It's was a sad day over here a few weeks ago when I found out the Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette was being discontinued. I've been told this a few times in the past, but the sales associate told me that this time it was for good. I AM GUTTED.
That vinegar was so good and so easy to make into an easy dressing to lightly dress just about any salad. I bought it every single time I made a trip!! So what's a girl to do... figure out how to make it at home obviously! Here's the run down... it was an Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar... so you really just need to flavor from fresh orange juice, champagne vinegar (or red wine vinegar) and then you're in business. The great thing about that discontinued vinegar is that you really just needed a tiny bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and you were in business. So we're keeping things equally as easy with the below recipe for Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette so you can make it in bulk and use it throughout the week!
Want to turn this into a main course salad? Here are a few of my favorite salad add-ons to bulk it up a bit and really make this Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette sing!
- Grilled or Broiled Salmon
- Grilled Chicken
- Seared Steak
- Marinated Chickpeas
- Roasted Vegetables (ie: sweet potatoes, squash etc)
Knock Off Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1 orange, juiced
- 2 tablespoons champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons worth)
- ½ cup olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
For the Salad
- 2 heads butter lettuce
- avocados
- chives
Instructions
- Whisk vinaigrette ingredients until emulsified and then drizzle on salad.
You are a genius. I am going to try your whole meal this Sunday. Let me share my salad dressing recipe with you. 1/2 C. Trader Joe’s (now your Orange Camp. Vinegar), 2 T. Almond Oil, 1-1/2 tsp.. fresh dill ( I have used dry) and 1 Tbsp. Grey Poupon Dijon Mustard. This only serves two and I have doubled and it works just fine. Thanks for this recipe. Please do not add me to any e-mail distributions. Thank you. And thank you again for this wonderful recipe!
The Trader Joe's product was a vinegar and I think I've recreated it pretty closely ..keep it in a bottle in my refrigerator to use on salads...1/2 cup champagne or prosecco vinegar, 1/2 cup orange juice concentrate, and 8 teaspoons granulated sugar...that's it...
Thank you so much for this! Not all sheroes wear capes.
Thank you sooo much! I have been hoarding my last bottle and now can use it. I used to pour half the vinegar into a separate (saved) bottle and then add the EVOO to each and make two bottles of dressing. You are a lifesaver!
I've just heard of this for the first time & am so glad you've created a recipe for the one that has been discontinued; thank you!
Don't get me wrong this does it the pinch since Trader Joe's doesn't have it on the shelf, but I still have the ingredients from the bottle and they're champagne vinegar, OJ concentrate, sugar, water, muscat grape juice concentrate. That's it NO oil which is one of the reasons it only had 20 calories a tablespoon. it was perfect! Would love to see if you could actually get closer to the real deal
Diane, Do you have the proportions for those ingredients posted for knock-off T.J.'s Orange Musket Vinaigrette? I've tried duplicating it but have been using oil. Would like to try what you've created.
Thanks.
Mary D.
I also was sooo disappointed about Trader's discontinuing this vinegar. The flavor was wonderful! Just finished the last few teaspoons. I could not find this particular one on line. Therefore, I'll follow this recipe, excluding the garlic and shallot as I have a gastro problem. We should get lots of people to email or call Trader's to try and get this back. Did they tell you why they didn't bring it back?
P.S. This is Joan P Weiss again. Do you mind if I copy all these comments to Trader Joes. I live in NYC!
Thx.
Thanks for this recipe, This Trader Joe's vinegar was my go-to marinade for grilled swordfish, and I didn't know what I was going to do without it. Now I can make it (or an approximation) again.
Going to try this. Keeping my fingers crossed. I love TJ vinegar so sad to see it go
Ahhh, thank you!! I will never forgive them for discontinuing this This also makes a great marinade btw.
I have read all the comments and I too feel the very same way. My salads are not the same anymore. I used it every day for years and years.
I even bought it the first time it was discontinued from someone on the web at 4times the price. Then it came back back and now gone for good.
I am sooooo sad.
The last two times I went to TJ's they were out of this vinegar and there was no shelf tag so I had a feeling that it was either temporarily (Covid) or permanently gone from the shelf. I was mortified! I had just opened my last bottle and I have been trying to use it sparingly. I make what I call my "California Salad" with that vinegar and people just can't get enough of it. For the dressing I use the Orange vinegar, Almond oil, orange blossom honey, shallot, garlic, TJ's 21 season salute, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I take it for a ride in my food processor for a few seconds and the dressing remains homogenized for several days or longer (I don't know about longer because I will start dipping crusty bread into the dressing and finishing it off by that time). It is so good that I lick the spoon after drizzling it over my salad and sop up any remaining dressing on my plate with a small piece of bread. For the salad: Butter lettuce (or greens of your choice) tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, celery, carrot, avocado and any other things you like in your salad (I like fresh alfalfa sprouts because they really sop up the dressing). On the top I crumble crispy bacon, toasted slivered almonds, golden raisins, crumbled Feta cheese, croutons (optional). I have added grilled chicken on occasion if I want a heavier meal. This is my favorite salad ever! The sweetness of the honey plays well off of the acid in the feta and the raisins add a delightful pop of sweetness every time I bite into one. The almonds add a nice toasty crunch and the saltiness of the bacon just brings it all home. The star here is still the dressing because it will liven up a few leaves of romaine (or grilled romaine) just as nicely. The almond oil in the dressing gives a rich mouth feel and plays well with the garlic and shallot on the tongue. I am really going to miss this vinegar so thank you so much for your trick on making it at home.
Wow, Sherry, this sounds SO good; thanks for taking the time!
Your salad sounds wonderful and the dressing recipe sounds exactly like mine. I was so devastated when they discontinued it
Had a small amount left in my last bottle. Looking a your recipe , it should hits my taste buds the same. Thks