Coffee Vinaigrette: The Unexpected Dressing For Sprucing Up Your Salad

Salads are healthy, simple dishes, but they can get boring after a while. One way to spruce up your salads is to play around with different salad dressings. Of all the salad dressing recipes you can try, one that's both tasty and easy to make is a vinaigrette, and more specifically, coffee vinaigrette.

Coffee vinaigrette is made using real coffee beans and has a sweet and salty flavor to it. Like all vinaigrettes, this recipe's two main ingredients are oil and vinegar. It's also incredibly easy to make, taking just about 10 minutes to whip up. So, you can give your salads a unique taste without having to spend hours working away in the kitchen.

If the idea of coffee vinaigrette has piqued your interest, there's more to know about this tasty salad topper. Here's a bit more about coffee vinaigrette, plus how to make your own batch at home.

Although no one seems to know exactly who invented coffee vinaigrette, we do know who created vinaigrette in general. The basic vinaigrette dates back to the 1300s, when the dressing was first mentioned as a sauce in a French cookbook. Later, in 1694, the term was published in a French dictionary, fully defining its ingredients. A few years after that, the earliest vinaigrette recipe was published in an English cookbook titled "Acetaria."

Interestingly enough, while the first official vinaigrette recipe didn't seem to appear until the late 1600s, people have been using oil and vinegar to season their salad for centuries. It's thought that the ancient Greeks and Romans used soured wine, which is essentially vinegar and oil, to toss their veggies for added flavor.

Today vinaigrettes come in all different styles and flavors. People have experimented with using different types of oil and vinegar to change the taste of this dressing. And, as we know, they've also added unique ingredients like coffee to this dressing to alter the flavor.

If you like the sound of coffee vinaigrette, you'll be pleased to know that it's actually pretty easy to make. To get started, you'll need ½ cup of olive oil, ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon each of honey and either instant espresso.

Grab a small bowl and add the honey, vinegar, and espresso. Whisk the three ingredients until they're combined and the espresso powder has dissolved. Continue to whisk the ingredients and slowly add the olive oil. Finish up by adding the salt and pepper. Then, pour the vinaigrette over your favorite salad and toss! Alternatively, you can store this in a sealed container for use at a later date.

For those who don't have olive oil or balsamic vinegar on hand, you can substitute these ingredients for canola oil and cider vinegar. Just note that the taste of the vinaigrette will vary depending on which type of oil and vinegar you use.