This amazingly rich and creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette is the best ever! The key is blending it in the blender for velvety smoothness. Your salads will never be the same!
Jeff and I have salad preeeeeetty much every night. And I have this balsamic vinaigrette recipe of EPIC proportions to thank for it!
We legit crave this salad. Who craves salad?! YOU do. I DO! We ALL do after laying mouth on this godsend of a salad dressing. Seriously, your life will never be the same.
I posted how I make this balsamic vinaigrette on my Instagram stories and so many of you went on to make it! That made my heart sing. A bunch of you asked for the exact recipe, which I didn’t have until this very moment.
Truth be told, I’d never measured anything for this dressing before. I just pour a bunch of olive oil in the Nutribullet cup, add a bit less balsamic vinegar, a splash of water, maple syrup, Dijon, a clove of garlic, and a hefty pinch of kosher salt and pepper. It’s second nature to me!
Now listen here. Blending this balsamic vinaigrette is an absolute MUST. It emulsifies everything and makes the dressing thick and creamy and velvety smooth in a way that mixing it by hand surely would not.
Now let’s talk balsamic vinegar for a second. Quality is key! If you put good things in, you’ll get good things out. A lot of “balsamic vinegars” aren’t actually balsamic at all and contain caramel color and sweeteners to make up for it.
Avoid those at all cost! Look for aged balsamic vinegar of Modena, meaning it has matured in wood barrels for at least three years.
The bottle should have the yellow and blue I.G.P stamp, a certification guaranteeing it’s made from grape varietals typical of Modena, Italy.
Aged balsamic vinegar of Modena is made from wine vinegar and concentrated Trebbiano grape must, i.e. crushed whole grapes with skins, seeds, and stems.
The dark brown color we all know and love comes from aging the vinegar in wood casks. When the vinegar hasn’t been aged for long, companies will add caramel color to mimic the deep, rich color of true aged balsamic vinegar.
While the color will be the same, clearly the flavor won’t be. Balsamic vinegar contains naturally occurring sulfates, but none should be added.
Moral of the story: read the ingredients and if you see caramel color, keep looking. Lucky for us, Costco conveniently sells my favorite balsamic vinegar and it comes in a huge bottle, which I love. I also get our organic extra virgin olive oil there for a great price.
Now lettuce talk about lettuce. When I’m making our daily salad, I like to use a variety of organic red or green leaf lettuce versus spinach or romaine because it’s such a soft green.
I buy a couple of heads of leaf lettuce each week. When I get home from the store, I wash them in our handy dandy salad spinner (another impulse buy at Costco that I now use every day) and keep the chopped greens in a glass Pyrex in the fridge for easy salading.
To make the salad, I simply fill a mixing bowl with greens (sometimes we’ll add chopped veggies, cheese, apples, etc), drizzle on the balsamic vinaigrette, and then season it with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
I use tongs to toss everything together until every piece of lettuce is coated in luscious balsamic vinaigrette.
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment/star rating letting me know! I can’t wait to change your leafy green LIIIIIIIIFE.
Print
Best Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 1 1/2 cups 1x
- Category: Dressing
- Method: Blender
Description
This amazingly rich and creamy Balsamic Vinaigrette is the best ever! The key is blending it in the blender for velvety smoothness. Your salads will never be the same!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (aged balsamic vinegar of Modena)
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic
- heaping 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender (blending is key for a thick and creamy dressing, I used my Nutribullet) and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Dressing will thicken as it chills, so stir in 1-2 tbsp more water as needed. Dressing will keep up to a week or longer in the fridge. I store mine in this shaker bottle.
More amazing salads:
Winter Squash, Farro, and Pomegranate Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Israeli Power Salad with Za’atar Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Crunchy Thai Salad with Creamy “Peanut” Dressing
Rosemary Roasted Potato, Lentil, and Mushroom Kale Salad
Alexis — I’m not a salad dressing kind of gal BUT I’ve been watching you make this dressing on your Instagram stories for awhile and it sounded really good (super simple too). Verdict: I really love it! It was amaaaazing on an arugula salad I made and for dipping sourdough. Thanks for the recipe!
Mmmm dipping in sourdough is such a good idea!!
My roommate & I loved this dressing! Blending it takes a quick second and makes all the difference. So yummy!
Yay! Isn’t it so creamy?!
My roommate & I loved this dressing! Blending it takes a quick second and makes all the difference. So yummy!
Yay! Isn’t it so creamy?!
Hi! Just made this dressing for the first time! It was so good! I think next time for my preference I’ll use less balsamic. Very yummy though! Makes salads savory and satisfying! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome news, thanks Madeline! Love that you’re making it your own.
Hi! Just made this dressing for the first time! It was so good! I think next time for my preference I’ll use less balsamic. Very yummy though! Makes salads savory and satisfying! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome news, thanks Madeline! Love that you’re making it your own.
Thank you for the recipe, Alexis! I can’t wait to try it myself. A homemade dressing is always much healthier than a store-bought alternative! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I hope you love it!
Thank you for the recipe, Alexis! I can’t wait to try it myself. A homemade dressing is always much healthier than a store-bought alternative! 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
I hope you love it!
I need to get a bottle of quality balsamic vinegar and make this asap!
I need to get a bottle of quality balsamic vinegar and make this asap!
I started making this after you shared it in your stories and I LOVE it! The creaminess made by blending is awesome, and it stays emulsified in the fridge! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
I am SO THRILLED you like it, Elaine!
I started making this after you shared it in your stories and I LOVE it! The creaminess made by blending is awesome, and it stays emulsified in the fridge! Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
I am SO THRILLED you like it, Elaine!
I use this salad dressing every day! It’s SO good! Blending the balsamic definitely makes a difference 🙂
★★★★★
Wahoo!! Thanks so much, Dylan 🙂
I use this salad dressing every day! It’s SO good! Blending the balsamic definitely makes a difference 🙂
★★★★★
Wahoo!! Thanks so much, Dylan 🙂
I use this salad dressing every day! It’s SO good! Blending the balsamic definitely makes a difference 🙂
I use this salad dressing every day! It’s SO good! Blending the balsamic definitely makes a difference 🙂