This Creamy Balsamic Dressing Recipe is SO delicious! Made with NO mayo, it’s vegan, keto, healthy and easy to make. Perfect on a salad!
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If you don’t like salads, maybe you just haven’t had a good salad dressing like our Greek Salad Dressing or Lemon Basil Vinaigrette.
This creamy balsamic is another one of my absolute favorite salad dressings and I almost always have a jar of it in my fridge!
This dressing is made of only 6 ingredients and takes 5 minutes to make! It couldn’t be easier!
Why we love this Balsamic Dressing with no Mayo:
There is a lot to love about this balsamic dressing recipe. It’s one of our favorites because it’s:
- Great on salads or as a marinade – This tastes delicious on basically any salad especially a spinach salad! You can also use it as a marinade for chicken breasts.
- Easy to make – It only takes 5 minutes to mix this dressing up!
- Tastes so delicious – Homemade salad dressings are ALWAYS better tasting than storebought!
Ingredients for Creamy Balsamic Dressing
To make this creamy balsamic dressing you’ll need:
- olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- fresh basil
- honey
- salt, pepper
You’ll also need a blender. Our favorite blender is the Nutribullet. It’s under $50 and works amazing! Here’s a link to the one we have.
We also love our Vitamix, but it’s much more expensive and too big for a small batch like this. Here’s a link to the one we have.
How to Make Vegan Creamy Balsamic Dressing
- Blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Serve over a salad or enjoy as a marinade.
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR VEGAN CREAMY BALSAMIC DRESSING
Olive Oil: You can substitute avocado oil. You can also use flavored or infused olive oils.
Balsamic Vinegar: I haven’t tried making this with anything besides balsamic vinegar. I think it would work with red wine vinegar but can’t be sure. Don’t substitute balsamic reduction, this recipe calls for plain balsamic vinegar.
Basil: This recipe is best made with fresh basil, but if you don’t have it, don’t worry! You can substitute the fresh basil leaves with 1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves.
Honey: You can skip the honey in this recipe or replace it with maple syrup. The honey helps cut the acidity of the balsamic vinegar so we recommend using it!
What to serve with balsamic dressing:
This dressing goes well with so many things! Here are some of our favorite ways to enjoy it:
- On our Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Use it in place of the dressing on this Traditional Greek Salad
- Use it as a marinade on Balsamic Grilled Chicken
- Drizzle it on Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
How to Store Creamy Balsamic Dressing
I make this creamy balsamic dressing almost every week! It’s so delicious on salads. Here’s how to store it:
Refrigerating: This will last for 5-7 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I like to use a mason jar. The dressing might separate, just stir to combine it. It also might solidify. Pop it in the microwave for 5 seconds or leave it on the counter for a few minutes
Freezing: We don’t recommend freezing this dressing. It’s meant to be enjoyed fresh.
Creamy Balsamic Dressing FAQ
You can usually thicken balsamic vinaigrette dressing simply by keeping it cold in the fridge. When oil is chilled, it gets much thicker. You can try adding in mayo if you’d like, but we don’t recommend it.
Cream of balsamic is a balsamic reduction. It’s made by cooking down balsamic vinegar until it is a thick, syrupy consistency.
Creamy dressings are typically made with mayo but it doesn’t have to be! Dressing can get creamy from blending it or adding in extra things like mustard or even honey.
Other healthy salad dressing recipes:
Looking for other salad dressing recipes? For more ideas checkout these Healthy Salad Dressing Recipes!
Creamy Balsamic Dressing
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup fresh basil OR 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients until smooth.
- Serve over a salad or enjoy as a marinade.
Adrienne says
Dressing was tasty, so easy to put together quickly.
Sandi Nichols says
I did this recipe with dried basil leaves and it looks nothing like the picture of yours. Mine is nothing like the color. Yours is a golden color and mine is dark brown. And not creamy.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Did you blend it? It needs to be blended to be creamy, not whisked together.
cass says
I had the same issue, maybe it’s because of the dried basil?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Did you blend it? It needs to be blended, not whisked. Could be a little darker if you used dried basil, but the color won’t affect the flavor!
Christina says
Awesome dressing! So flavorful!
Sunny says
I have been looking for a homemade balsamic and this nails it. It’s so easy to make and store. I used a food processor versus a blender so it’s not as creamy looking at hers but I use that basil in a tube stuff and it mixed just fine. Delicious dressing!