The Best Balsamic Vinaigrette

Posted on: October 19, 2022. Updated on: July 11, 2023.

by Carolina Gelen

This week the Internet was eager to find Olivia Wilde’s salad dressing recipe. It took a few days, and she delivered. Supposedly, the salad dressing everyone has been so excited to try only requires three ingredients: mustard, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Sounds a little incomplete if you ask me, so I decided to share a better recipe: my go-to balsamic vinaigrette. This dressing lives in my fridge, I use it on salads, I use it as a marinade or a dip for fresh bread. Yes, it really is that good!  It will leave you coming back for more and giving a cold shoulder to the store bought ones.

The Best Balsamic Vinaigrette

4.3 / 5. from 213

Click to vote

4.3 / 5. from 213

Click to vote

Servings: 8 to 12
Prep: 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 shallot, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or sugar, plus more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • A pinch of kosher salt, about 1 teaspoon

Instructions

  1. Add the shallot, garlic, balsamic vinegar, honey or sugar, Dijon mustard, and salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. While blending, slowly stream in the olive oil to emulsify. Taste and adjust to taste. This keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Carolina Gelen

You may have seen my work on TV, Food Network, NYT Cooking, Food52 and more. I make recipes more fun and accessible for home cooks. I immigrated to the US from Transylvania, Romania—where I lived most of my life—in 2021 to pursue my passion for cooking full-time. Here you’ll find a collection of approachable recipes, from weeknight dinners to desserts, you’ll come back to over and over again. Some of my most popular recipes include my chicken paprikash, orange chicken roast with fennel and shallots or butter beans all vodka. Some recipes are inspired by my Romanian-Hungarian upbringing, and most definitely all come with that Transylvanian resourcefulness! I love a good thrift, so make sure to catch my thrift hauls every Sunday on my Instagram!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

26 thoughts on "The Best Balsamic Vinaigrette"

  1. Virginia Martinez says:

    Cant wait to try this!

  2. Cheryl says:

    This looks amazing. Making it tomorrow. Thank you your recipes are always so fun to make !

    1. Carolina says:

      That makes me so happy, Cheryl 🙂

  3. Brenda Bachand says:

    Found it!!!
    Can’t wait to try it. 💗

  4. Evelyn says:

    Love this recipe ty

  5. Jenny says:

    Love the added shallot.

  6. Mindy says:

    You are dreamy!

  7. Barbara Hanley says:

    Following you for a long time. From a retired pastry chef, thanks for so may great recipes!

    1. Carolina says:

      I’m so grateful to have you here, Barbara!!!

  8. Ella says:

    Do you think this would be nice without the mustard?

    1. Carolina says:

      The mustard is mostly there to help the dressing emulsify, it’s not a huge flavor component 🙂 But yes, it’ll be tasty without mustard as well!

  9. Anna says:

    This is delicious. Definitely my new go to dressing.

  10. Yonah Sarah says:

    We loved it. Perfection. Thanks for sharing <3

  11. Apurva Desai says:

    Thank you for this Yummy and quick dressing recipe. My first time making one of your recipes, excited to try the others as well.

  12. Turry says:

    Perfectly blended!

  13. Samantha says:

    So good! Really tastes like restaurant balsamic dressing. Boyfriend doesn’t even like salads and he ate this one up! Thank you

  14. Marni says:

    A pinch of salt, or one teaspoon?

  15. Yvonne Kehoe says:

    Love your recipes! Can’t wait to try this dressing. May I ask what brand balsamic vinegar you use? thank you!

  16. Hazel says:

    Definitely gonna try to make it tomorrow. Thank you 😊

  17. amany khalifa says:

    Yes indeed

  18. Tanya says:

    Just made this, SO delicious! My new go-to dressing to have on hand. Thank you for the recipe 🙂

  19. Megan says:

    It was so good!

    1. Carolina says:

      Happy to hear you made it! 🙂

  20. Amy says:

    Love this dressing! But I came back to make another batch and the recipe is gone!! 🙁

    1. Carolina says:

      Amy,
      So glad you like it, I just sent you an email with the recipe.
      My website has been acting up so I just had a chance to upload it.
      Best,
      Carolina

  21. Mandi says:

    This dressing is so easy to make and is wonderful on any salad I have tried it on! I substitute Avocado oil to eliminate the seed oils and it’s still great!