This Orange Salad Dressing is velvety smooth, creamy and comes with a hint of fiery ginger. It’s delicious with a roasted vegetable salad, perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Made using simple pantry ingredients and ready in 15 minutes!
This Orange Salad Dressing is made using fresh orange and ginger for a delicious, zesty sauce that will turn even the simplest salad or side into an exciting dish perfect for any occasion.
Orange salad dressing ingredients and substitutes
- Orange: both fruit and zest.
- Ginger: scrub then finely grate it. It’s important to puree it along with the orange (it will release more flavour).
- Oil: use vegetable oil, such as canola/rapeseed or another neutral tasting oil.
- Mayonnaise: thickens the dressing and adds creaminess.
- Honey.
- Mustard: use creamy Dijon-style mustard.
- Vinegar: I used white wine vinegar for its neutral flavour.
- Salt: brings all the flavours together.
Equipment you’ll need
Box grater: for zesting the orange and grating the ginger.
Blender: Use a simple stick blender.
Fine-mesh sieve: Very useful for removing fibrous pulp (perfect for making all manner of smooth sauces such as blackberry and raspberry as well as blueberry vinaigrette).
Step-by-step recipe instructions
1.Make dressing base: To a bowl add the mustard, mayonnaise, honey, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of oil, orange zest and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
2. Prepare orange: Cut both ends of the orange, place on one end on top of a cutting board and cut the rind (including the pith) slicing downwards all the way around. Chop the orange roughly.
3. Puree orange: Puree the orange along with the grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of oil.
4. Remove pulp: Place a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Pour in the fruit mixture and using a large spoon (or flexible spatula) stir until all the juice has collected in the bowl. Do this thoroughly.
5. Assemble dressing: Whisk the orange liquid into the creamy base mixture.
6. Refrigerate: Pour into a jar/bottle and refrigerate for 4-6 hours (or overnight). This will thicken the dressing and intensify the flavour. Yields approx. 1 cup (240ml) of dressing.
You might also like my super creamy orange pancake sauce made with fresh oranges!
How to serve orange dressing
I made this orange and ginger dressing specifically to serve with a roasted vegetable salad, but it works with lots of other salads as well as side dishes. These include beet and quinoa salad, roasted carrots or other roasted (especially - root) vegetables.
Add to a simple coleslaw or Christmas salad for a delicious flavour twist!
Can I use orange juice instead of an orange
Yes, you can, although you’ll still have to blend it along with the ginger, vinegar and oil (as in Step 3) and then strain it (as in Step 4). Keep in mind also that your dressing will not be quite as creamy. If after 4-6 hours in the fridge it’s still too watery whisk in a little more mayonnaise (unless you are happy with this consistency - more on that below).
You will need 85 ml (⅓ cup) of orange juice to make orange dressing.
How to adjust the consistency
This salad dressing with orange has a creamy and quite thick, but still pourable, consistency. If you want your dressing a little thinner add a drop of orange juice or vinegar.
If, on the other hand, your dressing is too thin (as it may be if you’ve used orange juice instead of an orange) pour approx. 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a separate bowl, add 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise and whisk until smooth. Then pour this mixture back into the dressing and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for another hour or so to allow the mixture to thicken.
Do I have to use mayo
Yes, you do if you want a super creamy dressing that won’t separate. If this was a vinaigrette using just oil would be fine. I also do not recommend making your own mayo (this worked in my avocado mayo recipe but isn’t ideal to do here). Your orange dressing just won’t be as creamy (and will take longer to make). Commercially produced mayo works best.
Top tips
- Zest the orange before removing the rind (as per Instructions).
- Try to remove as much juice from the orange pulp mixture as you can.
- I recommend refrigerating your orange ginger dressing for 4-6 hours before serving. This will intensify the flavour as well as help thicken the dressing and make it creamier.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Number of servings: 8 (1 serving = 2 tablespoons).
More creamy dressings to try next
Check out also these other delicious side recipes!
Keep in touch!
If you’ve made this orange salad dressing recipe I’d love to know what you thought. What did you serve it with? Let me know in the comments below, thanks:)
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Recipe
Creamy Orange Salad Dressing
Equipment
- Box grater
- Stick blender
- Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
- 1 medium seedless orange including the zest
- 4 teaspoons fresh ginger scrubbed/peeled, finely grated
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Pinch of fine sea salt
Instructions
- Make dressing base: To a bowl add the mustard, mayonnaise, honey, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 2 tablespoons of oil, orange zest and a pinch of salt. Whisk until smooth and set aside.
- Prepare orange: Cut both ends of the orange, place on one end on top of a cutting board and cut the rind (including the pith) slicing downwards all the way around. Chop the orange roughly.
- Puree orange: Puree the orange along with the grated ginger, 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon of oil.
- Remove pulp: Place a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl. Pour in the fruit mixture and using a large spoon (or flexible spatula) stir until all the juice has collected in the bowl. Do this thoroughly.
- Assemble dressing: Whisk the orange liquid into the creamy base mixture.
- Refrigerate: Pour into a jar/bottle and refrigerate for 4-6 hours (or overnight). This will thicken the dressing and intensify the flavour. Yields approx. 1 cup (240ml) of dressing.
Notes
- Zest the orange before removing the rind (as per Instructions).
- Try to remove as much juice from the orange pulp mixture as you can.
- I recommend refrigerating your orange ginger dressing for 4-6 hours before serving. This will intensify the flavour as well as help thicken the dressing and make it creamier.
- Keep refrigerated for up to 5 days.
- Number of servings: 8 (1 serving = 2 tablespoons).
- Serve with roasted vegetable salad, coleslaw, roasted root vegetables.
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is automatically generated and should be considered as an estimate.
**A note about baking: If using a fan-assisted oven refer to your appliance's instructions and adjust the temperature accordingly.
Michele says
Delicious! I simplified a bit (because I didn’t want to mess with the blender). 😉 Simply zested the orange & squeezed it to juice it. Added to all the remaining ingredients & whisked it. Also added more honey to make it sweeter. Will be serving on our Easter romaine, red onion, mandarin orange, craisin salad! YUM!
Monika says
Your salad sounds delicious!