This is the BEST Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe! It’s quick and easy to make, totally customizable, and tastes great on everything from salads to vegetables to proteins and beyond.
When it comes to salad dressing recipes, a classic homemade balsamic vinaigrette will forever and always be one of my faves.
It’s bold, it’s zesty, it’s the perfect blend of sweet and savory, and it’s so irresistibly delicious on salads. But hey — don’t limit this vinaigrette to your greens! It’s also an easy marinade for proteins (think chicken, steak, pork, tofu, shrimp, you name it!), it’s a fabulous mix-in with roasted veggies, it’s the perfect dipper for crusty bread, it’s surprisingly awesome when tossed with hot pastas or chilled pasta salads, and I’m sure many other uses beyond. It’s also easy to customize to make it more herby, creamy, cheesy, zesty, etc.
Oh, and the best part — it only takes a few minutes to whip up. ?
So grab a good bottle of balsamic vinegar, and let’s make a quick batch!
Chances are you already have the main ingredients for homemade balsamic vinaigrette in your pantry. You’ll need:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- balsamic vinegar (good quality vinegar is worth the investment here)
- Dijon mustard (feel free to add extra if you like a really mustard-y kick)
- minced fresh garlic (or you could sub 1/8 garlic powder instead in a pinch)
- maple syrup (or honey), to taste
If you happen to have some shallots around, I also love adding a minced spoonful into my dressing. And if you’d like an herby kick, some dried oregano or Italian seasoning is also pretty standard with balsamic vinaigrettes. Otherwise, I also love customizing this recipe by:
- adding in a tablespoon or two of mayo or Greek yogurt to make it creamy
- adding in a squeeze of lemon juice to make it really tangy
- adding in some tahini to give it a Mediterranean twist
- adding in some grated Parmesan, to make it extra cheesy
- swapping out the Italian seasoning for chopped fresh herbs
- swapping out the traditional balsamic vinegar for white balsamic vinegar
I recommend using this recipe in:
- green salads (such as my Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad, Chicken Bacon & Avocado Chopped Salad, Apple Spinach Salad, or Shrimp & Artichoke Green Salad)
- pasta salads (such as my Caprese Pasta Salad, Lemony Artichoke Pasta Salad or Veggie Lovers Pasta Salad)
- hot pasta dishes (such as my Easy Balsamic Veggie Pasta or Garlic Lovers Spaghetti)
- roasted vegetables (such as my Roasted Root Vegetables recipe)
- a bowl as a dipper for crusty Italian bread
See? So many uses for this balsamic vinagirette recipe!
Well however you use it, I hope you enjoy it. ?
Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 0 About 3/4 cup 1x
Description
This homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe is quick and easy to make, totally customizable, and tastes great on everything from salads to vegetables to proteins and beyond!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey), to taste
- (optional add-ins: 1 tablespoon minced fresh shallots and/or 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning*)
Instructions
- Whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a small bowl until evenly combined. (Or — my favorite method — shake the ingredients together in a mason jar or dressing bottle until evenly combined.)
- Add your desired amount of maple syrup (or honey) to sweeten, along with any optional add-ins that you desire.
- Serve immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Notes
*Or if you don’t have Italian seasoning, dried thyme or oregano would work well.
**The top photo pictures a double batch of this recipe.
Be sure to also check out my other favorite salad dressings!
This is the one salad dressing recipe that I keep coming back to. Nothing exotic in the ingredients list, it fits perfectly in my OXO dressing bottle and everyone in the household loves it. Every time I try a different recipe, it falls short and I’m back here and I’m happy again.
This has become my go-to dressing at home. I make a batch almost every week and put the italian seasoning in half of it to use as a marinade for chicken. Easy, fresh and delicious!
Wowowowowowowowowowowowowow! This has become the family favorite-cannot get enough of this salad dressing. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Balsamic dressing nirvana! After trying WAY WAY too many commercial and recipes for homemade balsamic, I found my way to this gem of a dressing. Made as written with no additions. This has well balanced flavor with a lovely viscosity. It will be gracing our organic greens salad tonight. Thank you for giving me our go-to balsamic!
Absolutely delicious! This is a new go-to dressing recipe in my house.
My balsamic vinaigrette journey ended here. So often, the flavors of others have been unbalanced (too oily,too involved for a quick deessing, too acidic, etc). This dressing ticks all the right boxes. I making it for a football party this weekend (Go Bills!). I got the healthy salad request. This will be an awesome addition!
My go to dressing! I’ve tried a bunch of balsamic dressings, and there was always an issue: too much vinegar, flat taste, etc. I finally found your dressing and haven’t looked back! Super versatile- I’ve used it for salads, chicken, rice, etc. and it’s always perfect. Glad my search is over!
So far I have made four of your dressings, including this one, and they are all amazing! Will try them all.
This is an exceptional homemade recipe!!! I’ve grown so tired of buying prepared dressings on the market nowadays, with all the preservatives and fillers added to them!!! This way I make it fresh, and with all the ingredients already in my cupboard, it was easy peasy!
Oh my! Made this last night and indeed, it is the BEST dressing! Even my husband was amazed at how good it was. This is a new staple in our kitchen! Yum!