If you love capers, then you will adore this caper vinaigrette salad dressing recipe. It has parsley, white wine vinegar and garlic. Plus it only takes 10 minutes to make! It is perfect for salad Nicoise!

Salad Nicoise Dressing with capers

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe For Caper Vinaigrette

Hold the bottled dressing my friend. You’ve gone through the trouble of assembling a gorgeous salad niçoise, so why would you want to defile it with that stuff? This homemade salad nicoise dressing is about 6 times more exciting!

It’s loaded with chopped capers, garlic, olive oil and parsley to make it bright green. The flavor of the herb, garlic and capers goes well with the fish and seafood element in the dressing, and will give the whole gorgeous masterpiece a cohesive flavor! You owe it to your salad! 

Pairing This Dressing with Seafood in Salad Nicoise

This caper vinaigrette is special in that it is naturally suited for salad nicoise because Salad Niçoise always has seafood of some sort. Seafood historically is paired with certain flavors, capers being one of them. The salty briny taste of the capers helps to mellow any fishy flavors of the tuna.

I often make a Nicoise with canned tuna in the center. Of course, you can go beyond tuna and use all sorts of seafood, including Salmon Nicoise. In fact, I recently made salad nicoise for our house guests topped with grilled halibut and shrimp drizzled with this spectacular dressing.

Ingredient Notes

  • Extra-virgin olive oil: Since it’s a salad dressing I would recommend using a high-quality olive oil
  • White wine vinegar: You could also use apple cider vinegar
  • Capers: The star of the show. Make sure they are in brine, not salt packed.
  • Dijon mustard: Use whole-grain mustard if you don’t have Dijon
  • Honey: This sweetness balances out the acidity from the vinegar and other ingredients
  • Seasonings: Fresh parsley leaves, Garlic cloves,salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dressing with Capers in a jar

How to Make This Dressing with Capers

Puree the parsley, oil, vinegar, garlic, Dijon, honey, salt and pepper in a mini prep or blender until the parsley is finely chopped. Stir in the capers. Use immediately or refrigerate for up to three days.

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FAQs and Expert Tips

How long can you store homemade dressings?

Vinaigrettes can often be left in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container. Bring to room temperature in a warm water bath and shake well before using.

What difference does adding honey to the dressing make?

Although you don’t technically need honey, I did try it without the honey and thought it was too sour. Just the tiny bit of honey helps to balance it out. If you are sensitive to tart, you can even up it to two teaspoons. 

How much of the dressing is needed per serving?

This dressing has quite a lot of oil in it, but the flavors are strong, so make sure to only use 2 tablespoons per serving. A little goes a long way! 

What Goes With Caper Vinaigrette?

  • Beyond Nicoise, this vinaigrette pairs best with salads that include bold or briney ingredients, like seafood, feta cheese, olives and grilled meat.
  • It can hold its own against strong greens like radicchio and endive. I think it would also make a nice pairing in the winter with oranges and Treviso.
  • Drizzle over summer ripe tomatoes or try in a warm pasta salad with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes.
  • It is fab with fish of all kinds. Try with our Seared Salmon or read up on How To Cook Halibut.
  • I love it with shrimp too (especially grilled!) Try our Shrimp Kebabs and Grilled Veggie Salad with White Beans for a delicious meal!
Caper Vinaigrette in a jar with a spoon

Other Salad Dressings To Try

At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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Salad Nicoise Dressing with capers

Caper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing

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5 from 9 reviews

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Description

This Caper Vinaigrette Salad Dressing is loaded with bright flavors. It has capers, white wine vinegar and garlic. Plus the parsley makes it bright green!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons drained capers, chopped

Instructions

  1. Puree parsley, oil, vinegar, garlic, Dijon, honey, salt and pepper in a mini prep or blender until the parsley is finely chopped. Stir in capers. Refrigerate up to three days.

Notes

Cooking Tip: Vinaigrettes can often be left in the fridge for up to 2 weeks if stored in an airtight container.

  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Category: Salad Dressing
  • Method: Blender
  • Cuisine: French

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 tablespoons
  • Calories: 156
  • Fat: 18 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 1 g
  • Protein: 0 g

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green Salad Nicoise dressing collage with text overlay