Homemade Salad Dressing · Greek Red Wine Vinaigrette

Greek Red Wine Vinaigrette

Red wine vinegar, dried oregano and good olive oil, the classic dressing for a Greek salad. It also makes a quick marinade for chicken or vegetables before grilling.

New, no ratings yet0 reviewsby Simmerbee Kitchen

Prep
5 min
Cook
0 min
Total
15 min
Serves
about 3/4 cup
Level
Easy

Ingredients

  • 1 tsp dried oregano
    Swaps for dried oregano

    Instead of oregano

    • Fresh oregano: 1 tbsp chopped fresh for each 1 tsp dried (three times as much). Brighter and more peppery; use a little less than you think.
    • Dried marjoram, Italian seasoning or dried basil: The same amount. Marjoram is milder, basil sweeter; Italian seasoning already has oregano in it.

    More for oregano

  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
    Swaps for red wine vinegar

    Instead of vinegar

    • Another wine vinegar: The same amount. Red, white, sherry and champagne vinegar are close cousins; sherry vinegar is the richest.
    • Lemon or lime juice: The same amount. Fresh citrus flavor instead of vinegar's bite.

    More for vinegar

  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
    Swaps for lemon juice

    Instead of lemon juice

    • Lime juice: The same amount. A different, more floral aroma; works almost everywhere.
    • Bottled lemon juice: The same amount. More sour and flatter; fine in cooking and baking, less bright in dressings and drinks.
    • White wine vinegar or white vinegar: Half as much. Sharper, with no citrus aroma.

    More for lemon juice

  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
    Swaps for Dijon mustard

    Instead of mustard

    • Another prepared mustard: The same amount. Yellow is milder and more vinegary; Dijon is sharper; whole-grain adds texture; spicy brown is in between.
    • Dry mustard: 1 tsp dry mustard + 1 tsp water + 1 tsp white wine vinegar for each 1 tbsp. Sharper and less smooth.

    More for mustard

  • 1 clove garlic, finely grated
    Swaps for garlic

    Instead of garlic

    • Garlic powder: ⅛ tsp for each clove. Mellower and sweeter, with no bite.
    • Jarred minced garlic: ½ tsp for each clove. Milder and slightly sour from the preserving liquid.

    More for garlic

  • ½ tsp honey
    Swaps for honey

    Instead of honey

    • Maple syrup: The same amount. Thinner, with a maple flavor; a little less sweet.
    • Agave syrup: A little less (about ¾ the amount). Sweeter and very neutral; thinner.
    • Light corn syrup or golden syrup: The same amount. Less sweet and neutral (golden syrup tastes buttery).

    More for honey

    Don't give honey, even baked into food, to babies under 1 year old.

  • ½ tsp kosher salt
    Swaps for kosher salt

    Instead of salt

    • Table salt or fine sea salt: About half as much as Diamond Crystal kosher, about ¾ as much as Morton kosher. The same saltiness when measured this way.
    • Salt by weight: 1 tsp is about 6 grams of table salt, 5 grams of Morton kosher, 3 grams of Diamond Crystal kosher. The most reliable way to swap, especially in baking and brines.

    More for salt

  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ½ cup olive oil
    Swaps for olive oil

    Instead of olive oil

    • Avocado oil or another neutral oil: The same amount. No olive flavor; avocado oil handles higher heat.
    • Butter: The same amount. Richer and nutty when browned.
    • A neutral oil + more seasoning: The same amount. Dressings lose the fruity, peppery note; a little extra lemon, garlic or mustard makes up for it.

    More for olive oil

Missing something? Tap Swaps next to an ingredient, or see all substitutions.

Steps

Kid helper. A child can do steps 1, 2, 3 and 4: no knife, no heat. Cooking with kids

  1. Rub the dried oregano between your palms as you drop it into a jar; crushing it wakes up the flavor.
    Kid step
  2. Add the vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, honey, salt and pepper, close the jar and shake until the salt dissolves.
    Kid step
  3. Add the olive oil and
    shake hard until the dressing (how to emulsify) Emulsify Whisk oil and a watery liquid (vinegar, lemon, pasta water) into a smooth, creamy mix that doesn't split. 1. Start with the watery part plus a helper that holds things together: mustard, egg yolk, honey or starch.2. Whisk while adding the oil in a thin, slow stream.3. For pasta sauces, toss hot pasta, cheese and a splash of starchy pasta water hard and fast.4. If it splits, whisk a spoonful of the broken sauce into a fresh bit of mustard or water, then whisk the rest back in slowly. Done when: The mixture is creamy and evenly cloudy with no puddles of oil. How to emulsify a dressing or sauce: mistakes to avoid
    turns cloudy and blended.
    Kid step
  4. Let it sit so the oregano softens, then shake again before using.
    ⏱ Rest dressing: 10 minKid step

Tap an underlined word for how to do it, or see all techniques.

Tips

  • Use the best olive oil you have; with so few ingredients you taste it.
  • Toss it with tomatoes, cucumber and feta for a quick Greek salad.

Storage

Refrigerate and use within 4 days, since it has fresh garlic. Let it sit out 10 minutes and shake before using.

Quick answers

What can I swap?
  • Instead of oregano: Fresh oregano.
  • Instead of vinegar: Another wine vinegar, the same amount.

Answered from this recipe's own storage, make-ahead and swap notes.

Estimated nutrition per serving

Calories
160
Protein
0 g
Carbohydrates
1 g
Fiber
0 g
Sugars
<1 g
Fat
18 g
Saturated fat
2.5 g
Sodium
160 mg

Whole recipe, 6 servings: about 990 calories.

Estimate from USDA FoodData Central; not medical or dietary advice. Based on 9 of 9 ingredients.

How we estimate

We add up USDA FoodData Central values for each measured ingredient as written and divide by the recipe's 6 servings, so changing the servings or units here doesn't change a serving. Brands, swaps, trimming and cooking all change the real numbers.

Estimated cost

About $0.35 a serving

About $2.05 for the recipe as written (6 servings).

Estimate; prices vary by store and region. U.S. average prices for September 2026 from USDA ERS Purchase to Plate prices updated with the BLS Consumer Price Index. Priced: 6 of 9 ingredients, 98% by weight.

How we estimate

Each measured ingredient is weighed as in the nutrition estimate and priced at the U.S. average: BLS's average price where BLS publishes one, else USDA ERS's Purchase to Plate price for 2017-18 raised to September 2026 with the CPI for that food group. Whole packages, store brands, sales and regions all change the real cost: treat it as a ballpark.

  • olive oil $1.55 ERS
  • red wine vinegar $0.30 ERS
  • lemon juice $0.10 ERS
  • honey $0.05 ERS
  • garlic $0.05 ERS
  • Dijon mustard $0.05 ERS

Not priced (no official average price we can match, so not in the total): dried oregano, kosher salt, black pepper.

More dishes for less: cheap eats.

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