Creamy Balsamic Dressing

This creamy balsamic dressing recipe is thick, tangy, and a nice balance of savory and sweet. It’s ready in about 10 minutes!

Ingredients · Servings 14

3/4 cup mayo
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt & pepper (to taste)

Method · 10 min

Add dressing ingredients to a medium bowl and whisk together thoroughly. Taste and adjust as needed so the dressing suits your tastes. Note: some balsamic vinegars are a lot sweeter than others, so start with half the amount of sugar suggested, taste, and add more if needed.
Transfer to a jar and refrigerate for up to a week. You can eat it right away, but I prefer to leave it for a few hours so the flavors meld more and the dried herbs soften up.

Why you’ll love it

This homemade balsamic salad dressing is super easy to make. If you’re the type of person who likes to make their own salad dressing, give this recipe a try. You get to control exactly what goes into it, including salt and sugar quantities.

I enjoy a classic balsamic vinaigrette as much as the next person, but this creamy twist is a great way to change it up… and you might even like it better! It’s also fantastic for easy clean-up since we’re not using a blender.

What you’ll need

Dijon mustard – it’s a trick to add savory depth of flavor to many recipes. You don’t taste the mustard itself.
Garlic powder – it adds another savory dimension and rounds it out. Use one small clove of garlic instead of the garlic powder if you prefer.

Tools for this recipe

Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!

I use a metal prep bowl and wire whisk for my homemade salad dressings.
These scissor salad tongs make it easy to dish up salads.

Pro tips

Everyone’s tastes vary, so I encourage you to taste and adjust as needed. It’s easy to tweak homemade dressings to your preferences, so don’t be shy with experimenting!
Not that there’s anything wrong with using a blender, but I just don’t like to dirty it up for salad dressing if I can help it. To get a nice, thick emulsion, you need to slowly drizzle olive oil in while the blender is running. To skip all of that, I simply use mayo, a ready-made emulsion. You get the thickness without the hassle. Easy peasy.

Substitutions and variations

Bottled balsamic vinegar dressings can be quite sweet (some list sugar as the second ingredient), so if you’re after that kind of flavor, you can definitely add more sugar than suggested!
If you want the dressing to be even thicker, add a little more mayo. Thinner? Add a splash of water.
You can swap the dried herbs for fresh if you prefer, using up to a tablespoon or so. Or omit the herbs if you don’t want this dressing to have a slightly herby flavor.
Want to double the dressing? Simply double every ingredient.

How do I use this dressing?

There are so many options! I love to use it to dress up a simple salad with mixed greens, cucumber, little tomatoes, and avocado, which you can serve with Baked Ziti or Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells for an impressive meal.
It makes a great dip for a veggie platter. My favorites are carrot sticks, cucumber, orange bell peppers, and raw broccoli.
Go ahead and dip a slice of crusty bread into it. It’s so good!