This Maple Dijon Vinaigrette is a mildly sweet and tangy salad dressing made with just 5 ingredients in 5 minutes. It is simple, healthy, and super budget-friendly, pairing well with a large array of salads including this shaved Brussels sprout salad.
Table of Contents
Why you'll love this Maple Dijon Dressing
Make your salad dressings at home without additives, a load of unhealthy fats, high sodium, and sugar.
Plus, you will save a lot of money by using ingredients you may already have in your pantry and customizing them according to your taste and dietary needs. Here is why we love them:
- Healthy: It contains a healthy oil that helps your body absorb more of the fat-soluble vitamins from vegetables, including leafy greens, and reduces cholesterol and blood pressure. Plus, the acids (citrus fruits) also improve our uptake of nutrients from the food we eat. As you can see, it has some great potential benefits according to Cleveland Clinic and other online medical sources!
- Diet-friendly: It is gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, and vegetarian. Plus, it can become vegan if you replace Dijon mustard with a vegan mustard that doesn't contain anchovies and also paleo and Whole30 if you use a certified paleo mustard that doesn't contain white wine.
- No preservatives
- Quick and easy -- It calls for 5 simple ingredients (plus salt and pepper) and you can make it in 5 minutes by shaking everything together in a Mason jar. Easy-peasy!
- Make-ahead -- You can make ahead and store in the fridge for up to one week to dress your salads and pasta salads.
- Mess-free -- You'll need it in a Mason jar or a bowl with a whisk.
- Versatile -- you can use this homemade dressing in salads, pasta salads, grilled/roasted vegetables, and even to baste cooked chicken and pork.
Ingredients and Substitutions
To make this maple dijon vinaigrette, you'll need:
- 2 tablespoons orange juice plus zest of ½ orange (replace it with lemon juice and zest for making a lemon Dijon vinaigrette if you're on a strict keto diet)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- A pinch of table salt
- A dash of freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup (or honey), or more to taste (NOTE: If you're on a keto/low-carb diet, use sugar-free maple syrup or honey).
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Equipment
To make our maple dijon vinaigrette, you will need the following:
- Zester
- Mason jar
- Cutting board
- Chef's knife
How to make maple dijon vinaigrette
1. Zest ½ orange using a zester. Place it into a mason jar and add the orange juice, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
2. Add the olive oil and close the jar tightly.
3. Shake well until creamy and emulsified. TIP: Dress your salads with just enough of the maple dijon vinaigrette to coat the salad; otherwise, it will become soggy!
Tips for making Maple Dijon Dressing
- If you are in a hurry, you can make your maple mustard vinaigrette in a high-powered blender or food processor to whip things up quickly.
- In order for your salad doesn't become soggy, only dress the salad right before serving it with just enough of the dressing to coat it.
- Store the leftover vinaigrette in an airtight container, or Mason jar, in the fridge until you are ready to use it or for up to one week.
- Shake the storage dressing container before using it to combine all the ingredients together that may be separated (such as EVOO and acids).
- If you prefer, replace maple syrup with honey to make a honey Dijon vinaigrette.
- If you would like to make a creamy maple dijon dressing, add 1 tablespoon Greek yogurt (or mayonnaise) to our recipe and whisk well.
What To Serve With This Dijon Vinaigrette
This is one versatile simple dressing. Here are a few options to pair it with:
- As a basting sauce -- You can use this maple Dijon Vinaigrette as a finishing bastes for cooked chicken or pork.
- As a dressing -- Use it to toss grilled or roasted veggies such as cauliflower steak, roasted delicata squash, and also roasted carrots and parsnips. Plus, salads such as zucchini salad, butternut squash salad, and beet and goat cheese salad.
Maple Syrup vs. Honey
Although honey and maple syrup are two natural sweeteners, they have different flavor profiles among other differences as follows:
- Flavor: Both have complex flavors, but honey has more floral tones while maple syrup is closer to caramel with smoky, woody flavors.
- Diet Type: Maple syrup is plant-based and so vegan, while honey is not.
- Nutrition: Honey and maple syrup have about the same Glycemic Index -- although maple syrup has a slightly lower GI (honey's GI is 58 and maple syrup's is 54) and also fewer calories than honey.
- Season: Both are available all year round although maple is mostly used in Fall/Winter dishes and honey in Spring/Summer recipes. But they can be used almost interchangeably, depending on the flavor you want to give to your dish.
Storage
Store maple dijon vinaigrette in the fridge for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving or dressing the salad.
Please, don’t forget to shake it well before dressing your salad!
Do not freeze!
Other vinaigrette recipes to try:
- AIP Mediterranean salad dressing
- Lemon poppy seed dressing
- Apple cider vinaigrette
- Creamy mustard dressing
PIN & ENJOY!
Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
Equipment
- 1 Zester
- 1 Mason jar
- 1 cutting board
- 1 Chef's knife
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons orange juice plus zest of ½ orange replace it with lemon juice and zest for making a lemon Dijon vinaigrette if you're on a strict keto diet
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon real maple syrup or honey, or more to taste (NOTE: If you're on a keto/low-carb diet, use sugar-free maple syrup or honey).
- A pinch of table salt
- A dash of freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Zest ½ orange using a zester. Place it into a mason jar and add the orange juice, lemon juice, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper.
- Lastly, add the olive oil, close the jar tightly, and shake well until creamy and emulsified. TIP: Dress your salads with just enough of the maple dijon vinaigrette to coat the salad; otherwise, it will become soggy!
Recipe Notes
- Store maple dijon vinaigrette in the fridge for up to 1 week; bring to room temperature before serving or dressing the salad.
- Please, don’t forget to shake it well before dressing your salad!
- Do not freeze!
Nutrition
** Nutrition labels on easyanddelish.com are for educational purposes only. This info is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate, since the nutrition content of recipes can vary based on ingredient brand or source, portion sizes, recipe changes/variations, and other factors. We suggest making your own calculations using your preferred calculator, based on which ingredients you use, or consulting with a registered dietitian to determine nutritional values more precisely.
Please note that health-focused and diet information provided on easyanddelish.com is for educational purposes and does not constitute medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease. Consult with your doctor or other qualified health professional prior to initiating any significant change in your diet or exercise regimen, or for any other issue necessitating medical advice.
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