Niçoise Salad Dressing

Name: Niçoise Salad Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1/8 cup champagne vinegar ( or white wine vinegar); 1/3 cup olive oil; 1 small shallot (finely chopped); 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (finely chopped); 1 tablespoon fresh basil (finely chopped); 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard; 1 teaspoon honey (or agave syrup for vegan); sea salt (to taste); freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

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Even if you don't opt to make a full-blown Niçoise salad, this delicious Niçoise vinaigrette will make any version of fresh greens or veggies magical. 😉

Homemade Niçoise salad dressing in a tall glass jar with fresh thyme alongside it.

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Whenever I make this classic dressing, it makes me want to brush up on my French language skills. Or go to France. It's just such a delightfully inspiring and fresh tasting treat over a Niçoise salad--or even just some simple greens. So good.

I hope this is one of those recipes that you'll want to make over and over again once you see how simple it is; I know it is in our kitchen! And if you like this one, you might also be interested in this easy Greek salad dressing, Asian salad dressing or apple cider vinaigrette.

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🌿 Ingredients
📝 Instructions
📋 Substitutions
🔪 Equipment
🍱 Storage
🎉 Top tip
💭 FAQ
🍳 Recipe

🌿 Ingredients

There are just a handful of ingredients in this dressing recipe, and you don't need to travel to France to find them! All super easy to find in large grocery stores. If you can't find champagne vinegar, you can easily substitute white wine vinegar which is nearly identical in taste.

See recipe card below for exact quantities.

📝 Instructions

To make this dressing recipe, simply chop the shallot and fresh herbs and whisk everything together in a mixing bowl. Better yet, use a Mason jar to shake everything up and store in the fridge if you're not serving it right away.

📋 Substitutions

This vinaigrette is really flexible if you don't have everything on hand or have specific dietary requirements. As written, this recipe is vegetarian and gluten free.

Vegan - substitute agave syrup for honey, or feel free to leave honey out
Champagne vinegar - substitute white or red wine vinegar, regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Olive oil - use another mild vegetable oil such as avocado oil or canola oil
Shallot - substitute very finely chopped red onion
Fresh thyme and basil - use half the amount of the dried spice for either or both of these, or leave one out if you don't have both
Dijon mustard - use stone ground mustard or yellow mustard

🔪 Equipment

Very minimal equipment is needed for this Niçoise dressing. Here are the things I used:

cutting board
chef's knife
Mason jar

🍱 Storage

This dressing will stay fresh for store up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. If the olive oil solidifies, just let it sit out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes after removing it from the fridge.

🎉 Top tip

Don't limit this dressing to just a Niçoise salad! It's delicious over any part of that famous salad including hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, tuna or salmon, tomatoes and green beans. Or just keep things simple and serve over chopped Romaine lettuce. With only 10 minutes required to make the dressing, it's worth it for any combination of the above.

Enjoy!

💭 FAQ

What are the basic ingredients in a Nicoise salad dressing?

Niçoise salad dressing is a vinaigrette typically consisting of olive oil, white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard as its base. Salt, pepper and fresh herbs like thyme, basil and parsley round out its characteristic flavor.

Can I use any kind of vinegar to make Nicoise dressing?

Yes. While white wine or champagne vinegar are more traditional, Niçoise salad dressing also tastes great with red wine vinegar, regular white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

How do I make creamy Nicoise salad dressing?

Dijon mustard helps to emulsify Niçoise salad dressing when it's whisked into the dressing, but for even creamier dressing you can blend everything together in a blender or food processor before serving.

What if my Nicoise dressing separates or solidifies in the fridge?

Some separation or solidification of the olive oil is normal. Before serving, simply leave your dressing out at room temperature for 10-15 minutes and give it a little shake to reincorporate all of the ingredients.

🍳 Recipe