Honey Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette—5 Ways

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It’s simple to elevate any dish with this basil balsamic vinaigrette. With five delicious variations, this flavorful dressing is definitely going to be a regular addition to your table.

This honey basil vinaigrette is a breeze to make and adds the perfect amount of tangy flavor to salads, roasted veggies, meats, and more.

homemade honey basil balsamic vinaigrette in small glass jar.

This recipe is a real keeper.  And it’s a great homemade salad dressing for those with food allergies as well. It has no dairy plus easy substitutions that should make this recipe work for anyone.

I love having homemade seasonings and dressings on the table to dress up even the most bland simple meal.

Even a simple meal can become great with the right additions.

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Where This Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette Came From

A while ago I thought I’d try to shake things up a bit with a new dressing to grace our table and I searched through my cookbooks and even put a shout-out to readers on my Facebook page asking for the best salad dressing recipes. 

One of the cookbooks that I turned to is an old favorite of mine, Cybele Pascal’s The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook.

Cybele’s book is, I believe, the first cookbook I bought when we knew we were dealing with food allergies in our household. Our son had food allergy-induced eczema that started this whole path.

Some of the recipes in this book have become family favorites, including Raf’s Cuban Rice and Beans, Four Bean Stew, and Coconut Squares. It’s one of those cookbooks you’ll definitely turn to again and again. Cybele does use gluten (barley) and a fair amount of sugar, but it’s easy to adapt her recipes to your needs.

Anyhow, once I read the description of Cybele’s recipe, My Favorite Dressing, I just knew I needed to make it.

Here’s the quote from the book about this dressing that got me.

This salad dressing never wears out its welcome.  I’ve been making it for 15 years and every single time I have dinner guests they say, “Yum!  What’s in this dressing?!” My husband refuses to eat his salad with anything else.

homemade honey basil balsamic vinaigrette in small glass jar.

I changed things up just a little bit and added the variations. We eat this so fast you’ll want to double it at least. Truth is, I make a quadruple batch each time.

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil: make sure to use only high-quality olive oil. There are a lot of fakes out there. Some sources say that Kirkland has been verified to be a solid brand and that’s what I typically use.
  • Balsamic Vinegar: some say to use a balsamic that’s been aged at least 10 years. At the time of writing this post, the highest-rated balsamic on Amazon was priced over $40 for 8.5 ounces. This brand is a lot cheaper and still gets great ratings so that’s one good option. However, since balsamic is made from grapes and they are often sprayed a lot, I would go for organic over the “10-year” rule and choose a good organic brand. This balsamic and this balsamic both seem to be good options.
  • Herbs: use fresh for best results, or go with dry for convenience.
  • Honey: use this or any alternative sweetener you like including maple syrup or a low-carb sweetener.
  • Dijon mustard: adds the best tang to this recipe. I’ve included instructions for an alternative in the recipe card.
  • Apple cider vinegar: also adds some zing. Make sure to buy organic apple cider vinegar to avoid toxins.

Recipe Notes

  • Substitute 1/4 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar plus 2 teaspoons xylitol or a dash of stevia for the balsamic vinegar for low carb / Trim Healthy Mama – S.
  • The original recipe called for unseasoned rice vinegar but I use apple cider vinegar instead for its extra health benefits.
  • Substitute 1/3 of the amount of dried herbs for the fresh.
  • Use xylitol, vegetable glycerine, or a 1/32 teaspoon/dash of stevia instead of honey for a low-carb/keto option.

Variations

  • Dill Dressing – Substitute 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill (or 1 tablespoon dried) for the basil.
  • Oregano Dressing – Substitute 4 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried oregano for the basil.
  • Parsley Dressing – Substitute 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 tablespoon dried) for the basil.
  • Shallot Dressing – Substitute 1 small shallot, minced, for the garlic and omit the basil.

How to Store

You should store this dressing in the fridge in a container with a tight-fitting lid. If using raw garlic, technically it should be used within two to three days. If using dried garlic, it should keep for at least a week. 

The reason for this caution is that raw garlic can produce botulism toxins, however, a pH of 4.6 or lower will inhibit the growth of this bacteria. That, combined with the refrigeration reduces the risk quite a bit. 

How to Use Dried Herbs Instead of Fresh for This Dressing

While fresh herbs taste the best, they aren’t always readily available and they’re costly to buy. You can use dried herbs, but they’re more concentrated so you’ll want to use less. Using about one-third the amount of dried herbs for fresh typically works well. 

More Homemade Dressing Recipes

These homemade dressings are a hit in our home and I hope they will be in yours as well.

This Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette is a family favorite with 5 different versions-- It's vegan with low-carb (THM S) and AIP options too!

Honey Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

This honey basil balsamic vinaigrette dressing combines fresh basil, tangy balsamic vinegar, and simple ingredients to make your salads (and more) sing.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dressings, Seasonings, etc.
Cuisine: Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, Vegan, whole30
Keyword: basil balsamic vinaigrette, honey balsamic vinaigrette
Servings: 8
Calories: 268kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 small garlic cloves (minced very fine, or 3/8 teaspoon dried minced garlic)
  • 20 fresh basil leaves (chopped or torn)
  • 2 tablespoons honey (see Recipe Notes for alternatives)
  • 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard (see below for substitutions)
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (see Recipe Notes for low carb alternative)
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Prepared Mustard Substitute

Instructions

  • Blend garlic, basil, honey, and mustard into a paste.
  • Add apple cider vinegar and balsamic and mix completely.
  • Add the olive oil slowly, blending while adding.
  • Serve.

Alternative Quick Method

  • Simply mix all ingredients in a glass container.
  • Serve.

Notes

  • Substitute 1/4 cup apple cider or red wine vinegar plus 2 teaspoons xylitol or a dash of stevia for the balsamic vinegar for a low carb/keto/THM:S dressing
  • The original recipe called for unseasoned rice vinegar but I use apple cider vinegar instead for its extra health benefits.
  • You could use about 2 tablespoons dried basil instead of fresh basil.
  • I use xylitol, vegetable glycerine, or a 1/32 teaspoon/dash stevia instead of honey for a low-carb/keto option.

Nutrition

Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 56IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg | Net Carbs: 5g

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

I look forward to seeing what you think of this dressing!
Do you have a favorite salad dressing to share?

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Recipe Rating




 

49 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    EASY & YUM!
    Your site is usually the first I go to for recipes. Thank you!
    True confession: I didn’t figure out until the next morning that “Blend garlic through mustard into a paste” meant the last four ingredients. I had no idea how the get the garlic to go through the mustard. 🙂

    1. Hi Joann! Oh gosh that’s such a nice compliment. I need to start getting more recipes up! I just edited the recipe – sorry for the confusion. That’s really funny! I wrote that eons ago and need to actually redo the whole post. I need a clone! Hope you are well!

  2. What would you add to any of these variations to make them a ‘creamy’ version? Coconut milk, perhaps? plain milk kefir? Homemade mayo? Guess I can experiment!

  3. Hi Adrienne ~ This sounds wooonderful and I will for sure make—but just curious if this has to be refrigerated or not. I make a balsamic vinegrette that I’m tired of it solidifying on me once I put it in the fridge so I started leaving it out (it’s simply, EVOL, balsamic vinegar, Dijon, garlic and salt). Just not sure that’s a good idea especially if it sits day after day. Would appreciate your thoughts. … Like if it COULD safely be stored at room temp … how long will it last, approx. before it’s not good anymore. Many thanks.

    1. I am sorry but I can’t make shelf stability statements. The salt will preserve but you should store in the fridge b/c of the garlic (if you use it). I don’t but that isn’t recommended due to botulism risk.

      1. Gotcha. I actually ended up tossing what I had sitting on the counter (after googling and reading about the potential botulism risk, I didn’t want to chance it– there wasn’t that much left anyway. Better safe than sorry). Thanks for getting back to me … Oh, and made your Five-Ingredient Salad Dressing tonight. LOVED it. Thanks so much … 🙂

  4. This dressing is AWESOME! Thank you so much. I’ve been using a simple EVOO & ACV combo for over a year now and finally burnt out on it. This is such a nice difference! I’m sure it’s even better in the blender, but I’m also burnt out on washing dishes, so I just shook all the ingredients together in the same jar I’m storing it in. Result – delish!!

    1. Thanks Eileen! So nice to hear from you!!! My dishwasher is broken so…burnt out seriously here.

  5. I tried this to go with our salad tonight and it is so yummy!! Thanks for a great basic recipe!

  6. Does this need to be refrigerated and how long is it good for? I just made some and looking forward to trying it!!!!

    1. I haven’t put mine in the fridge always but I will in warmer months. I can’t make claims about shelf life b/c of variations in how folks make / use it but it lasts for me quite awhile – thanks!