Balsamic Blueberry Vinaigrette

This Balsamic Blueberry Vinaigrette is a simple yet flavorful dressing that transforms your just-another-salad into a colorful masterpiece bursting with antioxidants and deliciousness.

Summer means blueberries. But it also means salads! I suppose you could just throw some blueberries on your salad and call it a summery day, but why stop there? This Blueberry Vinaigrette levels up your summer salads. (Especially this 7 Layer Summer Salad!)

Blueberry Vinaigrette Ingredients

So let’s break down what goes into a good balsamic vinaigrette before jumping into this blueberry vinaigrette recipe:

Balsamic: Your major flavor maker. This is a hydrophilic element, meaning it is attracted to water. Generally you’ll use 1 part balsamic to 2-3 parts oil.

Oil: Gives the dressing a good mouth-feel (the term used for that feeling you get when eating fats) and dilutes the vinegar. This is hydrophobic, meaning it does not like water or water-like substances (like vinegar).

Emulsifier: Balsamic is hydrophilic and oil is hydrophobic, meaning these guys don’t get along. Without something to make them stick together they’re going to separate. That’s where the emulsifier comes in. The emulsifier has a water-loving side and a water-hating side, so it gets along with both balsamic and oil, bringing the two together in happy harmony. Some good emulsifiers for vinaigrettes are:

• Honey (we’ll use this one today because this is a sweet dressing)
• Mustard
• Mayonnaise

Salt and pepper: Always important for rounding out the sweet flavors of the balsamic.

Extra yums: Let your imagination go wild! We’re using blueberries and a touch of lemon today but the possibilities are endless.

I first published this recipe over on Amanda’s Cookin’, where I’m a contribute.