Subway Vinaigrette Recipe  (2024)

One of the best ways to elevate a sandwich is by adding sauce or a dressing, and Subway has this flavor-enhancing tactic down to a science.

Whether it’s the Chipotle southwest sauce, balsamic vinaigrette, or Subway sweet onion sauce, you can’t really go wrong, but Subway probably has the most versatile sauce selection, which is their standard vinaigrette.

The Subway vinaigrette is tangy, savory, and herby, which makes it great for salads and sandwiches alike.

Best of all, it’s super simple to recreate at home so you can have excellent sandwiches any day of the week!

How to make the Subway Vinaigrette

Vinaigrettes are oil-based dressings mixed with an acidic component (usually vinegar or lemon juice), herbs, and spices, and the Subway vinaigrette utilizes this basic framework.

The flavor of the Subway vinaigrette is hard to pinpoint, as it’s savory, tangy, herbaceous, and slightly citrusy all at once.

The complex flavors can be achieved through a myriad of combinations so this recipe is great for experimenting.

For the oil base, the most authentic option is soybean oil, though canola or olive oil works as well.

The acidic component is red wine vinegar which is rounded out with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dollop of dijon mustard.

The spice mix is a variation of an Italian herb blend as well as dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, and MSG.

While MSG is commonly found in restaurant sauces, if you don’t have it at home it’s perfectly fine to omit it.

Though the vinaigrette is different from the Subway sweet onion sauce, there is a sweet onion essence in the vinaigrette which is easily achieved by adding a spoonful of sugar.

If you aren’t thrilled about sugar in your savory dressing, you can leave it out without altering the final result beyond recognition.

You could also add a healthy pinch of red chili flakes if you prefer a spicy Italian dressing.

However you like your Subway vinaigrette, you can definitely tailor it to your specifications! Here’s how to do it.

Ingredients:

(10 servings)

• ¾ cup soybean oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• ¼ tsp garlic flakes
• ¼ tsp onion flakes
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp MSG – optional
• ½ tsp red chili flakes-optional

Instructions:

The easiest way to emulsify a vinaigrette is by vigorously shaking all of the ingredients together in a tightly-lidded mason jar with a blender ball.

However, if you prefer a smoother vinaigrette you can blitz everything together in a high-speed blender.

Step 1:

Place oil, vinegar, mustard, garlic, onion, herbs, salt, sugar, MSG, and red chili flakes into a medium-sized mason jar.

If the jar you’re using is large enough, place a blender ball in the middle of the ingredients.

This will help break up the thicker substances, allowing the ingredients to evenly distribute across the vinaigrette.

If you don’t have a blender ball, don’t worry! It’s not required!

Step 2:

Tightly cover the mason jar with a snug-fitting lid and make sure there are no gaps to prevent spillage.

Shake the jar vigorously until all of the ingredients have combined.

About 1 minute. If there are clumps of herbs adhering to the side of the jar when you’re done shaking, scrape them into the dressing.

Using your fingers or a small pair of tongs remove the blender ball and hold it over the jar, allowing the excess vinaigrette to drip off.

If the vinaigrette is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time and shake for a few seconds to thin out the dressing.

Repeat until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

*If you’re making the vinaigrette in a blender, pulse the ingredients a few times, then blend on high for 45 seconds to 1 minute until smooth.

Step 3:

Serve and enjoy!

The great thing about vinaigrettes is that they are ripe for experimentation and ingredients can easily be switched out to achieve a personalized flavor profile.

Here are some substitutions we suggest for this Subway sauce.

Ingredients substitutions

As with most recipes, there are few hard and fast rules as far as herbs and spices are concerned and the same rings true here.

Just make sure you keep things within a similar herb family to prevent any competing or overpowering flavors.

1. Olive Oil

Soybean oil is often found in bottled dressings and in restaurants, however, it isn’t commonly kept in home kitchens.

If you don’t have soybean, are allergic to soy, or simply don’t want to use it, olive oil is a great swap.

One of the virtues of soybean oil is its neutral flavor profile, so it’s important to use mild olive oil.

Reach for lighter-colored, refined olive oil and leave the extra-virgin olive oil for a different recipe.

2. White Wine Vinegar

White wine vinegar and red wine vinegar are two sides of the same coin and can easily be interchanged in vinaigrettes.

Red wine vinegar tends to have a bolder flavor profile than its more delicate white wine counterpart, however, the flavors are similar enough that a 1-to-1 swap is perfectly acceptable.

Be careful not to confuse white wine vinegar with plain white vinegar, as the astringency of plain white vinegar will overpower the dressing.

3. Mayonnaise

Believe it or not, the base for most creamy dressings is mayonnaise and it works well in virtually every dipping sauce.

So if mustard isn’t your thing, you can still achieve the subtle creaminess it lends to this recipe with mayo.

To use mayo instead of mustard, start with 1 teaspoon of mayo and taste the dressing after shaking.

If it needs more, add an additional teaspoon and shake again.

It’s very easy to overpower a vinaigrette with mayo, so start small and build up until you’ve reached the correct flavor and texture.

4. Red Onion

Salad dressing loves red onion, and this one is no exception.

For a brighter and fresher vinaigrette, finely dice half of a medium red onion and use it in place of the onion flakes.

Take care to dice the onion as small as you can to avoid large clumps in the dressing.

5. Fresh Garlic

Garlic flakes are a wonderful kitchen staple, but sometimes you just want the real thing.

Luckily, fresh garlic and garlic flakes are typically interchangeable.

Fresh garlic is more pungent and aromatic than dried and big chunks of garlic can easily overpower any sauce.

To avoid this, use a microplane to grate the garlic and start with one clove.

If you want a more intense garlic flavor use as many grated cloves of garlic as you like.

The fine texture of the grated cloves will seamlessly blend into the oil and vinegar and help maintain a smooth consistency.

As you can see, there are plenty of ingredient swaps you can make for the Subway vinaigrette, and luckily there are just as many delicious ways to enjoy it too!

What to serve with Subway Vinaigrette

You’ll generally find this salad dressing mixed into a Subway salad or drizzled over a veggie delight or one of the many other Subway sandwiches.

Of course, the lettuce, black olives, green peppers, and banana peppers that are omnipresent on the Subway menu are meant for this vinaigrette but don’t stop at salads and sandwiches.

There are so many other interesting ways to serve it!

Here are a few of our favorites.

Steak

If you’ve ever had the roast beef sandwich at Subway, then you’ll know how wonderfully this vinaigrette pairs with red meat.

Thankfully it isn’t limited to sandwich dressing and is excellent as a steak sauce!

There are so many flavors bursting out of this sauce and it is screaming for a steak.

Next time you’re grilling up steaks for dinner, reach for this vinaigrette in lieu of traditional sauces.

You may have a new favorite topping for steak night.

Brussels Sprouts

Oil, acid, and herbs are the basic blueprint for outstanding roasted Brussels sprouts and this vinaigrette has an abundance of all three.

To serve with Brussels sprouts, toss the sprouts in olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Roast in a 425°F oven for 40 minutes.

At the 20-minute mark, drizzle the vinaigrette over the sprouts and use a spatula to coat, then finish roasting.

Coleslaw

If you’re a coleslaw lover, but looking for a lighter alternative with which to dress it, this vinaigrette is the perfect option.

The combination of the herbs plus the brightness of the vinegar and dijon mustard give the coleslaw a delightful spin without venturing too far away from its creamier form.

Chilled Shrimp

Chilled shrimp and co*cktail sauce is one of the great pairings of our time, but there is only so much one can do to diversify the flavors of co*cktail sauce.

Thankfully, there is more than one way to dip a shrimp and this vinaigrette is high on the list of dipping sauce alternatives!

Next time chilled shrimp is on the menu, put this vinaigrette on the dipping tray or use it as a marinade and coat the shrimp before serving (or grilling!).

However you apply it, it will be delicious.

There are so many ways to use the Subway vinaigrette and a little goes a long way.

Luckily, if you find yourself with leftovers, it’s incredibly easy to store.

How to store Subway Vinaigrette

The best way to store this vinaigrette is in the fridge, in an airtight container.

Store in the fridge

To store in the fridge, transfer the vinaigrette to a container with a tightly fitting lid.

Because it’s an oil-based dressing, it may thicken up in the fridge, so don’t be alarmed if the consistency changes.

If it gets too thick, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before using it and give it a good stir.

If it doesn’t bounce back to the original consistency, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water.

It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you want to hold onto the vinaigrette for a longer period of time, you can also store it in the freezer.

Store in the freezer

To store in the freezer, transfer the sauce to a freezer-safe container with a tightly fitting lid.

Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the vinaigrette until there is no air between the surface and the plastic to prevent freezer burn.

Cover tightly with a lid and store upright in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Thaw in the fridge for 24 hours before using.

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