Honey Balsamic Dressing (5-Minute Vinaigrette)
Honey balsamic dressing is a five-ingredient vinaigrette that takes about five minutes to whisk together. You already did the work on the salad, so this part is worth the extra five minutes.
It suits almost any green salad. It is the dressing on this Beet and Feta Salad, on this Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Egg, and on the green salad I serve with an egg tart.
Here is why you will love this honey balsamic dressing
Here is what it has going for it over a bottle from the store.
- Five ingredients – olive oil, balsamic, Dijon, honey and salt. You can read every one of them.
- Five minutes, one bowl – a whisk or a fork does it, and nothing gets heated.
- Thick and creamy – it coats the leaves instead of sliding to the bottom of the bowl.
- Sweet and tangy at once – the honey rounds off the balsamic without turning it into dessert.
- A week in the fridge – whisk a jar on Sunday and dress salads all week.
Ingredients for Honey Balsamic Dressing
Five things, plus garlic if you want it. Here is what each one brings and what you can swap.
Balsamic vinegar: Buy the best one you are willing to. A good balsamic is thicker and sweeter, and it carries most of the flavor here. Lemon juice works if you want the dressing brighter and paler.
Dijon mustard: Dijon is what holds the oil and vinegar together, so the dressing stays creamy instead of splitting. Whole-grain Dijon works too and leaves visible specks. Yellow mustard is sharper and thinner.
Honey: The sweetness that rounds off the balsamic. Maple syrup swaps in one for one and makes the dressing vegan.
Olive oil: Extra virgin gives the most flavor. Light olive oil is the milder choice if the peppery finish is too much for you.
Salt: Salt is what pulls the other four together. How much you want depends on the salad, since salty cheese and cured meat already bring their own.
Garlic: Optional, and it gives the dressing a sharper edge. Freshly pressed is stronger than a jarred paste.
How to Make Honey Balsamic Dressing
Everything except the oil goes into the bowl first. The oil goes in last, in a slow stream, and that is what turns it creamy.
- Whisk the base. Dijon, balsamic, honey, salt and garlic go in together. Whisk until the honey has dissolved and there is no streaking left.
- Add the oil slowly. Keep whisking and pour the olive oil in a thin stream. The dressing turns pale and thickens as it comes together.
- Thin it if you want. Add water a little at a time until it pours the way you like.
- Taste it on a leaf. Dip a piece of lettuce rather than tasting off the spoon. Straight dressing always reads stronger than it does on a salad.
Or make the honey balsamic dressing in a blender
A hand blender does the emulsifying for you, and it pulls the dressing thicker and creamier than a whisk can. Pulse everything except the oil in the blender cup until smooth, then keep the blade running and submerged while you pour the oil in a thin stream. It comes out closer to a thin mayonnaise, and it holds together longer in the fridge.
Marina’s Pro Tips for
the Best Honey Balsamic Dressing
- Pour the oil slowly. A thin stream gives the mustard time to grab it. Tip it in all at once and the dressing sits in two layers.
- A jar works instead of a whisk. Lid on tight, shake hard for half a minute. Fewer dishes, same dressing.
- Add the garlic last. Making a batch to keep? Leave the garlic out and stir it in as you serve. Raw garlic gets sharper every day it sits in the jar.
- Loosen stiff honey first. Cold honey sinks and stays in a lump at the bottom. A few seconds in a cup of warm water gets it pouring.
- Let it sit before you judge it. Balsamic and mustard both settle down after a few minutes. What tastes sharp straight away often tastes right by the time the salad is tossed.
- Take it out of the fridge early. Olive oil goes thick and cloudy when it is cold. Set the jar on the counter while you build the salad, then shake it again.
- Dress the salad at the table. Greens go limp within minutes of being dressed, so pour it on right before people eat.
Ways to Serve It
It is built for green salads, and it does more than that.
- Green salads – romaine, spinach, arugula, or a bag of mixed leaves.
- Beet salads – it stands up to beets and salty cheese. Try it on this beet and feta salad.
- Roasted vegetables – spoon it over warm carrots, broccoli or cauliflower as they come out of the oven.
- A marinade for chicken – the oil carries the flavor and the vinegar softens the surface.
- A sandwich spread – a thin layer on the bread does what mayonnaise does, with more going on.
- Grain bowls – it works the same way the herb dressing does on this quinoa salad.
How to Store Honey Balsamic Dressing
Fridge: A glass jar with a tight lid, up to one week. Because of the mustard, refrigeration is not optional here.
Room temperature: Pour out what the salad needs and put the jar straight back. It should not sit out through the day.
Freezer: I would not. Oil and vinegar come out of the freezer separated and grainy, and a fresh batch is five minutes away.
To bring it back: Cold olive oil goes thick and cloudy. Let the jar stand on the counter for a few minutes, then shake it until it looks smooth again.
Make it ahead
This one is made for it. Whisk a jar at the weekend and it dresses salads all week. Leave the garlic out of a make-ahead batch and stir it in as you serve, because raw garlic keeps getting stronger in the jar.
Balsamic vinegar and balsamic vinaigrette get mixed up constantly, and the calorie question comes up on every dressing recipe. Here are the answers to those and a few more.
Honey Balsamic Dressing FAQ
Why did my dressing separate?
The oil most likely went in too fast, or there was not enough mustard to hold it. Whisk in a little more Dijon and it usually pulls back together. A separated dressing is still perfectly good to eat, so shake the jar and use it.
Is balsamic vinaigrette the same as balsamic vinegar?
No. Balsamic vinegar is one ingredient, straight from the bottle, and it is sharp on its own. Balsamic vinaigrette is that vinegar whisked with oil and usually something sweet, which makes it milder and thicker. You can pour vinaigrette over a salad; straight vinegar is a lot for most people.
Is honey balsamic dressing healthy?
It is olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard and salt. That is a much shorter list than most bottled dressings, with no preservatives, gums or added sugar syrups. It is still mostly oil, so it is not a low-calorie dressing. What you get is control over how much salt and sweetness goes in.
How many calories are in honey balsamic dressing?
About 63 calories a serving in this recipe, and the full breakdown is in the recipe card below. Nearly all of it is the olive oil. Using less oil and more vinegar brings the number down, and the dressing comes out sharper and thinner.
Is balsamic vinaigrette gluten free?
This one is. Balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, salt and Dijon are all naturally gluten free. Some bottled dressings and a few cheap balsamics add wheat-based thickeners or caramel color, so read the label if you are cooking for someone with celiac disease.
Is this dressing vegan?
Not as written, because of the honey. Swap in maple syrup or agave in the same amount and it is. The taste shifts a little either way: maple is rounder, agave is closer to neutral.
What does balsamic vinaigrette taste like?
Sweet and tangy at the same time, with a mellow edge from the mustard behind it. Good balsamic tastes more like dark fruit than like sharp vinegar, so the dressing lands sweet before it lands sour.
Can I marinate chicken in balsamic vinaigrette?
Yes, and it does the job well. The oil carries the flavor into the meat and the vinegar softens the surface. Give it a few hours in the fridge rather than overnight, since a long soak in vinegar turns the outside mushy. Throw out any marinade that touched raw chicken instead of spooning it over the cooked meat.
More Condiment Recipes to Try
These are the other things I make instead of buying, and they all keep in the fridge the same way.
- Homemade Mayonnaise – the same slow oil stream, a different emulsion.
- Easy Chimichurri Sauce – herby and sharp, for grilled meat.
- Homemade Sweet and Tangy BBQ Sauce – cooked, not whisked, and it keeps for weeks.
- All condiment recipes – the rest of the sauces and dressings on the site.
Made this recipe?
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Honey Balsamic Dressing (5-Minute Vinaigrette)
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 15 ml
- 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar or lemon juice 45 ml
- 1 tbsp honey 15 ml
- 1 tsp salt 6 g
- 1/3 cup olive oil 80 ml
- 1 clove garlic optional
Instructions
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Whisk the base. In a medium-sized bowl whisk together 1 tbsp Dijon mustard, 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, 1 garlic clove, and 1 tsp salt using a whisk or a fork.
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Add the oil slowly. While whisking, slowly drizzle in 1/3 cup olive oil until a smooth emulsion forms. If the vinaigrette is too thick, add 1 tsp of water at a time to thin it to the consistency you want.
Recipe Notes
1. Storage: Keep it in a glass jar with a tight lid in the fridge for up to one week. Because of the mustard, refrigeration is not optional.
2. Make it ahead: Leave the garlic out of a batch you plan to keep and stir it in right before serving. Raw garlic gets sharper every day it sits in the jar.
3. Cold from the fridge: Olive oil goes thick and cloudy when chilled. Let the jar stand on the counter for a few minutes, then shake it until it looks smooth again.
4. Vegan: Swap the honey for maple syrup or agave in the same amount.
5. Balsamic swap: Lemon juice in place of the balsamic makes a brighter, paler dressing.
6. If it splits: Whisk in a little more Dijon. A separated dressing is still perfectly good to eat.
7. Too thick? Add a drizzle of cold water and keep whisking until it loosens to the consistency you want.
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I first posted this vinaigrette in 2009, and it is the dressing linked from most of the salads on this site. In September 2026 I rewrote the post under the name honey balsamic dressing, with notes on what each ingredient is doing, a set of tips for keeping it creamy, and an FAQ.
Marina | Let the Baking Begin
