Quick 5 minute Mint vinaigrette with Za’atar spice, lemon juice, maple syrup, oil and fresh mint. Serve on fruits, vegan salads or use as a marinade
My name is Rini and I am addicted to Za’atar!!
While I am in the admitting mood, “My name is Rini and I am addicted to homemade dressings!!”
This mint vinaigrette is what happens when I bring my 2 favorite addictions together!
Tips for making this vinaigrette
- Finely chop up the mint before adding to the vinaigrette. I kept it whole for the sake of photography
- Make this recipe the night before you want to use it which will make sure all the ingredients have had time to come together
- Ginger and / or cloves can be added to this vinaigrette, depending on what recipe you are putting it into. I am planning on using it in a sweet recipe, so, I skipped ginger and garlic
- I used extra maple syrup in it because it is going into a sweet recipe. Adjust the sweetness based on the recipe you will be using it in
- You can marinate tofu in it and use it in a different recipes. I marinated and grilled the tofu before using it in a pasta recipe (coming in the near future)
- Keep this mint vinaigrette refrigerated and use it up within one week of making it
- Check out some of my tips and tricks on how to keep mint fresher longer.
Why use za’atar?
Za’atar is my favorite spice of all time. I love, LOVE its versatility and love how it can instantly change the flavor of any recipe
Change it for the better!
I have used it in snacks, energy bites, salads and dips. This mint vinaigrette recipe is front and center in my summer fruit salad recipe .
I also have my very own za’atar spice recipe made using sumac and dried herbs. I use it in so many recipes now, so it makes sense to make it at home.
Learn more about Za’atar from Wikipedia.
How to store it
This dressing, just like all dressings and vinaigrette, should be stored in a glass bottle. Glass is not reactive with the acid components in this mint vinaigrette and all vinaigrettes
I know plastic bottles are convenient to store and carry around, but, personally I am not a fan of them
Also, use a mini funnel like this one from (affiliate link) Amazon. These mini funnels are a game changer. I bought 5 of them from amazon and can’t be without them anymore.
These mini funnels perfect for filling ketchup bottles, spice bottles, salt shakers and so much more.
How to use it
- It is perfect as a salad dressing. I think it would be perfect for my Spinach salad with bagel chips, Green bean salad with Quinoa or my farro salad
- Use it to marinade ingredients like cauliflower before roasting them, broccoli, tofu, or Paneer
- Put it in a grilled vegetables pasta recipe or a Gnocchi Pasta recipe
The possibilities are endless, so, put it in any recipe you like and comment below with how you used it. I would love to hear from you about it.
This dressing is inspired in part by Jamie Oliver’s Principles of Superb Salads
More za’atar recipes
Other than this mint vinaigrette, za’atar is delicious in these recipes too. I am also building a list of my best za’atar recipes, so, check it out
How to Make Mint Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Lemon juiced
- 1.5 Tbsp Za'atar
- 1/4 cup Agave see notes
- 1/2 tsp Salt adjust to taste
- 3 Mint Leaves finely chopped
Optional Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Ginger see notes
- 2 cloves Garlic see notes
Instructions
- In a salad bottle, add all the ingredients
- Give it a good shake
- Refrigerate for 4 hours to overnight
- Serve over favorite recipe
This was delish! I had it on the fruit salad.
Thank you.
Where is the vinegar?
You don’t always need vinegar to make vinaigrette. Anything tangy can work. In this case, I used lemon.