Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette from the Pot

This Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette turns any salad into something special with sweet cherry flavor and the best tangy finish.

Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette

This recipe is based on a similar salad that I tried a few weeks ago and fell in love with. When reading that there were grapes in the salad I was a little intrigued and thought it might be a little weird. And now, after having that salad and creating this similar one, I’m pretty sure I will put grapes in all my salads from here on out.

What cherry juice goes in this dressing?

The star of the Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette is the cherry juice. It is worth using a juice that is 100% black cherry juice.

You can be sure the juice is 100% cherry by reading the ingredients; the only ingredient should be cherries. If it has filtered water, it will be diluted and probably less flavorful.

I’ve used the R.W. Knudsen Just Black Cherry Juice and highly recommend it. I’ve also used 100% Black Cherry Juice® made by Great Value. Any black cherry juice works as long as you make sure it is in fact, all cherries.

Quick Tip

Use 100% black cherry juice for this recipe. It’s naturally sweet and gives the best flavor. Skip tart cherry juice since it’s very sour, and avoid cherry juice cocktail since it has added sugars and other juices.

Salad substitutions

• Use dried cranberries instead of dried cherries. Or use dried tart cherries instead of dried sweet cherries. Dried tart cherries do pair nicely with Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette.
• Add sliced strawberries to the salad like in this strawberry salad.
• Add a ripe, chopped avocado.
• Candy or toast the almonds or buy pre-roasted honey almonds.
• Replace the fresh pear with canned pears if pears aren’t in season.
• Use bleu cheese, Gorgonzola, or goat cheese in place of the feta cheese.
• Replace the sugar with honey in Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette (start with 1-2 tablespoons honey; honey and white sugar aren’t a 1:1 substitution).

Storage

Leftover Cherry Balsamic Vinaigrette

This recipe will make more dressing than you’ll likely use on the actual salad (unless you really love lots of salad dressing).

The dressing stores in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days, so while you could halve the dressing recipe, why not make the full amount and use it on other salads throughout the week?

Drizzle leftover Cherry Balsamic Salad Dressing on any green salads throughout the week. Or get creative and use the leftover dressing in one of these ways!

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Strawberry Vinaigrette Recipe

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Dressings

Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons 100% black cherry juice
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups mixed greens
• 1 large pear (thinly sliced)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 3/4 cup red grapes
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/3 cup feta cheese
• sliced strawberries (skippable)

Method

1. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients except the olive oil in a small blender, pulse until combined. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse again until just combined and emulsified. Alternatively, combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake until well combined. You may need to stir up the sugar as it tends to settle on the bottom.
2. To toast the almonds, spread the sliced almonds in a single layer in a dry pan over medium-a hot burner. Stir every 15 seconds for about 1–2 minutes, or until they slightly darken and become fragrant—be careful not to let them burn. You can also use honey-roasted almonds in this salad.
3. Thinly slice a large pear and toss with the lemon juice. Slice the red grapes in half. Add the sliced pears, sliced grapes, almonds, and dried cherries to the mixed greens. Toss with dressing and sprinkle feta cheese on top.