The 5-Minute Dressing I Could Drink Straight Out of the Jar

I would bet that every family has at least one famous original family recipe that gets passed down through the generations. Maybe it’s your grandma’s sugar cookies or your dad’s burgers. Our family has a few acclaimed originals, but nothing has become a regular staple in my kitchen like my Aunt Lisa’s epic salad dressing. It’s so good, I could drink it straight from the jar!

Aunt Lisa makes her creamy maple balsamic dressing every Thanksgiving to dress her mixed greens salad with pears, gorgonzola cheese, crispy bacon, and candied pecans (I mean, come on, right?!). I know it sounds weird that a salad could be one of my favorite holiday dishes, but it really is.

And this dressing is way too good to only have once a year. I make it on a regular basis and keep a full mason jar in the fridge for the whole week.

What Makes This Dressing So Good?

This drinkable dressing is a perfectly balanced combination of flavors. It’s made with balsamic vinegar and grainy Dijon mustard for tanginess, maple syrup for sweetness, soy sauce for salty umami flavor, mayo for creaminess, garlic powder for a savory punch, and olive oil? Just measure and dump everything straight into the jar, then shake it up until it’s beautifully emulsified.

This creamy maple balsamic dressing is so easy and quick to whip up and has such simple ingredients, that I always prefer it to a store-bought dressing. Pre-made dressings are often loaded with sugar, preservatives, and stabilizers, but this one’s naturally sweetened with maple syrup. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use brown sugar, but you won’t get quite the same flavor.

How To Make My Creamy Maple and Balsamic Dressing

For 2/3 cup dressing (4 to 6 servings), you’ll need:

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons grainy or regular Dijon mustard
• 4 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To a mason jar add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, maple syrup, soy sauce, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and shake vigorously until the dressing has emulsified.

Serve with your favorite salad greens or refrigerate tightly covered for up to 1 week.

What To Put This Dressing On

We call it a salad dressing, but it could totally be used on many more things than just leafy greens. If you are drizzling it on a leafy green salad, I recommend picking a sturdier green like kale, romaine, or spinach that can really maintain its crisp texture when tossed with the creamy dressing.

But aside from that, I love using this dressing on roasted vegetables and grain bowls. It also makes a great sauce for simple pan-fried or roasted chicken.

I encourage you to make this dressing your own. As you make tweaks here and there to get it how you want it, it won’t be exactly like my Aunt Lisa’s, but it might just become your family’s new original recipe that can be passed down to the next generation.