Moroccan Vinaigrette-paleo & vegan

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This Moroccan Vinaigrette is the perfect blend of cumin, paprika, parsley, garlic, and a dash of cayenne. It’s so good, you’ll want it on your table for every meal.

And it’s not just for salads. It’s great on sides & main dishes too.

moroccan vinaigrette in a glass jar with wooden spoon

It might sound strange, but this salad dressing recipe is simply one of our overall favorite recipes.

It’s a homemade wonderfully-seasoned salad dressing that frankly, is on our table for every meal.

This Moroccan Vinaigrette is modified from the recipe of the same name in Lorna Sass’ Complete Vegetarian Kitchen, one of my many Lorna Sass cookbooks. I highlighted this cookbook in my post about pressure cookers.  Please note that when I referenced this cookbook in the pressure cooker post, it was under the title of Recipes from an Ecological Kitchen.  This new title is a more recent version of the same book, but it’s still not available new on Amazon.  Unfortunately, these great books are no longer in print.  (I am no longer a vegetarian, but this book is a keeper regardless of your “dietary status”!)

As I said, we have this on our table at almost every meal and when you are really in a bind, you can just pull some of your prepared beans out of the freezer, combine them with some cooked whole grains (rice, millet, buckwheat) and top with this vinaigrette and you have yourself a fast meal.  For more protein and/or for those of you concerned about copper toxicity (which I will post about in the future), top with some small pieces of healthy animal protein or pumpkin seeds.  Yum! 🙂

Whenever we make a meal for a sick friend or a family with a new baby, this vinaigrette tops a vegetable medley or Moroccan Carrots.  And it goes fabulously with Pakistani Kima, our favorite when having company for a meal (again, post to follow in the near future).

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Why Make Your Own Homemade Salad Dressing?

1.  It give you control over the ingredients

No disodium EDTA or high fructose corn syrup and you can make the whole thing organic (if you care to) for a fraction of the cost of bottled organic dressings.

2.  Saves Money

And as I mentioned in my post about making your own vegetable broth mix, by making your own spice blends, you can save money by purchasing dressing ingredients (spices, lemon juice, and olive oil, in the case of this dressing) in bulk and using them up before they spoil or lose their flavor.  You also make fewer trips to the grocery store, saving gas and time, since you have the raw ingredients in your kitchen to make what you need!  With the price of gas these days, you really end up saving!

3.  Save Time

How do you save time making your own?  Well, I know making your own dressing takes time, but so does going to the store.  Maybe it’s a “wash”, but the way we eat dressing, I still think I’m saving time :

So — here is how to make this dressing.  And, as with almost all of my recipes, I recommend at least doubling the recipe so that you can save time!

moroccan vinaigrette dressing in a glass bottle with a cork top and parsley on the side

Other Homemade Salad Dressings

I have a thing for homemade salad dressings. Really.

Here’s a list of some others on my site that you might like:

Honey Mustard Vinaigrette – delicious and with a low-carb option too!
Vegan Ranch Dressing – in my fridge all the time. Makes a great dip!
Zingy Avocado Dressing – another one that makes an amazing dip
Nutritional Yeast Dressing – so easy kids can make it
Balsamic Vinaigrette–5 Ways – delicious any way you make it

Help a Homemade Salad Making Gal Out

One thing that I would love to hear from you about is a solution to my hunt for a great glass salad dressing container for our table.  We currently have our dressing in a canning jar, but I would love an attractive bottle with an easy pour lid.

The one I have my eye on is the Eva Solo dressing shaker which is available on Amazon, but I am a bit skittish since some reviewers say that the glass is thin and it is also pretty pricey

Recipe Notes for Moroccan Vinaigrette

Lemon Juice: I personally LOVE this lemon juice. We use it for EVERYTHING including morning lemon water, this Sesame-free Savory Hummus, and this Sugar-free Lemonade. I would love to squeeze my own lemons, but this is one area where I choose to opt for convenience. The juice keeps in the refrigerator for up to eight weeks and is wonderful! I buy it in huge glass bottle two-packs at Costco–check it out!

This clean eating Moroccan Vinaigrette is on our table with every meal! It's easy to whip up in a pinch and goes with just about anything needing a refreshing dressing – salads, beans, quinoa, you name it!

Moroccan Vinaigrette

This Moroccan Vinaigrette is on our table for every meal, it’s that good! Full of clean ingredients, it won’t hurt your wallet or your health.
4.67 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dressings, Seasonings, etc.
Cuisine: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, Vegan, whole30
Keyword: moroccan vinaigrette
Servings: 5
Calories: 265kcal

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice (freshly squeezed or organic bottled)
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 clove garlic (finely minced, or 1/8 teaspoon garlic granules)
  • 3/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley (tightly packed, minced) (or 4 teaspoons dried parsley)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper (optional)

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients and mix well.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings adding more lemon juice or vinegar if you like.
  • Store unused portion in refrigerator. Keeps well up to two weeks.
  • You may wish to add additional lemon juice, cumin and parsley after a few days in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 265kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 470mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 677IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg | Net Carbs: 1g

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

Looking for more ways to save money by making your own processed food substitutes?

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65 Comments

  1. I’m working on my health with a doctor and a great nutritionist. I did low carb/keto for years and years and in the process clogged my arteries and threatened to give myself diabetes. I am making progress down the healthy road by cutting way back on fats, adding healthy carbs and protein. No sugar, little to no fat, (oh and found out I was gluten intolerant) and a balanced diet with lots of whole fruits and vegetables with a large decrease in my meat consumption. I have been sulfite intolerant for years so no vinegar or wine. Given all that I really need a good salad dressing recipe(or two?). I’m not a creative cook so this isn’t coming to me. I was thinking maybe to use fat free yogurt or fat free sour cream with maybe some stevia but that’s as far as I got. Appreciate any help available.

    1. Hi there. I’m so so sorry to hear that you are dealing with all of this. There are varying thoughts about what contributes to clogged arteries – some say it’s carbs but sounds like you weren’t eating them…maybe all the dairy??

      What was the reasoning for the diabetes?

      You might be interested in seeing a bit of my story here about how we have improved our health doing a lot of things…wholenewmom.com/about-me/

      Did a practitioner tell you to go fat free for some reason? I just wonder if the dairy in the keto diet was the problem. Lots of fats are supposed to be very good for heart health.

      Let me know :).

  2. Sadly the lid on my good seasons bottle got brittle and broke. I got it second hand so I don’t know if it was put in the dishwasher and that affected it or if it was just age. Amazon has several glass bottle options besides the one you linked to. I just had a thought that maybe I could contact Good Seasons to see if they could replace the lid for a reasonable cost.

    Make sure your lemon juice doesn’t have additives. The bottled juice in my grocery aren’t pure lemon and neither are the little lemon shaped containers often found in the produce area. I buy frozen lemon juice by minute maid 9I think). Yes it is in a plastic bottle, but at least it is 100% lemon juice. If desired, it can be thawed and put in a freezer safe glass container, then refrozen.

  3. This recipe is amazing!!!! I usually don’t leave any comments, in this case I just couldn’t help it. You will not regret making this, it is outright super delicious . Just double the ingredients right of the bat, do yourself this favor….. 🙂

  4. On the topic of a glass bottle/jar for your vinaigrette dressing, I have kept and reused a glass shaker dispenser that originally comes with the packets of Good Seasons Italian salad dressing. I bought these probably 30 years ago but have seen them now and then in stores. They are shaped a bit like a flower vase and have a white plastic snap on lid with a pour hole. They are heavy glass and a fair size. I have two.

  5. 4 stars
    We have glass bottles from smoothies or from baby food/juices. Makes about 500 ml. They have a wide neck that is great for cleaning up/dishwasher.

    1. Great idea – the thing is that many of those bottles are pretty tough to clean out b/c any leftover oil will turn rancid over time. Do you have a bottle that you think would work? Many olive oils aren’t real olive oil so there is that issue as well.

  6. I bought a good seasons salad dressing bottle and tossed the dry packets.very cost effective and easy to fill.

  7. I don’t see the recipe. The pictures are there but no ingredient list or instructions. Am I missing something? I wanted to make the Moroccan Carrots and followed the link to this recipe.

    1. I’m so sorry – not sure what happened. We saw that error last night and thought we’d fixed it but the recipe was gone again. It’s back now. Let me know if there’s a problem. Thanks for letting me know and I hope you enjoy it!

    1. LOVE this – I read all comments so you aren’t behind the curve at all!!!! 🙂 So happy you did this. There isn’t one near I don’t think, but there used to be and I agree — dangerous.

  8. Can I recommend that you switch lemon juice brands? Nothing against that brand in particular, but I suggest buying one in a glass bottle. All plastic food containers are potentially troublesome with leaching toxic chemicals (especially hormone disruptors) into the food they contain. While people often know not to heat in plastic, many people aren’t aware that acidic foods (e.g. tomatoes, lemons) also cause those chemicals to leach into the food.

    Many blessings
    Dr. Deborah Epstein, ND (

    1. Hi there. I just updated the post to reflect that I use their lemon juice in glass bottles at Costco. The wording wasn’t very clear. Thanks!

  9. I use an old washed liquor bottle with some pretty etched glass type decals and a stainless steel pour spout. I also use one for my dish soap.

  10. We made the Pakistani Curry and it linked to this recipe so I made it too– great! And for the container– I agree, the Good Seasons cruet is great and cheap! I’d suggest checking your Goodwill or Salvation army for it. They almost always have them and they are only $1 usually! I love them and keep a few on hand for salad dressings as they pour really well. 🙂