4 Ingredient Balsamic Vinaigrette Recipe (2024)

This 4 ingredient balsamic vinaigrette recipe is ready in under 5 minutes and is so much tastier than the store-bought stuff! The perfect blend of savory, sweet and tangy, it's sure to be a staple in your fridge.

A good dressing can take a salad from boring to flavor bomb in 2.5 seconds. Our favorite dressings include this tangy cilantro lime dressing and this Asian sesame dressing. When we need a classic salad dressing that goes with almost anything? This balsamic vinaigrette fits the bill!

This classic balsamic vinaigrette goes well on a strawberry arugula steak salad as well as on a caprese chicken salad, but that's really just the start...it's so versatile, it works well on any salad!

With four pantry staples that you probably already have on hand, it's super simple to whip up and keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Don't forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!

Simple ingredients you'll need

• olive oil- go for a good quality oil for your dressing, like an extra virgin olive oil.
• balsamic vinegar- if possible, opt for a good quality balsamic vinegar as well. The poor quality balsamic vinegars are watery and thin in texture and in flavor. Here's a great article on picking a good quality balsamic vinegar!
• dijon mustard- this adds the magical pizzazz to all my vinaigrettes. Dijon acts as an emulsifier, which simply means it helps the oil and vinegar stay together for longer. If the oil and vinegar separate, your salad will not have the right flavor; it will be oily in places and overly-tangy in other places. Dijon also adds a certain 'je ne sais quoi' flavor to the dressing, and doesn't taste like mustard at all. Don't skip it!
• maple syrup (or honey)- a little sweetness is needed to tame the tanginess. Honey and maple syrup are easily interchangeable in most vinaigrettes at the same ratio. Brown sugar also works in a pinch!

Oil to vinegar ratio

Traditional vinaigrettes have an oil to vinegar ratio of 3:1 but I find this far too mild. If I'm putting the effort into making a vinaigrette from scratch, I want to be able to taste it, and I prefer at 1:1 ratio

Consider the oil to vinegar ratio to be flexible, and play around with it to get your perfect balsamic vinaigrette.

• tangy and bold- 1:1 ratio of vinegar to oil
• milder- 1:2 ratio of vinegar to oil
• traditional (+ very mild)- 1:3 ratio of vinegar to oil

Storage

You can prep this balsamic vinaigrette ahead and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. I like to triple (or even quadruple) the batch so that I always have some on hand!

• shake up and store your vinaigrette in a 1 pint mason jar
• or in one of these salad dressing shakers

While storing in the fridge, your oil and vinegar will separate. Simply give your vinaigrette a shake up until the oil and vinegar are mixed back together evenly before drizzling onto your salad.

Salad

This balsamic vinaigrette goes well on pretty much any salad you can think of, and pairs especially well with something sweet. I love using it with tomatoes and fresh basil, on a fresh berry salad, and paired with feta cheese.

Here are some tasty ways to use balsamic vinaigrette

• Pasta Salad
• Kale Salad
• Caprese Salad
• Farro Salad

Pictured above is this Chicken Caprese Quinoa Salad

Variations

Take your balsamic vinaigrette from classic to creative with one of these recipe variations:

• swap the balsamic vinegar for a raspberry balsamic vinegar. Or turn it into a Fresh Raspberry Basil Vinaigrette!
• add a clove of crushed garlic
• make it spicy with ½ teaspoon of cayenne
• add in some citrus zest
• add in some herbs like oregano or basil. Adding fresh herbs such as mint to the salad can really contrast the vinaigrette flavors.

More dressings + vinaigrette recipes

• Easy Homemade Red Wine Vinaigrette
• White Wine Vinaigrette (my FAVORITE all purpose vinaigrette)
• 5-Minute Asian Salad Dressing
• Fresh Rasbperry Basil Vinaigrette
• Roasted Strawberry Black Pepper Vinaigrette