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This tangy Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette adds a touch of tart sweetness to salads, of course, but you can also use it to add a little something extra to roasted veggies, meat, and more. This easy 5-ingredient dressing is versatile, flavorful, and always gluten free!
Why You’ll Love This Vinaigrette
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: No-cook
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Skill Level: Easy
This maple balsamic vinaigrette checks all the boxes: It takes seconds to whisk up, it has many and varied uses, and it uses shelf-stable ingredients you probably have in the cupboard right now. I have to say that making dressings is one of my favorite things to do in the kitchen. It feels like such an easy win – you can use pantry staples to quickly make a condiment that will rival any store-bought bottle of dressing. This particular recipe blends the familiar sweetness of maple syrup with smoky balsamic vinegar and fruity olive oil into a creamy infusion of goodness. Here’s why I know you’ll love this recipe:
- Fresh. Do you ever wonder how long those bottles of dressing have been sitting on the store shelves? Plus, take a look at the ingredients list – some of the components are things I don’t recognize. When you make homemade salad dressing you eliminate any guesswork.
- Gluten Free. Going back to those extra ingredients, when you make your own dressing you can be confident that it’s gluten free. All of the necessary pieces to this maple balsamic vinaigrette are naturally gluten free, and there’s no worry about any cross-contamination during processing.
- It tastes so good. Even better, this dressing is so lovely I could sip it from a spoon! The perfect balance of sour and sweet maple, it instantly elevates any salad to which you add it.
Recipe Ingredients
Just five ingredients are needed to make this creamy dressing. Check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Because this is a balsamic vinaigrette, I don’t recommend substituting for the balsamic vinegar. However, if you need to make a swap, you can try apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar, but that really will be a different dressing.
- Pure Maple Syrup: Any type of light or dark maple syrup works well. Make sure that it is pure maple syrup and not a maple-flavored syrup!
- Dijon Mustard: A little mustard adds creaminess to the vinaigrette.
- Olive Oil: I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil in this dressing. If you need to substitute for the oil, use a neutral oil such as avocado oil.
- Salt and Pepper
How To Make Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Dressings are one of my favorite recipes to make – all you need to do is whisk or shake and they’re done! Here’s a quick look at how to put this one together. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Combine. Add the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard to a bowl.
- Whisk. Briskly whisk the ingredients together to combine them.
- Add oil. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil.
- Combine well. Whisk very well to emulsify the dressing, then season it with salt and pepper to taste.
Tips & Variations
This is such a simple vinaigrette recipe that it’s hard to mess it up! But what if you need to make a few ingredient substitutions? I’ve included some tips and ideas below:
- Emulsify the dressing well. Whisk the dressing ingredients together thoroughly to ensure they emulsify properly (meaning that the oil is well blended into the other ingredients and the dressing is creamy) so that it is nice and smooth. Alternatively, you can combine everything in a jar and shake it up very well.
- Use a good-quality balsamic vinegar. If you can, pick up a bottle of good balsamic vinegar for the dressing. What do I mean by good quality? A decent balsamic vinegar is one that shows it’s made from 100% grapes on the ingredients label with no added ingredients or fillers. The vinegar should also be labeled as being aged, so that the natural sweetness of the vinegar has time to develop. You’ll be able to taste the difference!
- Make more. You can double or even triple the ingredient amounts if you want to make a bigger batch of dressing.
- Sub the maple syrup only if needed. If you need to substitute the maple syrup, this vinaigrette will technically not be a maple balsamic vinaigrette! However, if you’re out of maple syrup, you can replace it with another natural liquid sweetener such as honey or agave syrup. Note that the flavor will not be the same as when you make it with maple syrup. Otherwise, use pure maple syrup rather than a maple-flavored syrup.
- Add herbs. For an extra punch of flavor, finely chop some fresh herbs such as rosemary or thyme and whisk them into the dressing. You could also add dried herbs or a little garlic powder.
Proper Storage
Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Give the dressing a good shake or whisk before using it because the ingredients may separate slightly.
Make It A Meal
Balsamic maple vinaigrette is, of course, fantastic on all sorts of salads, from a simple, fresh greens to more elaborate preparations (some of which I’ll link below!). But, it’s also amazing as a marinade, sauce, or condiment. Here are a few of my favorite ways to serve balsamic maple vinaigrette:
- On salad. You can add this dressing to nearly any salad you come up with, even the simplest salad of sliced fresh tomatoes and basil. It’s the highlight of my Harvest Salad but it works with so many more. A few of my favorite salads that go well with maple balsamic vinaigrette include Winter Fruit Feta Salad, Strawberry Spinach Salad, and a Chicken Cobb Salad.
- Add to roasted vegetables. Add a few tablespoons to a tray of Blue Cheese Roasted Vegetables, Roasted Cauliflower, or Roasted Butternut Squash before placing it in the oven. The vinaigrette will slightly caramelize in the oven’s heat, adding depth of flavor to the vegetables. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the veggies when serving.
- With meat. You can add maple balsamic vinaigrette to roasts or steaks for extra flavor. Try it on my recipe for Rosemary Balsamic Roast Chicken, or spoon it over Easy Steak Bites or Caprese Filet Mignon Steak. You can use the vinaigrette in place of the vinegar in my recipe for Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak to add a little sweetness to the marinade.
- As a dip. Make a batch of Gluten Free Breadsticks or Gluten Free Garlic Breadsticks and serve them with a bowl of maple balsamic vinaigrette for dipping. Or, serve it with Chef Salad Sticks!
More Vinaigrette & Dressing Recipes
Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper , to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard until well combined.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously until the dressing emulsifies.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Did you make this?
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