Easy 3-Ingredient Tomato Vinaigrette: Your Quick & Tangy Chutney-Based Dressing

Transform your meals with this incredibly easy, three-ingredient tomato vinaigrette! Ready in just 5 minutes, it leverages the vibrant flavor of tomato chutney as its base. This dressing offers a delightful balance of tanginess and subtle sweetness, making it perfect for invigorating salads, adding a zesty kick to slaws, or enhancing the natural flavors of roasted and grilled vegetables. It’s a versatile kitchen staple that brings homemade goodness to your table with minimal effort.

Embrace the Harvest: The Power of Preserving and Creative Cooking

When you dedicate time and effort to growing your own produce, there’s an immense satisfaction not only in enjoying it fresh but also in preserving it. Extending the life of your harvest far beyond its short growing season allows you to savor those garden-fresh flavors all year round. While delicious chutneys, jams, and tomato sauces are wonderful on their own, their true potential often lies in their versatility as building blocks for other amazing recipes.

Imagine using a rich roasted tomato sauce to create a hearty savory seafood stew, transforming sweet apple butter into a delightful filling for crumb bars, or making a vibrant pesto the star of a creamy pasta dish. Each of these culinary adventures extends the reach and enjoyment of your garden’s bounty or your farmer’s market finds. It’s about maximizing flavor, minimizing waste, and adding a touch of homemade magic to every meal.

The Genesis of a Go-To Dressing: Our Addictive Tomato Chutney Vinaigrette

This philosophy of versatile preservation is precisely why we’re so excited to share this super simple recipe for a tomato vinaigrette made from our incredibly delicious and addictive tomato chutney. I absolutely adore this tomato chutney and find myself using it on everything I’d typically use ketchup on – and then some! For instance, while ketchup would never grace my frittata, a dollop of this flavorful tomato chutney truly makes it shine.

However, as much as I love the chutney, its consistency isn’t quite right for a salad dressing on its own. It was a revelation when a clever reader shared their secret: they loved combining the chutney with oil and vinegar to create a fantastic dressing. Naturally, I had to try it!

And it was nothing short of wonderful! The resulting vinaigrette retained the chutney’s beloved tangy and slightly sweet profile, but with the perfect consistency, beautifully dispersed by the oil and vinegar. This simple hack unlocked a whole new world of culinary possibilities, making our beloved chutney even more versatile in the kitchen.

Endless Culinary Applications: Beyond the Salad Bowl

Since discovering this amazing method, I’ve incorporated this homemade tomato vinaigrette into countless dishes. It’s a fantastic addition to fresh green salads, adding a vibrant burst of flavor. I’ve also mixed it with shredded cabbage for a unique and zesty slaw. Drizzling it over rice bowls creates an instant flavor upgrade, tying all the ingredients together with its sweet and tangy notes. While I already love pure chutney on cooked vegetables, this vinaigrette also works beautifully, offering a lighter, more evenly distributed flavor that coats every bite. I can’t wait to hear all the creative ways you discover to use this delightful tomato salad dressing!

Essential Recipe Ingredients

Ingredient Notes & Smart Substitutions for Your Vinaigrette

Crafting the perfect vinaigrette often comes down to understanding your ingredients and knowing how to adapt them to your taste or what you have on hand. Here are some detailed notes and substitution ideas for the core components of this simple tomato chutney vinaigrette:

• Oil: The choice of oil significantly impacts the overall flavor and mouthfeel of your vinaigrette. For this recipe, both good quality olive oil and avocado oil perform exceptionally well. Olive oil, especially extra virgin, will impart a slightly fruity and peppery note that complements the tomato chutney beautifully. Avocado oil, on the other hand, offers a more neutral flavor profile and a smoother, richer texture, making it ideal if you want the chutney’s flavor to truly shine. Other options like grapeseed oil or sunflower oil can also be used, providing a very neutral base. Aim for a high-quality oil to ensure the best flavor and nutritional benefits for your dressing.
• Vinegar: Vinegar is crucial for the tang and acidity that balances the sweetness of the chutney. Red wine vinegar is a fantastic choice, lending a subtle fruity acidity that enhances the tomato notes. However, apple cider vinegar is also an excellent substitute, offering a slightly milder, fruitier tang. For a different twist, consider white wine vinegar for a crisper acidity or even a high-quality balsamic vinegar for a deeper, sweeter, and more complex flavor profile, though this will alter the color significantly. Experiment to find your favorite balance!
• Tomato Chutney: This is the star ingredient that makes this vinaigrette so unique and flavorful. The beauty of this recipe is its adaptability. While our “addictive tomato chutney” is highly recommended for its perfect balance of sweet, savory, and tangy notes, you are by no means limited to it! In fact, you can create a whole range of vibrant vinaigrettes by simply swapping out the chutney.
  • Want a fruitier dressing? Make a delightful cherry vinaigrette using a luscious cherry chutney.
  • For a sweet and tangy option, a blueberry vinaigrette with blueberry chutney is a revelation.
  • If you have a bounty of unripe tomatoes, a green tomato vinaigrette using green tomato chutney offers a uniquely zesty and savory profile.
  • Don’t have homemade chutney? No problem! You can easily use your favorite store-bought chutney. Mango chutney is a particularly popular choice and would yield a wonderfully tropical and sweet vinaigrette.

  The key is to use a chutney whose flavor profile you enjoy, as it will be the dominant taste in your vinaigrette.

Mastering Your Homemade Tomato Vinaigrette from Chutney

Creating this flavorful vinaigrette is incredibly straightforward, requiring minimal equipment and just a few minutes of your time. Here’s how you achieve a perfectly blended, delectable dressing:

PRO TIP for a Smooth and Stable Vinaigrette: While shaking works perfectly well, for an even smoother and more stable emulsion, consider using a blender. You can add the ingredients to a wide-mouth pint jar and use a hand-held immersion blender, or simply use a traditional stand blender. Whirring the vinaigrette helps to break down the chutney further and combines the oil and vinegar more thoroughly, creating a more cohesive and emulsified dressing that tends to stay combined longer before separation.

Optimal Storage for Freshness and Flavor

To ensure your homemade tomato vinaigrette remains fresh and flavorful, proper storage is key. Once prepared, transfer the vinaigrette into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. When stored correctly, this delicious dressing will maintain its quality for 5-10 days. Always give it a good shake or stir before each use, as some separation of oil and vinegar is natural with homemade dressings.

Creative Ways to Serve This Versatile Tomato Vinaigrette

This tomato vinaigrette isn’t just for salads; its bright, tangy-sweet flavor makes it incredibly versatile across a range of dishes. Get ready to elevate your meals with these serving suggestions:

• Elevate Your Salads:
  • Classic Green Salads: As shown in the image, the vinaigrette is truly exceptional on a simple bed of fresh greens, especially when paired with sliced cooked chicken breast for a complete meal.
  • Mediterranean Inspired Salads: It’s particularly delicious on any type of green salad that incorporates briny ingredients like feta or creamy goat cheese. Add some Kalamata olives, red onion, and cucumber for a refreshing twist.
  • Grain & Pasta Salads: Use it as a dressing for cold quinoa, farro, or pasta salads. It pairs beautifully with roasted vegetables, chickpeas, and fresh herbs.
• Transform Your Slaws: Beyond traditional vinaigrettes, this tomato-based dressing makes an incredible base for various slaws. I’ve created a mouthwatering version with finely sliced cabbage, sweet peppers, garlic scapes, cooked corn cut fresh off the cob, all tossed together with crumbled feta cheese and this vibrant vinaigrette. It adds an unexpected depth of flavor to crunchy cabbage.
• Flavorful Rice & Grain Bowls: Assemble a quick and satisfying meal by layering your favorite cooked rice or grain, adding a mix of cooked and raw vegetables (think roasted broccoli, sautéed mushrooms, shredded carrots), and a protein of your choice (grilled chicken, tofu, or a fried egg). Finish by generously spooning on this bright tomato vinaigrette. It’s an easy, delicious, and healthy meal ready in 20-30 minutes!
• Enhance Roasted & Grilled Vegetables: Drizzle the vinaigrette over warm roasted asparagus, grilled zucchini, or baked sweet potatoes. The tangy sweetness beautifully caramelizes and brightens the vegetables.
• Savory Marinade: Its combination of oil, vinegar, and rich tomato flavor makes it an excellent quick marinade for chicken, fish, or pork before grilling or baking.
• Spread or Dip: Thicker chutneys can make a great dip, but this vinaigrette offers a lighter alternative. Serve it as a dip for crusty bread or a light spread on sandwiches and wraps.

Unlock Endless Flavor with Pantry Staples

With a jar of tomato chutney readily available on your pantry shelf, you have the secret to this delicious and versatile vinaigrette anytime you desire. It’s a simple recipe that truly extends the utility of your homemade preserves, allowing you to infuse so many dishes with unique, vibrant flavors.

I genuinely hope you enjoy making and using this tomato vinaigrette. If you give it a try, please be sure to leave a rating and review below. Your feedback not only helps others discover this gem but also lets me know how much you loved it!