Lately it has been hot-hot-hot and my desire to cook dinner has been low-low-low. We’ve been relying on some simple meals like grilled chicken, salads full of fresh, crunchy Little Leaf Farms greens and mixing in whatever is ripe in my garden (so many tomatoes!). A very simple way to make a quick garden salad feel a little more special is with a homemade vinaigrette dressing. 
I rely on tons of pantry ingredients to mix these simple dressings together. Olive oil and vinegar are the base for all of my dressings, along with salt, pepper, and minced garlic for some seasoning. To give each vinaigrette a unique twist I’ll add in zesty citrus, or bold flavors like Dijon, honey, chipotle peppers, or even a scoop of pesto made from my garden’s basil plants. It’s fun to experiment with different flavor combinations – after testing these three recipes I actually combined the pesto vinaigrette with the honey-Dijon vinaigrette to make another totally unique dressing.
Pro-tip: I save, clean out, and reuse glass jelly jars to shake up and store my dressings. It’s a speedy way to emulsify the oil and vinegar, and you can re-shake them up in the jar right before serving if the dressing separates in between uses. See three different vinaigrette recipe ideas below, and how I’d pair them with different ingredients and Little Leaf Farms lettuce to make tasty, filling salads for easy summer dinners!
Pesto Vinaigrette
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
1 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp. of Basil Pesto
2 Tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Add all of the ingredients in a small jar, screw on lid and shake vigorously until combined. Serve over your favorite salad ingredients.
Pairing Idea: I love to use this pesto vinaigrette to top of fish or use in a bright and fresh summer salad. Serve big juicy slices of summer tomatoes and fresh mozzarella over Little Leaf Farms Baby Red & Green Leaf lettuce. You can add on chopped antipasto ingredients like marinated artichokes, green beans, peppers, black olives, and chopped salami. Sometimes I use pizza dough to make warm garlic knots on the grill and add them to the salad for a perfect pairing with the pesto vinaigrette.
Sweet Dijon Vinaigrette
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
2 Tsp. of Dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp. of Honey
2 Tbsp. of Red Wine Vinegar
1/3 Cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Add all of the ingredients in a small jar, screw on lid and shake vigorously until combined. Serve over your favorite salad ingredients.
Pairing Idea: You can use this sweet Dijon vinaigrette as a marinade for grilled chicken. Chop up the grilled chicken on a bed of Little Leaf Farms Baby Spring Mix and create a fresh garden salad with carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, thinly sliced red onion and savory croutons. You can get creative with a salad like this and mix in any veggies you have on hand – it’s a “fridge clean out” salad!
Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
1 small garlic clove, finely minced
½ Tsp. of Cumin
½ Tsp. of Sugar
1 Tbsp. of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
1 Tbsp. of Lime Juice
1 Tbsp. of Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 Cup of Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Add all of the ingredients in a small jar, screw on lid and shake vigorously until combined. Serve over your favorite salad ingredients.
Pairing Idea: Use this chipotle lime vinaigrette in a salad with a Southwest twist. Start with Little Leaf Farms Baby Crispy Green Leaf lettuce and add in black beans, grilled corn, chopped avocado, cubes of sharp cheddar or pepper jack cheese and crunchy tortilla strips. You could add chicken, sliced steak, or I love to chop a grilled black bean burger on top!
Please note: This post was created in partnership with Little Leaf Farms. All opinions, images and content are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site.
