Make a unique homemade salad dressing in 5 minutes with this recipe for sun dried tomato vinaigrette. Use it on green salads, pasta and grain salads, or any type of grain bowl for loads of added flavor.
This simple sun dried tomato vinaigrette has been a family favorite for years - what's not to love about balsamic vinegar, dried tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil?
It's terrific on any regular green salad and also is very good on a main dish salad with chicken or shrimp.
It adds so much flavor to pasta salads and grain bowls, too.
And in combination with feta cheese? Be still my heart.
This is yet another easy "pantry basics" recipe which include maple balsamic vinaigrette, strawberry vinaigrette, and basic vinaigrette 4 ways to have on hand for your own simple, handmade life!
Besides the incredible flavor, another reason I like this homemade salad dressing is that it's one more way to use the tomatoes I dry each summer from the paste tomatoes we harvest from our garden.
Using up the produce we grow and preserve is the whole goal, right?
It's e.a.s.y. to make sun dried tomatoes in olive oil - I have a complete tutorial here on how to dry and store tomatoes in oil including a ton of research I've done over the years on the safety of this time-honored technique.
Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette Recipe
What is in sun dried tomato vinaigrette?
- Chopped dried tomatoes in olive oil (see FAQ below if yours aren't in oil)
- Balsamic vinaigrette
- olive oil from the tomatoes
- garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Here's your 5-minute (or less!) job:
Simply whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl until the oil and vinegar have emulsified and transfer to a pourable container.
Pro Tip (for all dressings!): Using both hands to move the whisk back and forth quickly in the mixture works great to fully blend (emulsify) the oil and vinegar together (like I demonstrate in this basic vinaigrette). This keeps it blended longer than just shaking it all together in a jar.
Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette FAQs
You can use leftover dried tomato oil in recipes like this vinaigrette - it works in any homemade salad dressing to give a hint of tomato flavor.
You can also use it in place of regular olive oil in any recipe that could benefit from the lovely tomato flavor, like sautéed chicken, ground beef that will go into a pasta sauce, soups and stews, etc..
Basically, keep it by your other oils and use it when you would like a boost of tomato flavor!
Yes! It is safe and easy to dry and store tomatoes in olive oil in your pantry - get all the details in how to dry tomatoes and store in olive oil here.
Yes, as long as you use a balsamic vinegar that doesn't have any sugar added.
If your tomatoes aren't stored in olive oil, rehydrate them by soaking in boiling water for 30 minutes to an hour, until they are pliable to the touch.
Note: I've read that you can reconstitute the dried tomatoes in olive oil instead of water, but that it takes 24 hours. I haven't tested this out, though, so make sure you have enough time if it doesn't work as well as water.
Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
Equipment
- small whisk
- small bowl
- pint jar for storage
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil)
- 1/4 cup olive oil (from the tomatoes)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Combine the vinegar, chopped tomatoes, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a small glass bowl or measuring cup.
- Stir briskly with a whisk to thoroughly combine the oil and vinegar.
- Transfer to a jar for pouring and storing in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
More Easy Salad Dressings
This recipe has been updated - it was originally published in June of 2010.
Jami@ An Oregon Cottage says
Hey Karen! Thanks for stopping by- I tend to dry them at the "fruit" setting (135 degrees), but will usually start them higher for the first few hours to get them going, 145 to 150. You just have to play around with it- if you've got small ones you don't want them to get crispy too fast...
beingconformed says
Thanks for a delicious sounding recipe! I'm looking forward to reading more. I have a question about dehydrating the tomatoes: What temp do you set your dehydrator on? Mine goes up to 160 degrees. Thanks for your help. (Found your post on Real Food Wednesday) ~ Karen
Jami@ An Oregon Cottage says
Trudy G.- I wash and cut the paste tomatoes in half, scooping out the seeds/juice with my finger. I'm not too thorough in this, just a quick swipe. Then I lay them on the dehydrator drying rack. I go back and forth about how to lay them out- skin side up makes nice round, flat ones but they stick a lot. They don't stick when I start them with the skins down, but they shrivel a lot. Usually I do skins down, though. Run the dehydrator until they are starting to dry- check after a number of hours- they will all need to be turned at this point. Then it's just a matter of checking and removing the ones that are dry enough (as I described) to a jar.
Hope that helps!
Tosha says
I saw on another blog the how to fry part, but was wondering how to store. Thanks for clearing that up for me:)
Henny Penny says
Looks so good. I'm going to have to try storing tomatoes like that. And the vinaigrette. Yum.
Trudy G. says
This recipe sounds really good but I have to say I am more interested in how you actually dry the tomatoes. Could you share that?
mle says
This sounds soooo delish! I'll have to try it out but I'm sure I'll love it : )
Leila says
You got me at "over feta"...
🙂