Name: Cranberry Vinaigrette
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Salads
Ingredients: 1/2 Cup Grapeseed Oil; 1 Cup Cranberry Sauce; 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar; 1 Tablespoon Whole Grain Mustard; 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup; Salt and Pepper to taste; Water, as needed

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This Cranberry Vinaigrette is the perfect dressing for a fall salad (or winter salad). Our Thanksgiving Table always has a delicious side salad with this vinaigrette on the side. It has a wonderful sweet and slightly tangy taste that is so refreshing!

a spoon dripping cranberry vinaigrette all over a plate of salad — Cranberry Vinaigrette

Next time try this cranberry vinaigrette on my recipe for Apple Cranberry Salad, on this blog. It's in the image below;

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🧅 Ingredients
🥣 Instructions
🔄 Substitutions and Variations
🔌 Equipment
🧊 Storage
📘 Related Recipes
💡 Tips
Cranberry Vinaigrette
💬 Comments

Cranberries are always popular during the fall season, for obvious reasons. That's when they are best grown. Usually, once you hit that first cold front you start to see all the cranberry recipes coming out! This cranberry vinaigrette was actually inspired by my need to use up some excess Cranberry Sauce that I had from Thanksgiving one year.

Not only could you add it to your Thanksgiving menu, but you could also make it after the big day using up all your leftovers! Leftover turkey salad, with this delicious cranberry dressing.

🧅 Ingredients

Grapeseed Oil
Cranberry Sauce
Red Wine Vinegar
Maple Syrup
Grain Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water (if thinning is necessary)

See recipe card for quantities.

🥣 Instructions

Step 1: Add the grapeseed oil, cranberry sauce, red wine vinegar, maple syrup and mustard to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: Using a stick blender, or a countertop blender, blend well and thin, as needed, with water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

two images showing how to make a cranberry vinaigrette

Vinaigrettes and salad dressings are usually a cinch to make. I like to use my stick blender as it's much easier to clean and not so obtrusive at the sink, but you can use your stand blender if you prefer, or even a food processor.

Hint: make sure the head of the stick blender is fully submerged, or you'll have a beautiful cranberry colored kitchen!

🔄 Substitutions and Variations

Avocado Oil or Olive Oil - instead of Grapeseed oil.
Fresh Cranberries - if you have some fresh cranberries you can certainly use them in this recipe instead of the already prepared cranberry sauce. You will probably need more water.
Apple Cider Vinegar - instead of the Red wine vinegar. Or even balsamic vinegar.
Honey - instead of maple syrup
Dijon Mustard - instead of whole grain mustard

a jar of cranberry vinaigrette with a salad behind and cranberries scattered

🔌 Equipment

Just a stick blender, or a stand blender if you prefer. You'll need some mixing bowls too.

🧊 Storage

Store this Cranberry Vinaigrette in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

When freezing this recipe, it can have a tendancy to separate upon thawing, which is normal. You'll just need to whisk it up again and it will be fine. Store in a freezer safe container for up to 6 months.

💡 Tips

Expert Tip: Make my Apple Cranberry Salad, then add some chopped leftover turkey (from Thanksgiving) and top with this vinaigrette. A great way to use up some of those Thanksgiving leftovers!

If you’ve tried this cranberry vinaigrette recipe or any other great recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section below, how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers!

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