- This easy, smooth and creamy dressing is delicious drizzled over salads, grains and vegetables.
- You’ll get inflammation-lowering benefits from the olive oil and fresh garlic.
- If you prefer, balsamic or champagne vinegar can be used instead of cider vinegar.
Our Honey-Mustard Cider Vinaigrette is so good, you might consider doubling the recipe to have extra on hand. An essential dressing, it’s made with heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil and tangy cider vinegar. Fresh inflammation-fighting garlic is grated in so it blends perfectly into the dressing—health benefits in every serving. The mustard works as an emulsifier, and the honey adds just a hint of sweetness. You’ll find that this dressing is perfect for more than salads—use it over grain bowls and roasted veggies. Keep reading for our expert tips on vinegar swaps, sweet substitutions and more.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
- We chose cider vinegar for this recipe, but it would be just as tasty with a balsamic or champagne vinegar.
- If you don’t care to use honey, try this recipe with maple syrup instead.
- To save time, you can swap the fresh garlic for garlic powder.
- For extra flavor, consider adding oregano, Italian seasoning or whatever seasonings you like best.
Nutrition Notes
- Extra-virgin olive oil is a heart-healthy oil because it is rich in monounsaturated fats and high in polyphenols. The polyphenols in EVOO are often credited with additional health benefits, including reducing inflammation in the body.
- Apple-cider vinegar has a bit of a health halo and has been studied for its ability to support healthy blood sugar levels. Using it in a vinaigrette is the perfect use, as it is diluted; drinking ACV straight can cause digestive upset and damage tooth enamel.
