Perfect Honey Mustard Dressing Recipe
A homemade honey mustard dressing recipe that you can make at home easily with just 6 ingredients and 5 minutes – it’s perfect for salads, dipping and marinades.
Whenever I order a salad at restaurants I usually choose honey mustard dressing. I’m not as huge a fan of ranch dressing like my kids are, blue cheese is too strong for me, and balsamic vinaigrette (or other vinaigrette flavors) is the standard dressing I make at home.
However, a few years ago I found a recipe I adapted to replicate the same flavor I was use to in restaurants and it turned out perfectly. Now I can have honey mustard dressing whenever I want!
I’ve also discovered that it works wonderfully as a dip for chicken wings and makes a great marinade for chicken and pork before grilling or broiling. It’s like honey mustard all the time around here now.
All it takes to make this wonderful dressing is about five minutes and a few real food ingredients – and then you, too, can have your own restaurant dressing at home.
How to Make Honey Mustard Dressing
You’ll need six very basic ingredients:
- honey
- olive oil
- rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- Dijon mustard
- lemon
- garlic
I like to remember this – and other simple homemade salad dressing ingredients – whenever I’m tempted to grab a bottle of dressing from the shelf- even the organic ones tend to have a lot of ingredients (organic modified food starch, anyone?).
Once you grab your ingredients, add most of them to a blender jar, blend, and then add the oil as the motor runs.
Pouring the oil in while the machine is running emulsifies all the ingredients together and thickens the dressing.
Everyone who tries this loves it and can’t believe I made it, let alone that it is so quick and easy to make – go and make some today!
Want to save this?
Enter your email below and you'll get it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get easy new recipes, gardening tips & more every week!
Perfect Honey Mustard Dressing & Marinade
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except the olive oil and salt in a blender (or food processor). Blend until mixed, about 30 seconds.
- With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream, blending until the dressing is smooth and creamy.
- Taste and add salt if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Other easy salad dressing recipes to try:
Vinaigrette Salad Dressing 4 Ways
Best Ranch Dressing (kid-approved!)
Note: This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2010.
Delicious! Made without the garlic this time but will add it next time to use as a marinade. Thank you!
So glad you tried this, Monica – thanks so much for the review!
Love the ease and taste of this recipe (honey mustard dressing). I’m also an advocate of organic farming and have a son who does just that for a living. He blesses me with fresh organic produce, especially this time of year. (Yum, fresh tomatoes!) Thank you for all your efforts to spread the word about good food and laughter.
I’m so glad you liked it MaryAlice! And how lucky to receive all that organic garden goodness. 🙂
This is the best honey mustard dressing I’ve ever made. Every time I make it people ask for the recipe!
Yay! I think so, too. 🙂
I guess I wasn’t clear in my comment: I make a Brandied Honey Mustard, which calls for it to sit out for three days to allow the brandy to infuse and swell the mustard seeds so they can be blended….I refrigerate it after it has been made. Sorry for the confusion!
Oh! Well that sounds like it may have some probiotic properties then. It sounds good.
This would be awesome with my homemade Brandied Honey Mustard from the MRH Blog. Since you let it sit out for 3 days, maybe it’s probiotic?
I don’t let this sit out, Carol. I refrigerate it after making and using.
This looks so yummy. My daughter loves honey mustard dressing, but I’ve never been able to find a bottled version that is tasty, and certainly free of junk.
I look forward to surprising her with your recipe.
I’ve made this recipe twice, once as is and once with toasted garlic (tastes like roasted but it only takes 5 min — put unpeeled cloves in hot dry skillet, toast for a minute or two each side) — YUM
Oh, that sounds amazing, Meggan – I’ve got to try that, too – thanks!
Another Oregon Cottage recipe to add to my regulars! Love that I can gradually replace most of my store-bought dressings & the like. Also just got out of the freezer unblanched beans and oven roasted cherry tomatoes to put into oil tomorrow. Luvit Jami.
Ah, so happy to read this, Sue!! I just can’t bring myself to pay for expensive dressings anymore when I know how easy they are to make. 🙂
I’ve been looking for some good homemade salad dressing recipes to replace the store bought ones with unpronounceable ingredients. Made this one for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked it! Once I realized how quick and easy they were to make, I marked dressings off my to-buy list. 🙂
Sharing this on my blog this week. Thanks, Jami!
Tracy- These were actually purchased years ago (like 15!)through a surplus catalog called “American Science & Surplus.” They were super cheap and I knew I’d find lots of uses, so I bought a lot. And I still use them, so a good deal. 🙂 Sometimes vinegars and things are in cute bottles and I would pay extra (just a little, though!) for a bottle I’d use again and again. Maybe thrift stores?
Dixymiss- that’s a good idea!
Looks delicious and simple enough ~ my favorite kind of recipe. ThanX! Local honey is eXpensive, but so full of flavor and good health benefits. How about a compromise? Use the less eXpensive (bulk store) honey for cooking, but keep a small jar of the good stuff on hand for tea, scones and/or special treats.
It looks yummy, Jamie! Question though….where do you get those cute bottles you put the dressing in?? 🙂
Blessings,
Tracy
Cindy- We usually eat it within 1-2 weeks at our house, but I’m sure it would last longer. I’ve never really had a dressing go “bad” before, though, have you?
Shanzanne- Notice how I don’t show the label of the honey? That’s because I’m embarrassed to show that I buy the honey at Costco. I know that local honey is better for you, but it’s so expensive! Sorry- I’d like to find an inexpensive source, too. 🙂
Let me know, guys, if you try it and like it like we do!
Hi Jamie, Just wondering where you get your honey? I’m looking for an inexpensive local source. The dressing looks delicious! I’m not a dressing person and always only liked homemade vinaigrettes, but this looks like its worth a try.
Looks great! How long will this keep in the frig?
Honey Mustard is my Favorite! But I have never tried to make it. I’m going to make this next time we have a salad. Yeah!
Jamie this looks great!
Happy to see you at Kelly’s
Real Food Carnival!
Honey Mustard is my most fave salad dressing. I’ve never made home made dressing and I am going to try this out!!