Maple Orange Salad Dressing

Combine the unique toffee and caramel flavours of the maple syrup with the fresh, naturally sweet and slightly tart orange juice for the perfect salad dressing.

Which Sweeteners to Use in Salad Dressings?

One of the most common choices is honey. The floral notes and natural sweet flavour make honey a very popular choice in salad dressings.

I, however, tend to lean towards maple syrup as it is also a natural sweetener but has more woody notes through the flavour. I also find maple syrup less sweet than honey.

However, it is a personal preference. Both honey and maple syrup work well in salad dressings.

Other sweeteners to use in your salad dressings can also be fruit juice. Orange juice is sweet but with fragrant citrus overtones.

Ruby grapefruit juice works well too even though it has a tarter profile. I love using ruby grapefruit juice with seafood or fennel salads.

For Asian salads, I usually use palm sugar or brown sugar in the salad dressings. The strong caramel notes of palm sugar matches with fish sauce which is generally the salty component of many Southeast Asian salad dressings. The depth it adds to the dressing is delicious!

What Pairs Well with Orange?

Certain flavours work better with others, and it is always good to know your pairings.

Oranges naturally gravitate towards other citrus fruits like grapefruit and lemons but also work well with nutty flavours like almonds, walnuts and hazelnuts.

I love using oranges with fennel and slightly more piquant vegetables like rocket, endive and radicchio. The sweet flavours of orange help soften the bitterness of these vegetables.

Maple Orange Salad Dressing is a super light dressing that is great for both grain salads or leafy green salads. The citrus flavours help cut through any rich ingredients.

I prefer to use a mason jar to mix it all up. It is up to you, as you can mix it in a bowl as well.

Maple Orange Salad Dressing Ingredients

Olive oil: An olive oil or even extra virgin olive oil of your choice. Make sure it’s a good one!

Apple cider vinegar: A staple ingredient to have for making all sorts of salad dressing ingredients. Try the Bragg Organic Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar or Trader Joe’s Organic Raw ACV.

Orange juice: Stick to the normal varieties such as the Valencia or Navel oranges. They are usually sweet and have plenty of juice.

Maple syrup: Everyone has their own favourites but if you’re not usually a maple syrup consumer, you can certainly try these popular varieties: Butternut Mountain Farm Pure Vermont Maple Syrup or Maple Grove Farms Pure Maple Syrup.

Salt & pepper: Just a pinch of both will suffice.

Maple Orange Salad Dressing Method

Another nice and easy, shakey shakey recipe!

Add orange juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and maple syrup in a mason jar.

Season with salt and pepper and shake well to combine.

Best Salad for This Dressing

Vegan Salad with Butternut Squash and Cranberries

Sweet roast butternut squash together with dried cranberries, black rice, arugula and a crunchy toasted pecan crumb makes a delicious vegan salad recipe that will shine throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas and all season long.

More Salad Dressing Recipes

Recipe

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