Maple Dijon Dressing – The Stingy Vegan

This 4-ingredient sweet and tangy maple dijon dressing is ready in less than 5 minutes. Perfect over salads, vegetables, and sandwiches. 

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Easy salad dressing

Over here in the Mediterranean we don’t use a lot of prepared salad dressings.

The Mediterranean way to dress a salad is just with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper (see my vegan couscous salad).

However, sometimes that gets boring. Unfortunately, I’m lazy so if I’m going to the trouble of making my own salad dressing, it better be quick and easy.

This maple dijon dressing recipe is just that. 

A handful of ingredients that you may already have on hand, mixed up in a mason jar and you’ve got a delicious sweet and tangy dressing that goes great on just about any kind of salad!

Vegan salad dressing

As a vegan, it can sometimes be difficult to replicate the same creaminess of non-vegan dishes.

You’ll often see cashews used to make vegan Caesar dressing or vegan mayo like in this cucumber pasta salad, or vegan yogurt like for the ranch dressing in this tofu salad.

Luckily, vegan salad dressings are really easy to make creamy thanks to the emulsification.

Here, the Dijon mustard and maple syrup act as emulsifiers  to suspend the oil in the vinegar and make a creamy vegan vinaigrette without any “weird” ingredients. 

Ingredients

This maple dijon vinaigrette uses four simple ingredients that you might already have in your pantry right now. If not, they’re good to keep on hand to whip up this easy dressing any night of the week!

Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup, not maple-flavored syrup.

Mustard: Smooth Dijon mustard is important for the flavor and aids in the emulsification of the vinaigrette. Don’t substitute yellow mustard,

Olive oil: Use a nice extra-virgin olive oil that doesn’t have a strong flavor on its own. 

Vinegar: I use balsamic vinegar because I prefer the flavor. I’ve seen other recipes calling for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar so feel free to substitute if you prefer.

How to make maple dijon dressing

There are several different ways you can mix up a vinaigrette to ensure the ingredients combine well and don’t separate. 

Mason jar: This is my preferred method for making this maple dijon dressing. 

Simply place all four ingredients in a mason jar, screw on a tight-fitting lid and shake the jar for about 30 seconds or so.

You can taste the dressing and adjust the amount of maple to dijon as you like.

Whisk: If you don’t have a mason jar, you can whisk your vinaigrette together.

Place the dijon mustard and maple syrup in a bowl and whisk them together.

Add the vinegar and whisk again.

Finally, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly, until the dressing comes together.

Food processor: If you have a mini food processor, add all the ingredients and blend until it comes together into a creamy sauce.

Substitutions and variations

Vinegar: You can substitute another type of vinegar or lemon juice for the balsamic. Apple cinder vinegar is a popular choice. 

Mustard: I use smooth Dijon mustard for a creamy sauce but you can substitute out a teaspoon or so for grainy mustard if you like it.

Herbs: Feel free to add in your favorite dried or chopped fresh herbs.

Sweetener: It won’t be maple dijon dressing but you can substitute agave nectar for more of a vegan honey mustard dressing.

Seasoning: Add a touch of spice with an eighth of a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Personally, I don’t add salt to my salad dressings because I prefer to season the salad directly. You can add a pinch of sea salt and pepper to the dressing if you like.

FAQs

Make ahead and storage tips

A vinaigrette will stay emulsified for a couple of days once its combined.

Store this maple dijon dressing in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Give it another good shake before using. 

If you notice that the oil has solidified a bit, allow it to come up to room temperature on the counter before using.

How to serve maple dijon dressing

This homemade maple dijon dressing is obviously great on salads like a simple green salad or chopped salad. 

It also combines well with more hearty salads like this vegan lentil salad or this bean and lentil salad recipe.

Vinaigrettes are also delicious as a dipping sauce or served over steamed, boiled or roasted vegetables such as carrots, Brussels sprouts or butternut squash.

They can be used as the dressing component for your favorite vegan bowl recipes and are a great addition to your weekly vegan meal prep.