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This Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe is perfect. You heard me correctly. Perfect. And I don’t use that word lightly. The recipe I’m sharing with you today is truly worthy of that descriptor. You don’t think I’d call something the “best” if I didn’t mean it, do you?
I’ve tried numerous recipes for balsamic vinaigrette over the past few years and while they have been decent, they were not quite what I was searching for. Some homemade vinaigrettes would end up a little too oily, while others were too sweet for my tastes. This dressing has the perfect balance of tang and sweetness, vinegar, and oil.
Homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette
After a lot of experimentation, trial and error, I am thrilled to be sharing this balsamic vinaigrette recipe with you today. I found this winning recipe for Balsamic Vinaigrette over at Chinese Grandma.
I served this balsamic vinaigrette last week on a salad while we had family visiting us. Everyone who tried the dressing immediately requested the recipe. It’s miles better than any store-bought salad dressing and as easy as whisking together a few ingredients.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
There’s a reason I consider this particular balsamic vinaigrette the absolute hands-down best. The dressing has plenty of tartness and bite from a generous portion of balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, and garlic with just a touch of sweetness and honey flavor to balance it all out.
With enough extra virgin olive oil to coat every bite of your salad with rich flavor without making the salad too greasy, oil or soggy; it’s everything you could want in a vinegar-oil based dressing!
While I whisk the vinegar, oil, dijon mustard, garlic, and olive oil by hand with a sturdy kitchen whisk, you could also use a blender if you prefer. Mixing the ingredients with a blender gives the recipe a slightly thicker consistency.
I prefer the consistency of the balsamic dressing when mixed by hand but feel free to experiment with both methods to figure out what you prefer.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
This dressing is so versatile, I serve it on salads, on roasted vegetables and drizzled on chicken in a wrap. It’s a wonderful addition to whatever dish I’ve used it on.
There are so many ways to enjoy this dressing that you’ll always want to keep a jar or two handy for whenever the craving strikes.
The sourness of the balsamic is such a great complement to salads with apples, oranges, grapes, peaches, pears, and berries. It absolutely sings on Fuji Apple Chicken Salad and Strawberry Spinach Salad and would make a lovely addition to a Mixed Green, Pear and Goat Cheese Salad, too.
Of course, it also elevates everyday salads into the realm of extra tastiness. Toss your favorite garden salad in this dressing, try it on a Simple Spinach Salad, or drizzle it over a fresh Cucumber Tomato Salad.
Try it on pasta salad or in your favorite wrap for a way to jazz up your lunch staples.
Storing Balsamic Vinaigrette
Because vinegar-based salad dressings like this one have such a high acidity content, they keep for a good long while if stored correctly. After preparing the dressing, pour it into a mason jar and secure the lid tightly.
Store the dressing in the refrigerator where it should keep for several months. You can store it at room temperature as well, but I try to use it much more quickly when it is stored that way. Of course, you’ll find yourself reaching it for it so often that it’s bound to be gone long before then.
The oil and vinegar may separate during storage so just give the jar a nice shake to get everything all mixed together again before using. If you have a leftover bottle from store-bought salad dressing, you can totally wash and reuse it as a vessel for your homemade dressing!
Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic, mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic. Add the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified. Store in a jar with a lid and refrigerate or store at room temperature. Shake well before serving.
Balsamic Dressing
While this is truly a perfect go-to salad dressing recipe for any food that calls for a vinaigrette, I’ve made tons of variations on the recipe for different types of salads.
White Balsamic Vinaigrette is a take on balsamic vinaigrette that uses white balsamic and light olive oil that I love on an Orange Parsley Salad. When I’m in the mood for a slightly sweeter take on this recipe, I make Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette and for garlic lovers try Garlic and Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette, and spice lovers must give my recipe for Honey Lime Jalapeño Vinaigrette try.
This balsamic vinaigrette is a staple recipe you must add to your cooking repertoire. It’ll never steer you wrong and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Kitchen Tip: I use this whisk and this jar to make this recipe.
Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly crushed black pepper finely ground
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the honey, balsamic, mustard, salt, pepper and garlic. Add the oil and whisk thoroughly to combine. Continue whisking until the dressing is fully emulsified.
- Store in a jar with a lid and refrigerate. Shake well before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
{originally published 3/22/12 – recipe notes updated 3/12/21}
I have a high polyphenol olive oil and these proportions really overwhelm the balsamic with the taste of the olive oil. I ended up at about 2/1.5 to get the dressing to taste right. Everything else needed a bit of adjusting to meet those new proportions. That said, the little bit of sweet and the dijon really made the dressing pop, and it went *great* on the spring mix I used to serve alongside a quiche. I love the dressing, really, just making people who use high polyphenol oils aware of the changes you’ll need to make.
I’m glad you are enjoying the dressing, Katherine!
Quite tasty. Perfect dressing to compliment a combination of mixed greens, penne pasta, tomatoes, feta, and grilled chicken. Exactly what i was looking for, thank you for sharing.
That sounds delicious, Trish. I’m glad you’re enjoying the dressing.
Tried this dressing after making a different one last week, this is so much more superior! Great flavor and will go very well on my home grown tomatoes. Will use this from now on. Thanks for the excellent recipe! LP
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying it, Liz!
So easy! I like that the dressing is mildly sweet. I drizzled this over a tomato & fresh mozzarella salad with basil. So yummy.
I bet that was delicious!
The best balsamic vinaigrette I have ever made. Perfect balance of sweet and tart. I used my whisk and incorporated the olive oil 1/4 cup at a time. Perfectly delicious!!
I’m so happy to hear that you love it, Lisa!
This is hands down the best balsamic vinaigrette dressing and my favorite salad dressing period. I didn’t know salad dressing can be this great until I tried this recipe. Everything is extremely well-balanced, the ingredients are all basic pantry staples. The only adjustment I make is to put everything in a glass jar and shake instead of using a whisk. I keep coming back to this recipe, and will treasure it for life 🙂
YAY! I’m glad you love it, Jane!
I made this along side a fresh salad for a pot luck dinner and everyone loved it! So easy and so good! Thanks for another great recipe ☺️
I’m glad you’re enjoying the dressing, Christine!
Is it 81 calories per table spoon or 81 for 20 table spoons?
per tablespoon, Joan.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, Mary. It is delicious and wonderful for a fall salad with goat cheese and cranberries.
I’m so glad you like the vinaigrette, Evelyn.
PLEEEEZ! The nutrition info tells me nothing if I don’t know what size one serving is! One tablespoon? Two tablespoons? Please help!
In the recipe card, it says 20 tablespoons. So, each serving is 1 tablespoon.
Great for salads, pizza, sauteed mushrooms. Definitley recommend!
I’m so glad you like the dressing, Aimee.
Hi I would love to try this but can you tell me the metric measurement for 1/4 cup and 3/4 cup. Are these US cups?
Yes, those are US measuring cups. I do not use metric measurements, Josie.
Yes, this IS perfect! I used the exact proportions and it was scrumptious.
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying it.
This balsamic vinaigrette recipe really is the best! We have a small catering business and serve this with our Caprice skewer appetizer. I do process this in the blender. I can’t go back to store bought dressing!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the dressing, Cynthia!
This was super good and easy. I almost didn’t do it at first because my husband isn’t a fan of mustard, but neither of us could taste it. Used it over mixed greens with roasted quail, and it was fantastic. Thank you!
I’m so glad that you like it!
Tried this on Thanksgiving for my beet salad. It was a hit! And so easy to make. It is definitely my new go to balsamic vinaigrette. Thank you for sharing it 🙂
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed it!
My quest for a healthy, flavorful salad dressing has been answered. Thank you! My wife loves this recipe as well! On a technical note, I needed a quart of dressing so the “Serving’ adjustment was welcomed as well as the “Cook Mode” which kept the recipe in full view until I had finished. Sometimes it’s the little things. This recipe has got us back to greens!
I’m so glad you like the dressing!
Mary, this is so good. I’m trying to lose weight and found this vinaigrette recipe to be perfect. I’m going to add it to a chicken wrap the next time I make one. Thanks for a delicious balsamic vinaigrette recipe.
Is the consistency suppose to change after you refrigerate it for a two or three days? Mines become thick after I refrigerated it and it had like fat build up on the top so I thought it was bad and throw it out. It was a great dressing though.
It will do that in the fridge and then come together again nicely as it warms at room temperature. You can also keep in the pantry and simply shake to combine when ready to use it again.
It was my first time attempting to make a dressing at home and it was so easy thanks to the clear instructions and measurements.. thank you for helping me reduce my fear of doing things from scratch at home! Can you specify how many weeks/months it will keep?