Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
The Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe (Balsamic Dressing) – This tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing will make your salads sparkle, and takes only 5 minutes to prepare!
Why We Love This Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Is there anything more satisfying than skillfully whipping up your own dressing right at home? It makes you wonder why you ever bothered buying bottled stuff at the store.
This homemade salad dressing recipe for the Best Balsamic Vinaigrette is one I’ve tweaked over the years to be perfectly tangy-sweet and silky in texture.
The tantalizing flavor is based on good quality aged balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, honey, a touch of dijon mustard, and herbs. It is fabulous over robust spinach and kale salads, romaine salads, and even over roasted vegetables!
And you can easily make larger batches of this balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and keep it in the refrigerator for several weeks.
Ingredients You Need
With just a handful of ingredients, you can make a balsamic dressing that rivals any store-bought brand in both taste and cost.
- Aged balsamic vinegar – It’s important to buy very good aged balsamic vinegar. The longer the vinegar has been aged, the sweeter, milder, and richer it becomes.
- Extra virgin olive oil – My personal favorite for making vinaigrettes, but you can substitute it with avocado or any other light-flavored oil you prefer.
- Honey – You’ll need less honey in this recipe if you use an older vinegar and/or if you prefer a more savory and less sweet dressing.
- Dijon mustard – For that perfect tangy element that brings out the boldness of the balsamic.
- Dried thyme – This balances the sweet and zesty notes of the dressing with a mild earthy flavor.
- Minced garlic – Because every good vinaigrette needs garlic!
How To Make Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
- Place all the ingredients in a jar and seal tightly.
- Shake vigorously. The mustard will help emulsify the vinaigrette and give it a thick luxurious quality. Alternatively, you could whisk the ingredients together in a small bowl!
That’s it. Seriously!
Serving Suggestions
Use this homemade balsamic vinaigrette on all of your favorite green salads, over freshly sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, or as a dressing on top of roasted veggies! Here are some of my favorite things to pair with it:
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Antipasto Spinach Salad
- Grilled Fattoush Salad
- Roasted Vegetable Flatbread
- Caprese Panzanella
- Oven Roasted Vegetables
- Fried Goat Cheese Salad
Tips & Tricks
- Olive oil and vinegar will separate after sitting in the fridge! When you use it after storing it, be sure to give it a good shake. High-quality olive oil will even solidify sometimes, so give it a few minutes to warm up and then shake again.
- Use high-quality ingredients! High-quality ingredients go a long way in creating a homemade balsamic dressing that tastes amazing. However, you don’t need to most expensive balsamic vinegar either! Just use one that you know you like the taste of.
- Adjust to taste! Everyone likes their vinaigrettes a little bit different. Taste it and adjust with extra vinegar, more oil, or perhaps more honey if you want it a little sweeter!
Get the Full (Printable) Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe + Video Below. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Can Balsamic Dressing Be Stored?
Kept in an airtight container in the fridge, this dressing will keep well for 2-3 weeks. Just give it a good shake before serving.
What Are Some Ways to Enjoy This Balsamic Vinaigrette?
Balsamic vinaigrette dressing is delicious drizzled on cold salads loaded with fresh greens and veggies, and on warm salads with quinoa, chickpeas and/or cooked stone fruits like grilled peaches or poached pears.
It adds a wonderful depth and tanginess to hearty roasted veggies, such as carrots and Brussels sprouts, as a balsamic glaze after cooking.
Try a bit of this balsamic vinaigrette recipe with fruits like watermelon and strawberries for a terrifically savory and sweet treat. Adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream turns the salad into an instant dessert.
You can even use it as a marinade over proteins like steak, pork, and chicken.
Can I Substitute Ingredients in this Recipe?
You absolutely can. Use whatever mild flavor oil you prefer (like paleo-friendly avocado oil, sunflower oil, or canola oil), substitute maple syrup for the honey to make it vegan, and it’s perfectly okay to use other mustards like stone-ground or yellow mustard if you don’t have Dijon.
Where Does Balsamic Vinegar Come From?
Authentic balsamic vinegar is made in only the cities of Reggio Emilia and Modena, Italy. It is highly regulated for quality so the traditional methods and production process is monitored by a special certification agency in Italy.
Traditional balsamic vinegar begins with grape must, which is a thick juice or mash made of whole pressed grapes including every component from skin to seeds and stems. They must achieve the perfect balance in flavor after cooking to concentrate the liquid, then fermenting for several weeks. It is then aged in barrels made of chestnut, oak, cherry, mulberry, and juniper wood to create unique flavor notes.
Looking For More Delicious Dressing and Salad Recipes?
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- Homemade Catalina Dressing
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- Paleo Ranch Dressing (+ Homemade Chicken Salad)
- 3-Ingredient Almond Butter Balsamic Vinaigrette
- The Perfect Greek Salad Dressing Recipe
- Japanese Ginger Salad Dressing Recipe
- The Ultimate Wedge Salad Recipe
- Harvest Salad (Cobb Style) Recipe
- Chunky Strawberry Salad with Poppyseed Dressing Recipe
- Fattoush Salad with Grilled Vegetables Recipe
- Roasted Beet Chickpea and Kale Salad Recipe
Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup aged balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Pour the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, 2 tablespoons honey, Dijon mustard, dried thyme, and garlic clove in a jar. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Place the lid on the jar and shake vigorously to combine. Once smooth, taste. Then add more honey or salt if needed.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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The very best – aromatic, thick and relatively low in calories. Must use a very high quality balsamic vinegar for best results. I use Acropolis Organics Mousto Balsamic Vinegar. Guests comment on how good the salad smells as I’m bringing it to the table!
Very aptly named. This is literally the best balsamic vinaigrette I’ve ever had.
Awesome dressing. (Although I use less honey than the recommended amount.) I never thought I would become such a huge salad freak.
Some helpful tips that I’ve discovered:
1) I first purée the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, and garlic right there in the measuring cup. For this I use an awesome KitchenAid corded hand blender that I recently purchased. Then I add the thyme, salt, and pepper—and whisk. Besides distributing the ingredients evenly throughout, puréeing helps minimize the separation that occurs while stored in the fridge.
2) I use an 8 oz. condiment squeeze bottle for easy pouring. You will need to clip the tip of the nozzle, in order to create a bigger spout for the dressing to flow through easily. (A heavy-duty garden shear might be needed.) Use a little more than double the ingredient amounts this recipe calls for and you should come close to filling the entire 8 oz. condiment bottle.
Excellent recipe, I used one heaping tablespoon coconut sugar instead of honey and it came out perfect. Poured it over a simple salad with spring greens, roasted beet and toasted walnut pieces. Delish!
Fantastic!! Thank you so much!
Great recipe, I recommend sticking with 2 tbs of honey. I used 2.5/3 and it was tad too sweet.
I will never buy balsamic dressing again!! This is amazing, healthier (in my opinion) and soooo easy!! Thank you for sharing this. :)
Outstanding! ❤️
AMAZING!!!! I used fresh thyme because I prefer it and honestly don’t keep dry thyme on hand. came out AWESOME! Couldn’t be more pleased- don’t think I’ll be buying any dressing ever again!!!!
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I can’t stop making this, it’s absolutely delicious!!!!! Didn’t change a thing, thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe. The only thing I change is I use gusto della vita’s shallot olive oil and their garlic balsamic vinegar. I omit the minced shallot and garlic. I get the flavors without the bite.
I did few times , is delicious !!
Seriously the best dressing I’ve ever made!
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I hate vinegar. But I wanted to get into a more healthy salad dressing. I bought an authentic Italian balsamic vinegar to use in dressings. After looking at many different recipes I tried this one first. I am hooked. Even my spouse gobbles down whatever I put it on or marinate it with. This recipe changed 2 vinegar haters into vinegar lovers! Thanks for sharing!
This dressing is fantastic and very easy. I made a few small tweaks to make it even healthier. I used good quality balsamic vinegar, so I could omit the honey. I used more garlic and allowed the minced garlic to sit 10 minutes which triggers an enzyme reaction that boosts the healthy compounds. I also used ground thyme which incorporates extraordinary flavor without the hard twiggy little pieces of dried thyme most commonly sold. I also halved the thyme since ground thyme is more robust. Even without my small changes, this recipe is great.
This is a fantastic recipe and so easy. I doubled the recipe and glad I did.
I’m assuming based on the raw garlic and dijon mustard it should be refrigerated, correct? Since the EVOO always congeals in the fridge & I have to wait to pour it from the bottle I use, it would be nice not to have to keep it in the fridge. Please let me know if that’s necessary if I use it within a week. Thanks!
This recipe right here! Bomb.com! Soo good. And so easy to make! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
This is by far my favorite recipe I’ve found online!!! I absolutely love it and I’m not usually a huge balsamic vinaigrette fan by itself….I like to mix it with ranch, however, this will never be mixed with ranch!!!!! I love it and my son loves it and even my non salad eating hubby liked it!! Getting ready to make it again for steak salads!! This is the first time I’ve commented on a recipe because it’s just that delicious!!!