Alright, you guys. It’s time to back it up just a little bit.
There is a really good summery salad coming your way, but for today, we need to strip it down to the basics. Today it’s all about that dressing.
My requirements for a new dressing in my life is that it doesn’t take more than a hot minute to make it and tastes so good that I actually WANT to eat salad every minute of every day. This does both! with just a handful of very regular ingredients:
- cilantro
- garlic
- vinegar
- olive oil
- salt
Also, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a splash of water.
But for the most part, this is a five-ingredient, straight-out-the-blender, beautiful green miracle.
See what I mean?
Okay, here’s what I’ve put this on so far.
- summer cobb salad (coming soon!)
- grilled chipotle chicken, as in DIPPED IT STRAIGHT IN LIKE A MONSTER
- a mashed avocado – instaguac, anyone?
- breakfast tacos
- chorizo tacos
- chicken tacos
- roasted potatoes
- grilled sweet corn
- rice to make “green rice” for meal prep rice bowls
- a cheese quesadilla
- another cheese quesadilla
- one more cheese quesadilla, because I’m eating a lot of quesadillas lately, okay? just let me.
It is such a stupidly easy recipe, but I didn’t want it to get lost. I felt it needed its own post.
It’s not fancy. It will take you two seconds.
But it will elevate your summer eating game to places you definitely want to be.
This recipe is straightly inspired by the cilantro vinaigrette in the What’s Gaby Cookin’ cookbook. I have a weird aversion to raw onions and their relatives right now, which is why I just made it without the shallot that her original recipe calls for. But all credit to Queen G for this one! She has a basil vinaigrette, too. Worth looking up? YES.
5 Ingredient Cilantro Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup 1x
Description
This cilantro vinaigrette is EVERYTHING. The flavor is amazing and it only takes 5 ingredients! This recipe is completely inspired by the cilantro vinaigrette in the beautiful What’s Gaby Cookin cookbook!
Ingredients
- 1 huge bunch of fresh cilantro (2 cups packed)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup water, if needed
Instructions
- Blend everything up for about a minute until smooth. Add the water if you need more volume in the blender to make it run smoothly. Season to taste!
- PUT ON EVERYTHING! I actually do mean everything. So delicious.
Notes
You can see Gaby’s original recipe here on her blog, or of course, in her book! I made a few small changes: omitted the shallot (to reduce sensitivity to raw onion / onion relatives), changed red wine vinegar to white vinegar (because I love the sharp tang), and added a little water (sometimes my blender needs a little added volume to help it all run smoothly).
Keep this in a jar in the fridge for 3-4 days! TREAT CITY!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dressing
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: cilantro dressing, cilantro vinaigrette, vinaigrette recipe
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our Sauces That Make Everything Better roundup. Check it out!