Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

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This basil balsamic vinaigrette is so versatile! It’s especially terrific on salads with berries or other fruit. It has a bright fresh flavor that’s not too sweet. It’s so easy to make your own salad dressing, you might never go back to store bought!

Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

It’s better homemade. I say this a lot, but it’s so true. There are many items we buy in a jar, can, or box that with a few simple ingredients we can make ourselves. They taste better of course, but it’s also nice to know just exactly what’s in the food you’re eating. 

Especially when it comes to salad dressing, why limit yourself to the bottles on the grocery store shelf, when you can come up with an infinite number of combinations at home in your own kitchen? This dressing is a favorite of mine, and it’s good on so many salads!

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is an easy dressing you’ll make again and again. If your local grocery store sells fresh basil year round like mine does, you can enjoy this dressing any time. 

I love how easy this recipe is, and you will too! That lovely flavor only basil has really shines here, and you can even taste the honey too!

Ingredients For Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

All you need are a few things and you’ve got a killer vinaigrette!

• Fresh Basil (preferably Genovese)
• Honey
• Salt and Pepper
• White Balsamic Vinegar (more on this ingredient below)

Don’t you just love when pure magic happens from just a few simple ingredients? I sure do!

White Balsamic Vinegar

If you have not been using this in your kitchen, you need to get yourself some! It has a mild flavor that is perfect for a salad dressing because it won’t overpower other ingredients. I love it’s sweet/ tart flavor. It is fabulous for glazing roasted or sauteed vegetables as well. 

I actually prefer white balsamic in most applications where white wine vinegar would be used because it has a milder flavor, but it also has a bit more depth. 

White wine vinegar is a bit of a one trick pony, it’s just pungent and that’s really about it. That definitely has its place, but in situations where I want a nice layering of flavors without one thing taking over, white balsamic is my go to.

In fact, this very recipe is the perfect example of how this vinegar compliments rather than overpowers. The mild flavor allows the fresh basil to shine in a way that it might not if another vinegar were used. The flavor of the honey also comes through nicely for the same reason.

Equipment Needed For Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

This does not require any special equipment to make! If you don’t have some of the items listed, they are easy to find!

• Immersion Blender 
• Bowl or immersion blender cup for mixing the vinaigrette
• Jar, bottle, or other container for storing

How simple is that? If you don’t have an immersion blender, I recommend getting one. They are really handy and worth having around.

How To Make Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

This is so easy! It’s as simple as adding your ingredients to the bowl or immersion blender cup and processing the ingredients. The immersion blender does all the work for you. For all the details, see the recipe card below for full instructions.

Recipe Tips and Frequently Asked Questions

How To Serve Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

My favorite way to eat this is on a strawberry feta salad (pictured right here in this post). It’s great on watermelon, feta, and mint salad too. 

The bright freshness really plays nicely with bitter greens such as arugula or radicchio, and berries. This is fabulous tossed with some roasted vegetables also! 

Any salad that contains a funky or pungent cheese such as feta or gorgonzola, or fruit such as blackberry or kiwi would be a nice pairing with this vinaigrette thanks to its sweetness.

I absolutely love it on caprese or panzanella salad as well. 

Looking for another recipe using white balsamic vinegar? I use it in the yummy dressing for my Arugula Salad with Parmesan, Pear, and Pecans and my Strawberry White Balsamic Vinaigrette. I also use it in my recipe for Pickled Strawberries with Pink Peppercorn and Rose.

How To Store Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

This can be stored in a glass salad dressing bottle or glass jar with a tight fitting lid. It will keep for up to two weeks refrigerated.

I don’t recommend freezing this dressing, it does not defrost well.

If you are reading this, thank you for being here. I certainly hope you love this basil balsamic vinaigrette and that this recipe inspires you to make more of your own salad dressings at home. If you tried this dressing, I’d love to hear how it turned out! Just leave a rating or comment below. 

If you’d like to share this recipe with friends, here are some ideas:

Make it and take a picture and tag me @thecoppertable in a post on Instagram. You can also pin to a salad or condiments board on Pinterest. 

If you don’t use Pinterest, you can share on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you like! 

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