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This Champagne Vinaigrette is a versatile salad dressing that is perfect over any number of salad combinations. It has a lightly sweet and tangy flavor, and will leave you craving your next salad.
This recipe is inspired by the Honey Champagne Vinaigrette from The Mixx, which is one of my favorite local restaurants here in the Kansas City area. It’s often served over their Garden of Eden salad, which features field greens, chopped apples, candied pecans, and gorgonzola cheese.
The combination will make you want to lick your plate clean!
What You Need to Know
What is champagne vinegar? Champagne vinegar is a dry white wine vinegar, which tends to be more mild in flavor and acidity compared to other types of vinegar. It’s made with the same grapes used to make Champagne— Chardonnay or Pinot Noir grapes– and can only be made in the Champagne area of France.
Champagne vinegar is thought to be slightly more mild in flavor than other white wine vinegar, making it perfect for cooking, and for salad dressings like this one!
Is there alcohol in champagne vinaigrette? Bacteria eats up most of the alcohol originally found in wine during the fermentation process for making vinegar. As a result, very little alcohol is left in the final product. (The trace ethanol found in vinegar typically comes in at under 2%, which is considered negligible by most standards.)
If that small amount of alcohol is an issue for you, try one of my dressings using lemon juice instead, such as my Lemon Tahini Dressing or Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing.
Ingredients You’ll Need
What’s is Champagne Vinaigrette made of?
- Champagne vinegar
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Dijon mustard
- Honey
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Salt & black pepper
This dressing is super simple to prepare, and it’s flexible enough that you can swap any ingredients you need to. I tend to keep my homemade salad dressings on the lower-oil side of things, so I also like to add in a splash of water to help dilute the vinegar flavor even more.
As a result, the dressing will be a little more runny in texture, and you’ll need to stir or shake it well each time you’re ready to use it.
How to Make Champagne Vinaigrette
1. Gather the ingredients.
As you measure out the ingredients, you can add them to to a blender, or directly into a bowl or mason jar. If you plan on stirring this together, be sure to finely mince the shallot and garlic.
You can skip the chopping part, if you plan on letting the blender do the work for you.
2. Mix.
Secure the lid on your blender, and blend until the dressing looks very smooth. Alternatively, you can use a whisk to vigorously stir the ingredients together, or secure the lid on your mason jar and shake well.
Adjust any flavoring to taste, adding more honey if you’d like a sweeter flavor, or a little more salt or vinegar, if you prefer a more tangy flavor.
3. Enjoy!
This dressing is ready to serve right away over your favorite salad ingredients. Or, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Be sure to shake the dressing well, each time you plan on using it again, as separation is normal.
Try serving this dressing over spicy arugula, baby spinach, or chopped romaine lettuce. I can’t think of a salad ingredient this wouldn’t be delicious with!
Note: When you use extra virgin olive oil in a homemade salad dressing, it can thicken when chilled in the fridge. This is totally normal! You can let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before serving, or hold the sealed jar under warm running tap water for a few minutes, to help it thin-out again.
More Dressing Recipes
Have another type of vinegar to use? Try these other salad dressing ideas!
- Italian Dressing. This recipe uses red wine vinegar, and reminds me of the dressing you’d get over a house salad at an Italian restaurant.
- Apple Cider Vinaigrette. Made with apple cider vinegar, this is one of the most popular recipes on my website!
- Greek Salad Dressing. This simple dressing is made with lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil.
- Lemon Tahini Dressing. When you don’t have vinegar on hand, try this creamy dressing made with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Honey Balsamic Dressing. This dressing is made with balsamic vinegar, and goes perfectly with any number of salad ingredients.
Champagne Vinaigrette
This Champagne Vinaigrette is lightly sweet and tangy, and goes perfectly over any number of salad combinations! It’s the perfect dressing to meal prep for the week.
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
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Add the vinegar, oil, mustard, shallot, garlic, honey, salt, and pepper to a blender. Add 1 tablespoon of water, as well, to help thin-out the dressing, without using additional oil. (This improves the flavor!)
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Blend until the dressing is smooth, and then adjust any seasoning to taste. You can add an additional 1 tablespoon of water, to help thin the texture even more, and you can add a splash of vinegar (or lemon juice) for more of a tangy flavor, or more honey for a sweeter taste.
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Transfer the dressing to an airtight container and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. This dressing will keep well in the fridge for up to a week. If the dressing thickens when it’s chilled, let it come back to room temperature by setting it on the counter for 30 minutes, or you can run the sealed jar under warm running water, until it’s runny in consistency again. It’s normal for dressing to separate in the fridge, so shake well before each use.
Nutrition information is for roughly 2 tablespoons of dressing, assuming you get 1 cup of dressing from this recipe. This is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
Calories: 107kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 153mg | Potassium: 14mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
Update Note: I recently modified this recipe in May 2022 to make it more like the Honey Champagne Vinaigrette served at The Mixx and Caffetteria resturants here in Kansas City. If you prefer the sugar-free version, you can find the measurements below:
- 1/4 cup champagne vinegar
- 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon (or 1 T freshly chopped)
- 1 tablespoon stone ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
I’d love to hear which version you prefer! If you try this Champagne Vinaigrette, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it!