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This sauce is UH-Mazing. So easy to make and the combo on the chipotle chicken for the related salad recipe is just.so.good. I have yet to be let down by a PoY recipe!
claire
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.
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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!
I made this and it is delicious. It took no time to make it which is a plus!
Do you think this would be ok if you freeze it?
Thank you so much for your 5 ingredient cilantro dressing!
So delicious, easy and fast to make, which helps so much these busy days…
Delicious and so fresh!! I used light olive oil and that made the cilantro really shine.
Love the dressing, but mine came out a little bitter. I added some lime and some honey to try and combat, but still a tad of a bitter aftertaste. I did use the whole cilantro plant, could that be why? Stems and all?
Yes, the stems are more bitter than the leaves so we recommend just using the leaves.
For the cilantro vinigarette it says it makes 8 servings how much dressing is 1 serving ?
Can you use anything instead of vinigar?
This stuff is outstanding, I love that except for the fresh cilantro, I have everything else is on hand. I don’t always have limes around and they don’t keep that well. I make this recipe and freeze it in large cubes. It is good on so many things, I could eat it straight. It is now a freezer staple.
This is FIRE!!! I made just a couple of tiny tweaks based on what I had on hand and personal preferences. I had some leftover chives and basil that needed to be used, so I threw those in. (But mostly it was a huge bunch of cilantro). Used white wine vinegar because I had it, and about a tbsp of red wine vinegar to finish off the bottle. Used several garlic cloves because I can’t get enough of it. And 1 shallot because, again, I had it and this seemed a good use. Some chicken broth in place of water for thinning. I’m sharing this only for those who may also have some leftover stuff to use, but I have no doubt the basic recipe would be awesome without any of these tweaks. I’m totally hooked and will be making this all summer long!!! (PS: I’m going to drizzle this over thickly sliced tomatoes, and the remainder over some cooked shrimp). Thanks for this fab recipe!!!
This is fantastic! I made it as directed, but I used cayenne instead of red pepper flakes as I had it on hand. My friend who is iffy on cilantro also enjoyed it. It is very bright, fresh, and rich in flavor. Thank you for posting the recipe!
I have sooooo much cilantro and I’m leaving for 10 days… Has anyone tried doing this recipe and simply freezing it ? Even if you haven’t tried it, thoughts on if it would be a bad idea ?
Thanks!
I would think it would work just fine as I freeze pesto quite often, which is somewhat similar!
Can this be frozen?
Please could you say how long this dressing will keep in the fridge ? Thanks !
I had Mexican leftovers from a catered party, including lots of cilantro and limes.
I used this recipe to dress a salad of beef (also left over from the party), tomatoes, zucchini, corn, and avocados. Yum!!
Yikes! This is way too salty and I even increased the recipe by 1/2, though not the kosher salt. Can I do anything to repair it?? I wanted to love it because I love cilantro!
Thank you.
Looks great and I’ve got a bunch of Cilantro I don’t want to go to waste… has anyone ever tried freezing this dressing?
It should work to freeze this!
How long does this dressing last in refrigerator?
Hi Brittany! It should last for a few days!
The recipe as-is is awful. Added a bit of sweetener (maple syrup) and it was exactly what I wanted. Definitely needs water to thin it out a bit.
I love cilantro and love a cilantro vinaigrette so I decided to make this. It is awesome! It’s super easy and I will add that I like to make it the day before using so the flavors really meld. Its amazing on salad and just about anything else as mentioned. I just made a steak sandwich with leftovers and it seemed to be missing something… so I put some of this vinaigrette on it and it changed it into an artisan sandwich!
Delish. Made this to go with Tex Mex salad and I added some to my birds tacos instead of just cilantro. Mmmm. Delish. Such a great way to use up extra cilantro! I’m going to try with parsley and lemon zest next!
I was looking for a way to use up a big bunch of cilantro and this dressing was the perfect solution! So far I have drizzled it over eggs Benedict, added it to stir fried vegetables and tossed it into cooked shrimp. This is addictive! The only change I made was I squeezed some fresh lime juice into the blender with the other ingredients. Perfect!
INCREDIBLE RECIPE~ WE LOVE IT & YES PUT ON EVERYTHING ( haven’t tried a PBnJ or cereal), but on our breakfast bialys/bagels, lox, capers, red onion & tomatoes. Lunch always on salads & whatever protein. Dinner tried most everything and always a hit. YUMMMM
So happy to hear this!
This looks delicious ! How long will the dressing stay good for ??
We’d recommend storing the dressing in the fridge in a sealed container for 3-4 days.
hi and thank you for this recipe. just wondering if I use the cilantro stems or cut off? thank you
You can use the stems – lots of flavor actually in cilantro stems! 🙂
just made this- tweaked a bit, less oil/salt/pepper flakes- came out amazing! I can see how this can go on anything!!! Can you freeze this?
Yep, that should work just fine!
As-written, I did not care for this at all. Half-star at best. Way too salty, way too bitter. However, I took other reviewers’ advice and added honey and more olive oil. Made it tolerable. Couple of days later, MAGIC HAPPENED: Shredded cabbage, some cut up mango, combined with my doctored-up vinaigrette. Add a splash of lime and et voila! A masterpiece. It’ll now be on my regular rotation.
Thanks for sharing!