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
You remember that insanely delish Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar from Trader Joe's… well word on the street is that it's been discontinued. So I made you my version of it so we can still make incredible vinaigrettes with the same vibes!
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)
- 1/2 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.
Thank you! I have been checking at my Trader Joe’s in Sacramento for two years now and they never had it. Looking forward to finally trying it!
Please also do a knock off for the Trader Joe’s Champagne Pear Vinaigrette which is also discontinued.
Gaby I love you! I just to adore this stuff when I lived in L.A.!
This is so timely! I brought a bottle to my daughter’s for Easter dinner and when I could not get it at TJ’s I took it back home!!!’ Thank you!
I need something easy for a healthy treat for my 2 1/2 year old grand child, Lily. Her Persian mom has said no more lollipops. They make their own fruit juice popsicles. In fact everything they cook is organic and freshly made. I would like it to be something that I’ll maybe give her once or twice so i don’t have a lot of leftovers. Lily loves yogurt and fruit. She also loves fresh tomato. That is what she gets at home and I want something special from Grandma.
This will be the perfect summer go to for all the garden goodness salads!! So glad to have a substitute!!
THANK YOU!!!!! I was SO SAD a year ago when it was discontinued (even emailed TJ’s to beg them to bring it back) and then devastated when it wasn’t there again and heard it was discontinued. My family has complained about the dressings I have been using since – truly – we all missed it! Cannot wait to try this – it is like you read my sad heart and that of my family for what we were missing! :). THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
This is a recipe I will try today. I love salad dressings with oranges, tangerines. I buy canned little oranges – tangerines – as that is what my girls always called them. To this day, we call them little oranges. I drain the juice and always keep it and that is the juice I make my vinegarette with. It is always a delicious recipe. I use the little oranges in the salad with strawberries, apples, dried cranberries, pine nuts, lots of delicious lettuce choices, tomatoes, avocado, garlic, mustard, whatever floats your boat. Lots of compos for the final dressing choice. It is the juice that really makes all the difference and I can see why you would have loved that. At least I will have yours to try.
Thank you for letting us know about the orange vinegar. I have a bottle in the fridge and so grateful for your recipe.
I could have written your post. I feel exactly the same way about this vinegar. I’ve even given it as gifts with recipes tied to the neck! In the past I started a Facebook campaign to get all my friends to request it back on TJs website. And it worked! I’m about to try again. Please do it if you haven’t yet. Fingers crossed!
I’ll sign a petition!
I am sick that TJ’s has discontinued this Orange Muscat vinegar – they are always doing this! I was researching and found nutrition info and a list of ingredients in the order they use to make the vinegar – thought I’d see if you would change. Nothing in your recipe. INGREDIENTS
champagne vinegar, orange juice, sugar, fresh oranges, muscat grape juice, sulfites.
THANK YOU!!! Yes, I meant to shout! I was so sad to see it gone and was going to recreate it – but you beat me to it! Hugs to you!!!
Thankyou so much. I too am a die hard for Trader Joe’s orange muscat champagne vinegar and am equally gutted. The last time I heard they were discontinuing it – I went out snd bought 12 bottles from my local stores. Alas this time I can’t find any! There really is nothing on the market to replace this so thanks so much for the recipe!
THANK YOU for this recipe! Add ME to the list of heartbroken TJ shoppers. I was so sick to my stomach when I learned it had been discontinued again. *I also added: 1 Tablespoon of dijon mustard.
I agree. A very sad sad day. Thank you so much for recipe. The problem was that it was only bought in certain locations. Very popular in the Merrick store.
Had a small amount left in my last bottle. Looking a your recipe , it should hits my taste buds the same. Thks
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!
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.
Ahhh, thank you!! I will never forgive them for discontinuing this This also makes a great marinade btw.
Going to try this. Keeping my fingers crossed. I love TJ vinegar so sad to see it go
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.
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.
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
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!