Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

A classic red wine vinaigrette accented with tangy Dijon mustard and sweet honey that is the perfect compliment to a green salad.

Growing up, my family never made our own salad dressing. Ever. Like many American households, we had a large selection of prepared salad dressing bottles in our refrigerator instead. In fact, I don’t think I even realized salad dressing was something you could make yourself until I was an adult.

Once you see how easy it is to make a delicious vinaigrette at home, there is no reason to buy the premade stuff. This Honey Dijon Vinaigrette is my go-to make at home salad dressing. I always have all the ingredients on hand in my pantry and it takes just five minutes to whip together. I love it on a classic green salad, but truthfully it’s great on just about any salad.

If you need more encouragement to make your own salad dressing at home, know that this is one of the recipes I have received the most compliments on. Yep, that’s right, a salad dressing. 

When cooking for friends or family, I’ll often include a salad with this Honey Dijon Vinaigrette as part of the meal. Without fail, there will be someone in the group who will either ask for the recipe or tell me it’s the best dressing they’ve ever had. 

Like I said, there is a reason it’s a go-to in my house. If you enjoy salad, give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Honey Dijon Vinaigrette Ingredients

• Dijon Mustard: Dijon Mustard is a traditional mustard of France, named after the city of Dijon. It has a unique flavor profile compared to a traditional yellow mustard, because of the addition of white wine. In salad dressings, mustard is used not only to add flavor but helps to create an emulsion: it allows the watery acid and the oil to blend together into a creamy sauce.

• Honey: I like to add honey to this dressing to balance out the sharp bite of the mustard and vinegar. If you are someone who enjoys savory-sweet flavors in cooking, you will love this dressing. 

• Olive Oil: It’s traditional to add some form of fat to a salad dressing as its richness complements the texture of the raw vegetables in a salad. I like to use a good extra virgin olive oil for this dressing as it adds a lovely herbaceous flavor.

• Red Wine Vinegar: Many vinaigrettes will use a balsamic vinegar, but I like to use red wine vinegar in this recipe as it adds the right amount of tang but doesn’t overpower the dijon and honey.

• Worcestershire: Secret ingredient! You might be familiar with Worcestershire sauce as a condiment for steaks or hamburger, but in a salad dressing it’s a great source of umami flavor that makes you go “hmm, what is that?”.

• Salt and Ground Black Pepper: Usually salt and pepper are not really seen as core ingredients of a recipe, but they really are crucial to the deliciousness of this salad. Freshly ground black pepper adds a delicious slightly spicy bite to the dressing that shouldn’t be skipped.

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I love serving this Honey Dijon Vinaigrette over a fresh green salad, which is an excellent compliment to my Bacon and Swiss Cheese Frittata recipe.

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