Healthy 5-Minute White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Name: Healthy 5-Minute White Balsamic Vinaigrette
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; 1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar; 1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard; 1 tbsp honey; 1 tsp tahini; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1/2 tbsp shallot, minced

posted by Alex Aldeborgh, RD on Feb 10, 2023 (last updated 4/10/23) 0 comments »

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White balsamic vinaigrette is a delicious and versatile healthy homemade salad dressing. It’s made with pantry staples including extra virgin olive oil, honey, and Dijon mustard, and will take you 5 minutes or less to prepare! Keep a batch in the fridge to dress up salads, roasted vegetables, or as a marinade for proteins.

glass jar filled with white balsamic vinaigrette and a spoon on a white dish towel

As a Registered Dietitian, I’m fully opposed to boring salads. One of the easiest way to make a salad un-boring is to use delicious homemade salad dressings! In addition to this white balsamic dressing, I have plenty of other healthy salad dressings on the blog, including miso sesame ginger dressing, fig balsamic dressing, feta dill dressing, lemon tahini dressing, champagne vinaigrette, honey balsamic vinaigrette, and more.

This white balsamic salad dressing is flavorful yet simple enough to be super versatile. It pairs well with just about any salad ingredient, and can be repurposed as a marinade for proteins. It’s also delicious drizzled over warm roasted vegetables.

Think of this homemade vinaigrette as your new go-to simple salad dressing. This recipe makes nearly 1 cup of vinaigrette, which should last you 1-2 weeks. It’s vegetarian, plant-based, gluten free, soy free, nut free, and dairy free.

Step-by-step video

What is white balsamic vinegar?

White balsamic vinegar is made from a blend of white grape must and white wine vinegar. It’s a warm, light, and clear vinegar that is made by boiling white grape must at a low temperature, which prevents the sugars from caramelizing and turning a deep brown color.

The flavor of white balsamic vinegar is less complex than regular balsamic vinegar. It’s fruity, floral, and slightly sweet with a punch of tang. The light color and milder flavor makes white balsamic vinegar super versatile in cooking!

What is vinaigrette?

Vinaigrette is an oil-based salad dressing made from two base ingredients: oil and a mild acid, like vinegar or lemon juice. Traditional vinaigrettes use the ratio of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid.

You can add other ingredients to make a vinaigrette more flavorful and exciting, such as garlic, shallot, onion, fresh herbs, salt, and pepper.

Certain ingredients help emulsify a vinaigrette, making it stable so the oil and vinegar do not separate. Some emulsifiers include mustard, honey, or tahini.

white balsamic vinaigrette ingredients measured out on a white backdrop

Ingredients in white balsamic vinaigrette

Here is everything you need to make this recipe:

White balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Dijon mustard
Honey
Tahini (optional, it helps give the dressing a thicker consistency)
Shallot
Salt
Pepper

Kitchen tools needed

You’ll need measuring spoons, measuring cups, a small mixing bowl, and a mini whisk (or fork) to make this recipe.

How to make white balsamic vinaigrette

To a small mixing bowl, add white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, honey, Dijon mustard, tahini, minced shallot, salt, and pepper.
Vigorously whisk the dressing in a side to-side-motion until cohesive, and the oil and vinegar are no longer separated.
Pour into a glass jar for storage.

white balsamic ingredients in a small speckled bowl — Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a mixing bowl

hands whisking up white balsamic vinaigrette in a small speckled bowl with a mini whisk — Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a mixing bowl

Alternatively, you can make this salad dressing in a glass jar. Just close the jar and shake it up to emulsify the ingredients.

Suggested pairings

As I mentioned, white balsamic vinaigrette is extremely versatile. It will taste good on just about any salad you make! Here are some salad suggestions to try this dressing with:

Storing homemade vinaigrette

Since homemade salad dressing does not contain preservatives, you should use it within 2 weeks of preparing.

Store white balsamic vinaigrette in a glass jar in the fridge. Since it is made with olive oil, it might harden up a bit when cold. If this happens, run warm water over the jar, or let the jar sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before using.

hand pouring white balsamic vinaigrette over a salad

Olive oil nutrition & health benefits

Olive oil is one of the healthiest oils to cook with because it has an impressive composition of healthy fats. One tablespoon of olive oil provides 14 grams of fat, but only 1 gram is from saturated fat.

The majority of the fat in olive oil comes from heart-healthy monounsaturated fatty acids. Eating monounsaturated fat can help lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol in your blood, thereby reducing your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Difference between extra virgin olive oil and regular olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed type of olive oil. It is extracted by grinding olives into a paste, then pressing them to remove the oil. This process is called “cold-pressing” because no heat is involved, which helps maintain the nutrients and flavor.

Because of the minimal processing required to make it, extra virgin olive oil retains beneficial plant compounds such as lignans and flavones, which are powerful antioxidants.

Extra virgin olive oil has more flavor and aroma than regular olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a lower smoke point than regular olive oil, so it shouldn’t be heated over 400°F. These properties make it ideal for salad dressings.

Let me know if you love this post by leaving a comment or star rating below, and check out Instagram and Pinterest for more healthy lifestyle inspiration. Thanks for stopping by!