Honey Mustard Salad Dressings

  
When it comes to salad dressings, it's no surprise that honey mustard is the one I always reach for! There's something about the sweet honey combined with the other tangy ingredients that really does turn the dullest lettuce leaf into a crunchy, tasty delight!

There really is no reason to buy bottles of salad dressing when they are so quick and easy to make at home with a few easy to find ingredients. You'll also have the knowledge that your salad dressings won't be full of artificial emulsifiers and thickeners that are often used to cut down on the production cost of the supermarket products.

Below you'll find three different honey mustard dressings. A lighter, more traditional oil and vinegar dressing and a similar, but simpler, vinaigrette. The third is a thicker, creamier, mayonnaise based dressing that also makes a great honey and mustard dip!

All three honey mustard salad dressings work great, not just as a dressing for salad vegetables, but they are also fantastic with eggs, ham and chicken salads. You can even use them as a marinade.

Honey and Mustard Dressing Recipe

Ingredients for this Honey and Mustard Salad Dressing Recipe:

• 3 Tablespoons of Whole Grain Mustard
• 3 Tablespoons of Just Bee Original Honey
• 1 Tablespoon of Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1 Clove of Pressed Garlic or 1 Teaspoon of Garlic Puree
• 40ml of Apple Cider Vinegar
• 20ml of Balsamic Vinegar
• 60ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ½ Teaspoon of Sea Salt
• ¼ Teaspoon of Black Pepper

There really isn't much more to making this dressing than mixing all the ingredients together!

The quickest and easiest method is to just to put all the ingredients in a jar, screw the lid on tightly and shake it vigorously until it's all combined. You could even use a couple of empty Just Bee honey pots! If you don't have a food processor or want to save on washing up, then it's a perfectly sensible approach to take. You need to shake it until the mix emulsifies, once that happens the vinegar and oil should not separate.

If you want to use a food processor to make larger amounts or hand whisk, then add the mustard, honey, garlic, vinegars and lemon juice to the bowl and whisk until blended, then add the olive oil a little at a time until you get a smooth combined dressing. Finish by stirring in the salt and pepper to season. It really is that easy! 

Simple Honey and Mustard Dressing

For a honey mustard salad dressing the above might seem like quite a lot of different ingredients and it's certainly possible to make a simplified, but still delicious, honey and mustard dressing with what you might have in the kitchen already. To save rushing to the shops right now, try this simple 'In the Cupboard' version instead.

Ingredients for this simple Honey and Mustard Dressing Recipe:

• 3 Tablespoons of Any Mustard
• 3 Tablespoons of Just Bee Original Raw Honey
• 60ml of Oil (Olive Oil, Vegetable Oil or Sunflower Oil will all work fine)
• 60ml of Apple Cider Vinegar
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

While this won't have quite the depth of flavour as the recipe with more ingredients, it will still make a dressing that's superior to what you would typically find in the shops. It's also a delicious foundation for your own honey and mustard dressing recipes, with plenty of room for you to add ingredients and experiment with later if you want to.

Honey and Mustard Creamy Dressing

This is a favourite of the younger members of my house and it makes a really flavourful, tangy alternative to salad cream or plain mayonnaise. It pairs especially well with hard boiled eggs or when you just want a less acidic dressing for a salad. It also makes a delicious dip for breadsticks, tortilla chips or chicken goujons.

Ingredients for this Honey and Mustard Creamy Salad Dressing:

• 4 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoons of Smooth English Mustard (or American Style 'Hot Dog' Mustard)
• 1 Tablespoon of Just Bee Original Honey
• 2 Teaspoons of Lemon Juice
• A pinch of Salt and Pepper

Again, it's really just a case of mixing the ingredients together, start with the mayonnaise and beat the mustard, lemon juice and honey into it with a fork until it's combined. Then after tasting, add a little salt and pepper to taste. Easy Peasy!
  

Other Options

For a little heat, a teaspoon of chilli flakes work great in this mayonnaise dressing and add some nice colourful flashes of red. If you are a garlic fan then a teaspoon of garlic puree or a clove of crushed garlic is a delicious extra addition too.

Final Thoughts

We recommend storing these dressings in the fridge and using within a week. You can always half or double the ingredients to make the right amount for yourself and your family.

The best thing about making your own dressings is knowing exactly what you are putting into them. I was shocked to see that the second largest ingredient in a well known brand and fairly upmarket honey and mustard dressing was water! The unspecified honey is likely to be the cheapest low cost honey available too. It's no surprise it lacks flavour compared to something I can make in five minutes myself. I really don't want to put water on my salad unless I'm washing it!

We've experienced some lovely weather lately and as we start to socialise with our friends and family once again, it's the perfect time to treat ourselves to some delicious fresh salads and barbecue foods.

We hope you, your family and friends enjoy these quick and easy salad dressings. Please comment below to let us know if you enjoyed them and what you enjoyed them with!