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Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

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By: MadelinePosted: 04/02/2020Updated: 06/29/2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette is an easy and simple balsamic dressing you can use for salads or as a marinade. I like this balsamic vinaigrette recipe SO much more than the store bought stuff and it’s healthier too!

creamy balsamic vinaigrette pouring from  a blender in a glass jar

I’m team homemade balsamic dressing

Growing up my mom never brought a bottled dressing into our home. I thought she was just trying to save money until I grew up and realized the taste of of homemade dressings like homemade balsamic vinaigrette is just far superior.

Homemade salad dressings like this balsamic vinegar salad dressing are usually made with better ingredients than the store bought ones. Luckily in 2020 we have some better options like Primal Kitchen dressings, but it still saves a few bucks to make your salad dressings at home.

This healthy balsamic dressing is so versatile. You can use it on salads or as a dip for veggies. You could also thin this dressing with a bit of broth and make a super flavorful grilled balsamic chicken marinade.

side view of a glass jar of balsamic dressing

What kitchen tools will I need to make this creamy salad balsamic vinaigrette?

  • Measuring spoons and measuring cups
  • Liquid measuring cup
  • High speed blender

How should I use this balsamic vinaigrette dressing?

This simple dressing can help you make some of your favorite recipes even better! I like to use it as a chicken marinade for balsamic grilled chicken.

You could also make a simple caprese pasta salad by tossing cooking pasta, mozzarella balls, and cherry tomatoes in this easy balsamic vinaigrette.

three quarter view of balsamic dressing pouring onto  a salad with chicken and strawberries

What is balsamic dressing made of?

You will be amazed at how easy it is to make this balsamic vinegar salad dressing with just a few basic ingredients.

  • Honey
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Lemon juice
  • Dijon mustard
  • Extra virgin olive oil – it is important to use good quality olive oil to ensure the best flavor of the creamy balsamic vinaigrette
  • Sea Salt
  • Black pepper
  • Garlic powder

I like to keep the seasonings simple so I just use salt, pepper and garlic powder. If you want to add even more flavor you can replace those with some Italian seasoning or even add in some dried herbs.

If you prefer to use fresh garlic, I recommend using just one clove so that you don’t overpower the flavor of the dressing. Mince the fresh garlic prior to placing it in the blender.

above view of a salad with balsamic vinaigrette

How do you make balsamic vinaigrette?

Step 1: Add all ingredients except oil to a blender

First, add honey, balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper and garlic powder to a blender. Then, blend together on high until full combined.

Step 2: Blend in the oil

Next, stream the oil into the blender while the blender is running on medium-low. Continue blending until the oil is fully incorporated. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

My favorite salad combos to eat with this homemade balsamic vinaigrette recipe

Try this homemade vinaigrette with one of these easy recipes for a quick lunch or side dish!

  • Strawberry Spinach Salad – Start with baby spinach and top with fresh sliced strawberries, grilled chicken, crumbled feta and toasted almonds
  • Chopped Romaine Salad – Start with a base of finely chopped romaine lettuce and top with red onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grilled steak and blue cheese
  • Classic Caprese Salad – Slice large heirloom tomatoes into rounds and layer with thick slices of mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves.

Simple balsamic marinade recipe

You can use this basic vinaigrette as a base for a versatile marinade. Take 1 cup of this creamy balsamic dressing and whisk it together with 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth.

Then, smash 5 cloves of garlic and mix the garlic cloves into the liquid. Chop up 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves and mix into the bowl. Pour this marinade over your protein of choice and marinate for at least 4 hours.

a hand holding balsamic dressing in a jar with a label that says creamy balsamic vinaigrette

Can I use an immersion blender to make this creamy balsamic dressing?

Yes! If you want to use an immersion blender to make this balsamic vinaigrette, just add all ingredients to the blender cup and blend.

Pull the blender up slowly as you blend until all of the oil is incorporated. You can also use a food processor and follow the same steps as you would for the blender.

Check out these other healthy homemade salad dressing recipes!

  • Green Dream Dressing
  • Mason Jar Salad Dressing
  • Copycat Chipotle Vinaigrette

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!

pinterest image for creamy balsamic vinaigrette
Recipe

Creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette

★★★★★ 5 from 15 reviews

Easy homemade balsamic dressing for salads or marinating.

Recipe By: Madeline
Prep: 5 minutesCook: 5 minutesTotal: 10 minutes
Print Pin it Rate recipe Save recipe
Servings: 9 servings 1x

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

  1. Add honey, vinegar, lemon juice, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and garlic powder to a blender
  2. Blend on high until a smooth even mixture remains
  3. With the blender running on medium-low, pour in the EVOO in an even steady stream
  4. Increase the speed of the blender as you add the oil
  5. Blend until the oil is fully incorporated
  6. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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About Madeline

Hi, I'm Madeline! I am so excited to share my healthy and approachable recipes with you. Here you will find simple, comforting recipes that the whole family will enjoy. Turn on your favorite playlist or podcast and let's get cooking!

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Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Christene says

    Posted on 4/11 at 10:49 am

    Perfect, so yummy. Thankyou!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 4/13 at 11:33 am

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  2. Misty says

    Posted on 4/27 at 1:10 pm

    What makes this so high in fat?

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 4/27 at 3:38 pm

      The extra virgin olive oil. Feel free to use a lower fat oil if you prefer

      Reply
  3. Catherine Joy says

    Posted on 7/28 at 3:56 pm

    Loved it, thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 7/28 at 7:59 pm

      So glad!! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
  4. Leah says

    Posted on 11/6 at 5:39 pm

    So good the first 5 times I had to make it again for a bday dinner for my hubby and BIL. Will be a nice accompaniment to my homemade spaghetti. Thanks again Maddie @mad_about_food❤️

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 11/8 at 9:07 pm

      Amazing!! Thank you!!

      Reply
  5. Leah says

    Posted on 1/8 at 5:01 pm

    Round 3? 4? 5? So glad I asked for this recipe!! Thanks again Madeline.

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 1/8 at 9:37 pm

      amazing!!!

      Reply
  6. Carolyn says

    Posted on 6/1 at 1:18 pm

    Just made this easy dressing & it is delicious!! Can’t wait to have it on hand to use it on salads each week!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 6/8 at 11:17 am

      yay! so glad!

      Reply
  7. Amy says

    Posted on 6/18 at 12:00 am

    Balsamic vinaigrette is my favorite dressing, but this is amazing!! I’ve made this numerous times & can’t get enough of it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 6/23 at 9:33 am

      wonderful!! thank you so much!!

      Reply
  8. Danielle says

    Posted on 6/29 at 6:04 pm

    Love this dressing as with all of your salad dressings! Its so easy to make and has a nice tangy to it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 7/1 at 9:08 am

      wonderful! Thank you!

      Reply
  9. Kayla says

    Posted on 7/19 at 8:41 pm

    This is a delicious dressing that is very versatile.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  10. Lizzie says

    Posted on 7/29 at 7:09 pm

    Made this using my immersion blender and it was delicious (and fun!)

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 8/6 at 10:24 am

      amazing!! thank you!!

      Reply
  11. Gina Lockwood says

    Posted on 8/8 at 4:12 pm

    You can’t go wrong with any of Madeline’s recipes! Always easy to make and absolutely delicious. I made this dressing and it was a hit with all the guests including my 4 year old granddaughter.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  12. Lisa says

    Posted on 9/9 at 7:12 pm

    Love this recipe but it’sa little thick for my taste. How could I make it a little thinner?

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 9/12 at 1:17 pm

      Hi Lisa! You can add a bit of warm water and blend. Keep adding it until its the desired consistency.

      Reply
  13. Silvia says

    Posted on 9/30 at 10:47 pm

    How long does this last in the fridge after making it?

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 10/5 at 11:55 am

      I would give it up to 4-5 days in an airtight container, just be sure to give it a good shake before use again!

      Reply
  14. Randee Morris says

    Posted on 11/7 at 1:42 pm

    Holy mother of balsamic dressings! All I had on hand was an aged balsamic that was already thicker. So the dressing came out THICC and I am not mad about it. Not sure how you do it but every recipe I’ve tried of yours is ON POINT. Thank you!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  15. Casey says

    Posted on 11/14 at 11:51 pm

    Really yummy and easy! I will be adding this to salads all week!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 11/15 at 9:30 am

      yay! so glas!!

      Reply
    • Shana B says

      Posted on 1/16 at 3:48 pm

      This is so good and so versatile for a dressing! Love it! I must confess… I’ve had it in my fridge for probably a month… hasn’t killed me yet for keeping it this long! Haha! Will definitely make again!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Madeline says

        Posted on 1/16 at 8:18 pm

        Haha, love to hear it! Thanks, Casey!

        Reply
  16. David Miller says

    Posted on 4/9 at 7:19 pm

    I was really interested in your recipe but do to all the pop ups and disruptive advertising I found the page too difficult to even scroll through. I will be sure to avoid anything you post in the future.

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 4/11 at 10:59 am

      hey David, I’m sorry you had difficulty scrolling through. the pop-ups and ads are a source of income for me, which helps make it possible for me to post free content like all the recipes on my site. most all food blogs will provide similar experiences.

      Reply
  17. Rachel says

    Posted on 4/22 at 10:58 pm

    I live in South America and have never found Dijon mustard in my city. Is regular mustard an acceptable substitute? I hope so, because this looks so yummy!

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 4/25 at 10:52 am

      Yes! any kind of mustard would work

      Reply
  18. Jessica says

    Posted on 6/13 at 4:42 pm

    I made this more heart healthy for us and it is delicious. I used water to replace half the olive oil, but kept everything else in the exact proportions. It is so creamy and tastes amazing on kale & citrus salad. I can’t wait to try it on other things. We are vegan and I see I will be using this recipe for basting vegetables to roast, marinating tofu and or nectarines for grilling. It is so easy to make if you have a good blender.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 6/16 at 2:50 pm

      thanks Jessica!

      Reply
  19. Debbie Raffaelli says

    Posted on 7/12 at 12:24 pm

    Delicious and all ny friends wanted the recipe.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 7/14 at 4:52 pm

      aww love that! thank you!!

      Reply
  20. Sue Coombs says

    Posted on 8/11 at 8:18 am

    Delishious

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 8/13 at 4:27 pm

      thank you!!

      Reply
  21. Shana says

    Posted on 11/1 at 10:15 pm

    This is a wonderful dressing! Easy to make. We have an amazing olive oil and balsamic vinegar store in town so I used their Fig Balsamic Vinegar, so good; otherwise I followed recipe as is! I have been using it on grilled romaine salads with shaved Parmesan and pistachios!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 11/3 at 4:21 pm

      oooo fig balsamic sounds fabulous as does that salad!

      Reply
  22. April says

    Posted on 1/4 at 8:45 pm

    How long do you think this would be ok in the fridge for ?

    Reply
    • Madeline says

      Posted on 1/4 at 9:36 pm

      Hi, April! For 5-7 days in an air-tight container.

      Reply

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