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I am personally not a big fan of sweet salad dressings, but honey mustard dressing is my husband’s all-time favorite (or a close tie with Caesar dressing).
I thought he was happy with my Honey mustard balsamic dressing, until we ate in a restaurant recently and he couldn’t stop raving about their dressing. Once I tasted it, I had to admit it was one of the best honey mustard dressings I had ever had. It was the perfect balance of tangy and sweet. Not syrupy sweet, and not aggressively tart. And so, the challenge was on. I actually asked the waitress what ingredients were in it, and proceeded to test my own version at home.
Ingredients
To make this honey mustard dressing, start with a good Dijon mustard. My favorite is Maille Dijon Originale because it has the very classic Dijon taste I grew up with. Plus, they’ve been around since 1747, so I figure they know what they’re doing. In a pinch, Grey Poupon Dijon is an acceptable runner-up.
For honey, use a nice raw unfiltered local honey of your choice. Here, in the North-Carolina mountains, my favorite is sourwood honey for it’s very delicate flavor. Many consider it one of the best honeys in the world. It is produced mainly in the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains. Its production is however limited. Just make sure you know your honey source, as there are a lot of counterfeit honey products out there.
My choice of vinegar for this dressing is a white balsamic vinegar. I like that it has a slight natural sweetness to it and fairly low acidity (6%). If you don’t want to invest in a bottle of white balsamic vinegar, white wine vinegar would work as well, or standard balsamic vinegar but then your dressing will take on a dark color.
Finally, your favorite first cold pressed extra-virgin olive oil rounds up the ingredients. My go-to is Partanna Sicilian extra-virgin olive oil.
How to make honey mustard dressing
I like to whisk all ingredients by hand in a glass measuring cup that is large enough to allow room for whisking (a 2-cup measuring cup will work with the amounts listed below). Then I pour it into a 1-cup storage container. You can also use a blender if you want extra clean-up work 😉
The typical vinaigrette shaking method will not work, because honey needs a little help dissolving. You would probably get elbow tendonitis before the honey is completely dissolved…
How to store honey mustard dressing
Once it’s nicely emulsified, your honey mustard dressing will remain pretty stable and only requires a brief shake before using. You can keep it at room temperature for a few weeks since its components are all self-stable. It doesn’t last that long at my house, needless to say.
Other dressings you might enjoy:
Honey mustard balsamic dressing
Caesar Dressing with Anchovies
Cilantro citrus salad dressing
Honey mustard dressing
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1/4 cup White balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1 pinch Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Measure all ingredients into a 2-cup measuring cup or bowl.
- Whisk well until honey is completely dissolved and dressing is emulsified.
- Store in an airtight container in your pantry.
Was waiting for this one !
Happy to hear you enjoy honey mustard dressing, Lily! This is so much better than the bottled stuff…
Very good! Super easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you liked it! It’s my husband’s all time favorite dressing!
Recipes are delicious and easy . Really enjoy trying out your recipes because i know it is going to be good.
Thank you so much, May! Glad you enjoy our recipes!