’s a small amount of liquid, it’ll be easier to use something smaller.
How to Roast Garlic
Roasted garlic is crazy easy to make. I always make extra to slather onto roasted salmon, mix into mashed potatoes, or stir into pasta. Start by preheating the oven to 400°F.
- Remove a few layers of the papery skin from the garlic bulbs, then slice off the top so that the individual cloves are exposed. You’ll need to remove about an inch.
- Lay the cut garlic bulbs on individual pieces of aluminum foil, then pour in some olive oil so that the cloves are fully coated. Wrap each bulb in the foil.
- Roast the garlic on a foil- or parchment-lined sheet pan for at least 40 minutes. Some recipes will call for as little as 15 minutes, but I roasted mine for an hour to get them completely soft all the way through. Keep an eye on your garlic – when it’s done, it should look caramelized, like an amber brown color, and you might see some of the cloves already escaping.
- At this point, let the garlic cool completely, or for at least an hour. Remove the foil, then squeeze the entire garlic bulb into your blender. The bulb should be very soft and the cloves should come out easily.
How Long Does Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette Last?
You can keep this roasted garlic dressing in the fridge for up to a week! It’ll probably be gone before then anyway.
Ways to Use Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
I’m a sucker for multiple-use vinaigrettes and sauces. Make this roasted garlic vinaigrette at the beginning of the week, and use it a bunch of different ways:
- Dress up a salad: The salad of your dreams is 5 minutes away.
- Use it on vegetables: Roast your favorite veggie and drizzle this vinaigrette over the top. My favorite pairings here are potatoes, broccolini, and Brussels sprouts.
- Marinate proteins: Try marinating chicken thighs or your favorite fish filets with roasted garlic vinaigrette. Save some to baste while cooking.
- Drizzle over chicken or fish: This is one of the best condiments ever for grilled chicken and roasted salmon.
- Toss with grains or rice: Roasted garlic vinaigrette is the perfect addition to farro, barley, quinoa, and brown rice. Stir it in hot with your favorite greens, roasted and raw veggies, or additions like herbs or crumbly cheese to make a grain salad.
How to Store Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
I store my vinaigrettes in glass mason jars. Use any kind of jar or glass container with a tight-fitting lid to easily shake up the vinaigrette when you want to use it again.
Since there’s garlic in this vinaigrette, you’ll want to store it in the fridge. It’s best to consume within 3-4 days, but you can keep it refrigerated for up to a week. You’ll notice that the olive oil will set after a few hours in the fridge – nothing to worry about. Leave the vinaigrette out at room temperature for an hour or so before using.
Helpful Tools to Make This Recipe
If you don’t have some kind of blender, you’ll have a hard time making this vinaigrette into the creamy dreamy dressing it’s meant to be. This roasted garlic vinaigrette recipe yields about 1/2 cup of dressing. Since it’s a small amount of liquid (unless you’re making a double or triple batch, and for that I wouldn’t blame you), you’ll be better off using a small blender.
- An immersion blender: A lot of newer immersion blenders now come with a cup attachment. You can whip up this roasted garlic vinaigrette in a hot second using one of these.
- A small/personal blender: These are super common now and very easy to clean.
- A mini food processor: They’re so cute, and they’re perfect for salad dressings or small batches of sauces.