The BEST Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

The perfect salad dressing is simple, bursting with flavor, and makes you crave salads and veggies just so you can get a taste of it. Our Balsamic Vinaigrette recipe hits all the marks, earning its place as one of our favorite salad dressings of all time. It’s the perfect balance of bold, tangy, sweet, and creamy, made with just five ingredients and a little salt and pepper.

Drizzle it over salads, roasted veggies, or use it as a marinade for the most flavorful grilled meats. Once you try this dressing, you’ll want to pour it on everything!

How to Make Our Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe

Ingredients

Process

1. Place all the ingredients into the well of a mini blender.
2. Blend until completely smooth and creamy.

Why We Blend Our Balsamic Vinaigrette – Is it Necessary?

Some balsamic vinaigrettes are shaken, and that’s all well and good. But if you want a perfectly smooth, silky, and almost creamy texture, blending this dressing is a must.

The magic bullet or beast blender is perfect for the job of blending a batch of this balsamic. By adding all of the ingredients to the blender and processing until smooth, the oil and vinegar combine into an almost whipped texture, giving this dressing a creamy mouthfeel without the addition of dairy.

Make Ahead and Storage Instructions

Because this vinaigrette uses fresh shallots and garlic, it is best used within 7 days of making it. Just store any leftover dressing in an airtight glass container in the refrigerator. While it’s blended, you may need to give it a good shake before using it in case the oil has separated from the vinegar.

Variations

With just five ingredients, there’s not much to change about this dressing, aside from the sweetener and shallot.

If you don’t have shallots, just swap them with the same amount of finely minced red onion, which has a similar flavor profile.

Instead of brown sugar, you can use equal amounts of honey or agave, or even maple syrup if you’re going for a maple balsamic flavor.

How to Use Our Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe as a Marinade

Balsamic Vinaigrette isn’t just for salads. It makes the most incredible marinade! The acidity in the vinegar helps to tenderize meat while infusing each bite with rich flavor. You can use it for everything from beef to pork, chicken, shrimp, or tofu.

Just pour the marinade over your protein and let it sit for one to four hours before cooking (then tossing any remaining marinade you’re not cooking!). You can marinate most proteins in this vinaigrette for up to 24 hours, but we don’t recommend leaving them in it for any longer than that. After 24 hours, the vinegar may start to break down the proteins too much, affecting the texture.

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